Welcome to Brief Musings
A place for literature, art, film, music, and other various musing-worthy material.
Hello and welcome to Brief Musings, a free bimonthly newsletter dedicated to a variety of things that pique my interest at any given time. Those with an affinity towards literature, art, music, film, and all things culture will surely find something here to enjoy.
I have a general outline for the content of the newsletter, and I use the word “outline” loosely; but the format will be a list of five items:
A Book in the Pipeline: here I will name a title that I have yet read but plan to soon. I put this item first on the list to reflect its priority in my mind. As many an avid reader knows, at any given moment countless titles dance in the mind of the bibliophile. I like to look forward with my reading schedule, though never commit to any definitive plan. But I do hope that writing about the books I want to get to will in turn push me to actually get to them.
A Book Still on the Mind: here I look backward, writing about a specific title that has stayed with me days, weeks, months, possibly even years, after reading it. Though a reader may turn the last page, read the last word, a book never truly ends, as the passage of time invariably illuminates the experience of its reading in enlightening retrospect. Details missed become clear, references elucidated, characters crystallized. Because it happens often, more and more frequently as of late, I want to carve out a place to write about it. Plus, there are truly hundreds of titles I’m still thinking about.
Art(ist) of the Week: here I will name a piece of art, the artist, and my reason for choosing, either a new discovery or a return to an old favorite. Visual and performance art and their history have captivated me in recent years, and, as with books and music, I try to discover new artists and artwork on a regular basis. Using Artnet as my encyclopedia, I’ll post a piece, a short biography of the artist, and include a link to more of their work.
Music(ian) of the Week: here I will name a music artist, a song or two, possibly an album of theirs, or even a performance that I can’t get off repeat. Like the previous item, music and musicians new and old are fair game. My one goal is to encompass as wide a variety as I can – genres, tempos, instruments, sounds, timbres, all the components to a great piece of music spanning as far as they can. Writing about music will in turn force me to listen and discover more music, an activity which is not just an incredible delight but a vital necessity in life.
Wild Card: here anything goes. Film, poetry, critical essays, YouTube videos, news articles, Wikipedia pages, book reviews, random websites, podcast episodes, book events, other Substacks, truly anything. Also, I may or may not use this last item to include a personal anecdote, something perhaps like a journal entry. We’ll have to see what happens!
For those who read them, I do still plan on maintaining the book review blog; however, I’ll be posting my end-of-the-month reviews both on my blog and here on Substack to convenience those wanting to stick to one place.
Thank you to all who subscribe and to all who take interest in these silly little things I write.