Once Upon a Time, Someone Invented the Essay
And a marvelous invention it was. An essay could (and can) be literally anything from the most serious explanation of why it’s time to start a war to Joan Didion writing about Hollywood.
What exactly is an essay? As Wikipedia so movingly puts it, “the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story.” In other words, just about anything, which is right up my alley. And hopefully, yours.
A great essay is like a sonata, or a perfectly prepared cup of coffee. It does what it does, enjoyably and well, without coloring outside the lines. You will learn something, maybe think a little. You will perhaps be entertained, charmed, engaged. In the real world we collectively inhabit, I think writers straining for Big Ideas are sort of dopey. Instead, I strive for a perfect little package of interestingness, just for you, delivered every Thursday. That’s my Substack. That’s Specifics.
I am not interested in politics, gender issues, religion or any of the other chewing gum writers tend to enjoy verbally masticating. It’s not unimportant, but it’s also not for me. Instead, I’m interested in what’s around me right now. My heroes are E.B. White, James Thurber, Ralph Waldo Emerson and everyone who writes one of those lovely little pieces in the Talk of the Town section of the New Yorker. And the “American” bit? Well, we didn’t invent the form — it kind of invented itself — but we do it really, really well.
And the “Informal Nature” part? Well, a necessary but not sufficient component of a good essay, at least if you ask me (which you kind of have) is that everybody has to have fun. Especially you. I want you to read these pieces, enjoy the experience, be glad you let me have ten minutes of your attention, and look forward to my next offering.
I write essays. You can read them. And ideally, everybody will win. Every Thursday. Welcome to Specifics.
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