Cruznotes Newsletter by Jaime Alejandro | 6.22 Recap
50 Episodes! Big Announcement! And birthday blues.
My friends,
Here’s what happened in June…
Arts Calling Podcast: 50 Episodes!
We made it to 50 episodes!
I'm so grateful for the poets and writers on Twitter and beyond who have participated in this labor of love. Arts Calling has featured some outstanding talents that have worked so hard and continue to master their craft regardless of where they come from. It’s a privilege to learn from each and every guest! To celebrate these wonderful podcast guests, I’m working on building out an Arts Calling website in the coming months to include in-depth notes and creative resources from these conversations, and it will also include a ‘bookshelf’ of all the books written by the guests. My dear wife may have to put up with me buying up more domain names in this economy, but I think it will be worthwhile for the writing community or those in need of guidance to jumpstart their creative journey. We shall see, can’t wait for the next 50!
*Also, if you’ve enjoyed the show, please consider subscribing and reviewing the podcast, it really helps us get the word out!
Arts Calling Podcast #43 Kevin Carey | Revere Beach, the writing life, and being a multi-hyphenate
Arts Calling Podcast #45 Peter Clarke | Technology, writing of tomorrow, and Jokes Review
Arts Calling Podcast #46 Monica Cross | Playwriting, dramaturgy, and theatre behind the scenes
Arts Calling Podcast #47 Andrea Deeken | Mother Kingdom, channeling the muse, and treading new paths
Arts Calling Podcast #48 Adrienne Crezo | Discovering poetry, copy editing, and a difficult week
Noteworthy Links!
I used to do this on my blog a few years back, so I figure this may be a good place to once again bring a handful of noteworthy links to you via the newsletter! Here’s a few things that jumpstarted my imagination this month:
Lucius is just sublime in this KEXP live session. This one here is a clip of them performing Next to Normal. Pure disco bliss. They’re so damn good!
Recently made my way back to Noam Kroll’s website and found he started a podcast quite a while back! A lot of indie filmmakers like myself frequented Noam’s blog for camera advice, techniques, and all things digital film. Digging into his podcast now is single-handedly inspiring me to pick up the camera and make something after four years of wrapping up my videography business. The pod has some good stuff on no-budget filmmaking and being resourceful with what you have. A philosophy I truly believe in.
This 2021 interview from Literati Bookstore with Diane Seuss is pretty awesome. It includes readings and wonderful discussion about Diane’s latest work.
Here’s reminder that we will never be as cool as Wendy Carlos explaining how synthesizers work.
Stay tuned for the next Cruznotes, which will feature indie spotlights, and more cool links to jumpstart your creativity!
A Mini-Season of New Work!
My friends,
As you may have seen in previous newsletters, the Coalition for Digital Narratives is the new space I’ve created to produce my own work and offer a space for fellow creatives to unearth the absurdity of the human experience.
As a trial run, I’m currently preparing three one act audio plays to present as a ‘mini-season.’ I am happy to announce these stories should be premiering some time this year.
REConciliation (working title). This is a one-person show I'll be performing and producing on my own. Script needs a good rewrite but I know what I have to do. This hurdle is the biggest one, but I have to compete this piece first to ensure the rest can actually be done.
The Square Parts I & II. Part I is written and ready to go. I had started some production on it but shortly thereafter decided to complete the second script before going further. Cohesion has to take priority and I won't rush this one. It will require about 6-10 actors in fairly equal roles, so I eagerly anticipate directing this one.
A Whisper to the Dark. This script requires some serious rewriting, but it's not a long script. Originally written for another company, the deal seems to have fallen through and so I am rescuing this story and shaping it into a more linear narrative than previous drafts. I'll only need three actors for it, so excited!
Since all of this will be DIY, I’m keeping a very flexible timeline in the event the rest of 2022 delivers some wrenches. Check the website for updates. In the meantime, be sure to stop by the Coalition Twitter account: we got some new and improved AI prompts for you to start writing!
Birthday.
I turned 37 this month. I'm not particularly fond of birthdays, as they tend to bring out a sorrow I can't place. I can't shake it. Birthdays tilt me to my most repressed melodramatic tendencies, I suppose. Knowing myself well, I took the day off, stayed home and tried to be productive. I did an interview for the podcast. I ate some Mexican food that reminded me of a childhood home more imagined than real at this point. I finished a script draft. My eye doctor shared the lovely news that my eyes didn't get worse this past year. I strummed the guitar for the cats and myself. And then I spent the evening with my wife and son, which inevitably is and will always be the best part of my day. So even though the day defaulted to a grim start, I found comfort and light in the things I love, and in Philip Levine’s excellent collection, News of the World, which I just read for the first time this month:
I had to put one foot in front of another, hold both arms out for balance, stare ahead, breathe like a beginner, and hope to arrive.
Cruz & Jonez
My dear friend Dust, one half of the Cruz & Jonez duo, lost his father this past month. The day after Father's Day. Completely heartbroken for him and his family.
It’s not much, but I’d like to dedicate some upcoming work to this great man and his memory. We're thinking of you, Dan.
One of the best parts about doing early morning interviews on Sunday mornings, is getting to sip coffee before the family wakes up as the sun rises. I did six incredible interviews back to back on June 12th. It was worth it.
Nothing worth doing is easy. Every goal or dream you may have read in this newsletter may seem unsustainable, unrealistic, or impractical. But that’s totally okay. If it works, great! If my momentum amounts to nothing, I’ll pick myself up and start making shit again shortly thereafter. Some of my days are wrought with bruising doubt, but I can’t stop.
The older I get and the less time I have on this earth, the gravity of this mission grows stronger. I’m just here to use my artistic calling to serve. The average life is 4000 weeks, if we're lucky. Looking at it this way helps me get through the workdays and distractions and internet noise. I'm just over the halfway point of my life, and I have to do the best I can with what I have.
I hope you’re well and free from pain. I’m over at cruzfolio on Twitter if you want to say hi. Much love,
j