Alison Tyler

I've been editing recently. More serious editing than I've ever done in my life. You see, I've been editing my filing cabinet. My computer. My closet. This blog. My dresser. My bookshelves. My office. My inbox. My life. At one point, this site boasted nearly 5,000 posts. Now, I'm down to under 1,000. Why? Because it's time. Time for me to get rid of the excess weight. What am I keeping? That's a good fucking question. As far as I can tell, I'm keeping anything that delights me.

Yesterday morning, I asked a friend if she was planning any revolutions for 2016. I meant, of course, resolutions. But my girlfriend just looked at me and then laughed. "Slip of the tongue," I said. "What are you up to?" she asked. And I decided right then that in 2016, I resolve to revolve. To revolt and evolve. There are no stoplights ahead. There aren't even any rules. In the past, I said I spun. I was a dervish then. Now, I'm moving to a slower groove. I'm taking my time.

This week, a friend sent me a comic cut from The New Yorker. What was the theme? Yes. You guessed it! Chaucer! I'm delighted, honestly, that other people are as interested in Chaucer as I am. For some reason, I continually trip over articles about staying relevant. Or no longer being relevant. Rants and raves and rending of one's hair. But look at Chaucer—more than 600 years later, and he's still going strong. Yet, I believe we have reached the end of this section of the Bawdy Book Club.