Subtle Maneuvers

When Michael interviews a writer, it feels like psychoanalysis, but the writer is the analyst, and Michael the confessor, and it’s very relaxing because you sit and listen to him give this rich interpretive testimonial about your novel, and you find moments to intervene.

Welcome to the 187th issue of Subtle Maneuvers. Last time, I shared a magnificent pep talk from the artist Sol LeWitt to the perpetually self-doubting sculptor Eva Hesse. This week: Some further thoughts on doubt inspired by a recent interview with the filmmaker Ira Sachs.

Welcome to the 186th issue of Subtle Maneuvers. Today, after 458 mornings hosting Worm Zoom, I’m announcing some changes to my virtual coworking club starting in June. But first: a magnificent artist-to-artist pep talk that I never tire of reading. Eva Hesse, 1963 (Barbara Brown/Zeitgeist Films via the New York Times) In March 1965, the German-born American sculptor Eva Hesse wrote a letter to her friend and fellow artist Sol LeWitt, venting her doubts about her work and asking for advice.

Welcome to the 185th issue of Subtle Maneuvers. Previously: Do bad bosses make for great art? Last February, the novelist Helen DeWitt declined a $175,000 writing prize because she found the publicity requirements too onerous. Subsequently, she accepted a no-strings-attached grant of the same amount from a libertarian think tank financially supported by one of the Koch brothers. Welcome to literary funding in the twenty-first century.

Hi, everyone — Just a quick reminder that the next meeting of the Subtle Maneuvers Book Club will take place tomorrow (Sunday) at 11am Pacific / 2pm Eastern / 7pm UK time. Join us on Zoom here:

Welcome to the 184th issue of Subtle Maneuvers. This week: an outtake from my new book that I had to cut due to space but hated to leave out, because who can’t relate to the experience of coping with an awful boss? Keep reading for a seventeenth-century iteration of this eternal dilemma—and please tell us about your own bad bosses in the comments.

Welcome to the 183rd issue of Subtle Maneuvers. My sincere thanks to everyone who came to my LA book launch last Friday! What a perfect evening; I’m sharing some photos below. Next stop: Chicago! Come see me at the Chicago Athletic Association tomorrow, April 8, at 5:30pm. Artists need day jobs. Not every artist; not all the time (let’s hope).

Welcome to the 182nd issue of Subtle Maneuvers. My new book is out today! To celebrate, I’ll be on Substack Live with the brilliant Jason Chatfieldat 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern time—join us here. And please come see me at my book events in LA (this Friday) and Chicago (on April 8th)! Full details below. The word creative gets thrown around so much these days—as both an adjective and a (shudder) noun—that it can sometimes feel as if it’s lost all meaning entirely.

Welcome to the 181st issue of Subtle Maneuvers. Last time, I shared a personal essay on my early confusion about how to fund a life as a writer. This time: part two, with even more confusion! Plus some personal disclosures that I may regret posting but what the heck. But first: a quick reminder that my next book comes out in two weeks! If you’re in the Los Angeles area, please come to the book launch at Skylight Books on Friday, April 3rd, at 7pm.

Welcome to the 180th issue of Subtle Maneuvers. This week, I'm sharing a personal essay, looking at my own early confusion about how to fund a life as a writer and some other models I might have considered.