Next Monday, April 2, I will debut Brisket Vol. 1, No. 1. It's not a new magazine, or webzine, or even a website. I'm calling it a newsletter because each month I will share a new essay with readers (plus some extra content related to that essay's theme). My hope, however, is that it becomes more than an essay in your inbox every four or five weeks. I have the great fortune in life to be surrounded by dynamic, thoughtful people who enjoy conversation. Brisket is a dish to gather around and talk, perhaps at first about the monthly essay but eventually about the messy, emotional, and weird experience of being human.
That's why I have chosen Patreon to host Brisket. Patreon is a platform that allows creators to build communities around their work. By pledging to Brisket, patrons can post and comment on Brisket's feed (similar to the Facebook timeline feature) and have a conversation with me and other readers.
The other reason that I decided to launch this project on Patreon is because I want to do the kind of work that freelance writers rarely get to do: write meaty essays that are neither pegged to the news cycle nor broadly appealing enough to be evergreen. At Brisket's core is a monthly essay on a topic that has preoccupied me recently, enough so that I sat down day after day and fought to answer my own questions. These are essays that I craft while pacing back and forth across rooms talking to myself, that require many long stretches of staring off into space, and many phone calls to friends to try and work through the ideas. They are not necessarily deep or profound as a result (though some are). Writing is just difficult, time-consuming work. Patreon puts a community of devoted patrons behind their creators to make sure that the work gets done!
If you have been enjoying my Sunday morning roundup posts, or what I've been writing over at The Metropole, then Brisket might appeal to you.
For the first month only, I'll be sending out a short excerpt of Brisket to everyone on the mailing list. Feel free to sample before you throw me some bread.
Feeling too full to partake of Brisket? You can still catch a glimpse behind the scenes by following Brisket on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Litsy!
I look forward to sharing Brisket with you, and hope you will share Brisket with any and all friends, family members, coworkers, neighbors, or bookshop owners who you think might be interested in this project! See you around the metaphorical dining table soon...
Avigail