Hi hi hi!

Guess what came in the mail today?! These days, under the pressure of climate change and war raging in Ukraine and Yemen, I’ve been questioning why art matters and if it’s even an ethical way to spend the few weeks I have left to live on this planet. Then my issue of The Thalweg came in the mail. Co-founder and managing editor, Dory Athey writes about just this question in her intro! The synchronicity and magic of life will never cease to amaze me.

In honor of this beautiful creation, I did a virtual reading of the poems here, just for you! If you want to read them in print, consider buying/donating to The Thalweg.

In other news, I made a playlist in honor of The Void. In case you missed my video essay about Instagram and The Void you can watch it here. I talk about all the philosophical and existential reasons behind why it’s so hard to quit Instagram but why I needed to quit in order to maintain both my sanity and my humanity.

Live long and prosper,

Sammie

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sammiedowning.substack.com