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How to read poetry

June 15, 2021June 15, 2021 - by Ric Royer

How to read poetry: Buy a book of poetry from a poet everyone is talking about. Skim through the book if you want, or put it straight on your bookshelf …

The Horror is that There is No Horror

May 20, 2021May 20, 2021 - by Ric Royer

On the surprising conservatism of “progressive horror” [Originally published in Arc Digital, Feb 25, 2021. ] “Climate of the Hunter is an Atmospheric Slow-Burn that Skewers Patriarchal Hierarchies & Misogyny,” declares …

FEARLESS AND LOVING NEAR LAS VEGAS: A REVIEW OF LISA CARVER’S “THE PAHRUMP REPORT”

March 10, 2021March 30, 2021 - by Ric Royer

[First published at http://vol1brooklyn.com/2021/02/26/fearless-and-loving-near-las-vegas-a-review-of-lisa-carvers-the-pahrump-report/] There is a moment in her new book The Pahrump Report, when Lisa Carver responds to a question about her occupation by answering: “I am a writer.” …

Pandemic, Berkshires Style; From disdain for regulations, to passion for bureaucracy, notes on day tripping during the coronavirus.

March 9, 2021March 30, 2021 - by Ric Royer

I can’t say that the Berkshires is the first place that would normally come to my mind when I think of a nice little getaway, but what I can say …

If You Haven’t Lost Your Mind Yet, You Have Lost Your Mind

February 12, 2021February 12, 2021 - by Ric Royer

If you’ve spent enough time on social media, you’ve probably experienced it: someone you know begins to exhibit signs of mental instability for everyone to witness in the spotlight of …

The New Moral Majority, Same As The Old Moral Majority; On the allure of censorship

February 10, 2021February 10, 2021 - by Ric Royer

[Originally published by Arc Digital: https://arcdigital.media/the-new-moral-majority-same-as-the-old-moral-majority-13f7402e1287] Like many right-wing American anti-obscenity activists, Terry Rakolta was a very concerned and busy citizen in the late ’80s and early ’90s. The self-described housewife and …

Everything is Okay

December 23, 2020December 25, 2020 - by Ric Royer

Standing in line at Dollar General. Ahead of me is a very elderly man, who walked in minutes earlier and immediately grabbed a random customer and asked for help finding …

The Troubled Maker: Transgressive Art, Public Shame, and Mike Tyson

December 16, 2020January 5, 2021 - by Ric Royer

In many ways, my personal experience with life after public shaming has gone exactly as one might expect: depressing, painful, and weird. Yet, at some point over the past three …

Start Making Sense

November 25, 2020November 26, 2020 - by Ric Royer

One of my neighbors is that type who was born and raised in the Hudson Valley, but since she had a taste of living in Brooklyn for four years, she …

QAnon is Coming to Town

September 15, 2020September 15, 2020 - by Ric Royer

Santa, coffee and QAnon in Buffalo, NY https://medium.com/@ricroyer/qanon-is-coming-to-town-211dec5f9410