Kimberly Hirsh

Went by the Oscar Wilde house yesterday and the plaque saying he lived there said:

OSCAR WILDE
POET, DRAMATIST, WIT

and I liked it so well I’m changing all my bios to read “Mother, learner, wit.”

I first encountered music from The Phantom of the Opera when I was 9 years old. I had taken a lip syncing class, because the Leon County, FL gifted program in 1990-91 was awesome, and at the performance where the most effective lip syncers gave a performance, a boy lip synced “Music of the Night,” complete with tux, cape, mask, and hat. (I was not selected for this performance, because the teacher said my performance of “Material Girl” showed that I cared more about the look than about lip syncing well, and she wasn’t wrong.)

I was immediately in love - with the song, with the costume, in my imagination with the lip syncing boy (who had been in a different class from me and who I hadn’t met nor would ever meet).

My mom promptly added the original cast recording to her next Columbia House order.

And the whole show was much bigger than that one song, endearing itself to me more than “Music of the Night” ever could have to me alone.

I stayed obsessed with the Phantom of the Opera. I read Gaston Leroux’s original novel. I read Susan Kay’s Phantom (highly recommend). I read The Phantom of Manhattan (fun but I recommend it not as highly). I went to see it when it came to Raleigh on tour. (1993, I think.) I played the computer game, Return of the Phantom.

When I met W in 1998, our mutual love of Phantom of the Opera was one of the things we first bonded over. That October, I hosted a costumed sing-along of it at my house. He was the Phantom and I was Christine. We did the same thing the following year.

We saw the show together when it came on tour. We saw it when they did a movie theater cast of the show in 2011.

Our son, M, has listened to the first act with me. We looked at The Complete Phantom of the Opera book together as we listened. He was very interested.

Next month, I hope to visit the Palais Garnier and see the places and things that I have only seen in pictures and my imagination so far: the grand staircase, the chandelier, box five.

The Phantom of the Opera has its last Broadway performance today. It’s been hugely important to me, even though I’ve never seen it there. I’m so glad it ran for so long. I know we haven’t seen the last of it in the US.

🔖 Read Durham Officials Push for Affordable Housing in Southpoint Redevelopment.

Pleased with my city’s Planning Commission members.

🔖🎨 Read On growing alongside your artistic practice (The Creative Independent).

Mother-artist Bailey Elder talks about growing as an artist and being a mother. Elder is starting a blog to interview other artistic mothers!

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No dissertation is worth a lifetime of revision.

William Germano, From Dissertation to Book

It’s my defense-aversary! I’ve been a PhD for two years. For me, getting the PhD was much bigger than having the PhD has been. Perhaps I’ll write up more reflections on this later.

🔖📝 Read On Pitching and Rejection by Nicole Chung (The Atlantic).

pitching is not just about figuring out what editors or publications may be interested in—figuring out what you are most interested in is vital.

🔖📝 Read How Can You Write About Pain Without Retraumatizing Yourself? by Nicole Chung (The Atlantic).

🔖📝 Read Kids Will Still Read Banned Books by Nicole Chung (The Atlantic).

Chung doesn’t minimize the harm of book banning, but discusses how it’s impossible (and a bad idea) to try to control kids' reading.

🔖📝 Read When You Aren’t Sure Whether Your Writing Is ‘Important’ by Nicole Chung (The Atlantic).

You just need to find one person who understands and appreciates what you’re trying to do and why, and then you look for the next person…

I haven’t been sharing a lot of travel adventures not because I haven’t been having them, but just because making the time to share is tricky.

But here! Have some photos!

🔖📝 Read “I Hate the Idea of Healing” A Conversation with Maggie Smith

One thing that mothering has taught me is that I can’t be precious about where I work. When I work, I cannot demand uninterrupted space and time…If I got completely derailed every time somebody needed me, I’d never do anything.

🔖 Read Lois Before Clark: In Defense of the Superhero Girlfriend.

Dreamed I decided to get obsessed with Lois Lane, decided this meant I should actually get obsessed with her, knew this essay by Dr. Ravynn K. Stringfield was the place to start.

Finished reading: Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett 📚

My first finished Discworld. Reading Piers Anthony feels like coming home (miss me with your takes on him, please, I know his flaws). Reading Terry Pratchett feels like visiting a treasured friend. A lot of fun here.

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Data: *has a personal problem* *does extensive research* Captain Picard, I have done all the research but I do not have the answer to my problem.

Picard: What do you think about the problem, though?

Data: *blinks*

Just another reason I identify with Data.

📓 Read Subjectivity and Reflexivity: An Introduction by Franz Breuer, Katja Mruck & Wolff-Michael Roth (Forum: Qualitative Social Research).

A quick introduction to a pair of special issues. Interested to see how the conversation’s advanced.

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Revision is unromantic, time-consuming, tiring. It is also the only way to make one’s writing better.

William Germano, From Dissertation to Book

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Learn how to revise and you will produce a better first book. Remember it and you will enjoy writing the books to follow.

William Germano, From Dissertation to Book

Full-on happy misty-eyed over this week’s Picard. 🖖🏻📺

Hey Internet! I’m interested in your perceptions. What are my superpowers? What are my areas of expertise?

The Barbie Selfie Generator is pretty fun.

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Revision is a job for optimists.

William Germano, From Dissertation to Book

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Writing isn’t a record of your thinking. It is your thinking.

William Germano, From Dissertation to Book

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…the operating instructions of scholarly publishing rarely form a part of graduate training…

William Germano, From Dissertation to Book

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Write everything you want published as if there are people who make decisions and work within limited budgets—their checkbooks, or their libraries' acquisition budgets.

William Germano, From Dissertation to Book