Included Below: Pay Attention / The Dream Room Series / Murakami / A Quiet Place / Artery. Click HERE for further information about this newsletter. To those from before and those who are new-
I. WELCOME!
“Life is strange, when you think about it.” — Haruki Murakami.
A few weeks ago, I was out for brunch with a couple of friends. We were in a pretty swanky neighbourhood eating at a pub. After we had finished and were waiting for the bill, I went downstairs to use the washroom. It was a small washroom, one of each: sink, urinal, and stall. So small that I opted for the stall to do a number one.
I heard someone come into the washroom, but the noise the person made was unusual. No zippers or turning on of the sink. I’ve found that people have really moved their private life into the public, and so I braced myself for just about anything.
I exited the stall and at that moment, an older gentleman facing me pulled his pants down. This gave me pause. And he stopped. And now we were just staring into each other’s eyes, one of us with his pants down. He said, “Oh, I don’t mind!” I wasn’t really sure what he meant by this - he didn’t mind me being in the washroom? Didn’t mind me seeing him with his pants off? A part of me wanted him to elaborate, and yet the other part of me wished he would just pull his pants up. Look, I don’t know what he was doing. He was changing his clothes for some reason. Maybe he was changing into his brunch clothes?
Like I said, the washroom was small, so we did a little dance, or in his case, a shuffle, so I could get to the sink. Along the edge of the sink was his phone and keys. He had really moved in and made himself feel at home. Again, I paused. Again, he said, “Oh, I don’t mind!” Apparently, this was his catchphrase. I washed my hands, went upstairs, got my friends, and got the hell outta there.
Pre-pandemic, this kind of thing happened to me all the time. Not specifically men pulling their pants down in public washrooms. Just people doing weird things around me. Maybe that’s good? Maybe this means things are getting back to normal? I even have a Notes document on my phone called: Weird Things People Are Doing Around Me. At some point, I will be sharing some of these, but the list is long and it keeps growing. I don’t think this is random or coincidence that weird situations and people are attracted to me. In a way, I’d say it’s a skill I’ve cultivated over a long period of time. And I must say, as a writer, it has served me well.
There’s the fact that I am deeply curious about other people, their behaviours, and why they do the things they do. So, if I am around others, I have developed a type of spidey-sense. Something could be happening across the room and I’ll zero in on it and think: Okay, guy in green sweater, north-east side of room - PAY ATTENTION TO HIM. But also, this notion of ‘paying attention’ has served me well. Not just as a writer, but as a person. If something important is happening I will go into ‘pay attention’ mode and start mentally recording or writing down details or things that people say. It helps me more deeply experience those important things.
This ‘paying attention’ skill is something that is best practiced out in the world around other people. It might’ve gotten a little dull during the pandemic. So, I’m happy when I run into people like the No Pants Brunch Guy - he helps me sharpen this important skill and get back into shape.
Q - Any weird experiences out in public spaces?
II. TALES FROM THE DREAM ROOM
Each month welcomes an exclusive story from a parallel world.
The Dream Room is a place that where everything is interconnected. The sights and sounds and people that inhabit this world feel familiar. The tales pulled from the Dream Room are sometimes true and sometimes fiction, they may scare you or make you laugh. The Dream Room is a place not to be taken lightly and if you’re ready to enter, read the excerpt below and click on the link for the full story.
No new story this month! But, I’d like to use this space to announce something that is much more exciting. In the background of everything else that I do, I’ve been working on a book that hope will be part of a series. I’ve mentioned this before - my goal is to keep building up the world and stories in The Dream Room, and eventually expand it.
Originally, I thought the first book would be a bunch of stories that interconnected in subtle ways. However, as I have been known to do, I got stuck on this one story and set of characters. So, I started to think that the entire first volume of the series could be this one story.
I’ve got so many notes and so many ideas for this story that I really need to start just putting it together. I figured that, hey, I’ve got this space and so why don’t I move chapter by chapter through the book? I’m not going to include entire chapters here, just shortened versions. So, every month, instead of a (seemingly) random new story, I’m going to include a (abridged) chapter of untitled - The Dream Room, Volume One.
Listen, I don’t even know what this is yet. I get so many ideas and a lot of them just come and go. Some stick in my brain, I keep returning to them again and again, and they expand over time. Those are the good ones. Others disappear quicker then a fart in the wind. I think this story is one of the good ones. We’ll see - stay tuned!
Q - Do you have any questions for me about this new series?
III. PAUL’S PICKS
A recommendation of something watched, read, or listened to.
Over 20 years ago, my partner at the time gave me a book called Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. The relationship didn’t last, but I did fall in love with a new author. From that point on, I’ve pretty much read every one of Murakami’s many books. A new Murakami book is a big deal. My personal favourites are 1Q84 and Killing Commendatore.
I picked up Murakami’s latest, Novelist as a Vocation, which is a series of old and new essays about his writing process. The famously private Murakami reveals some of his secrets to being such a prolific writer, his habits, his methods, and some opinions on the publishing world. Certainly, this book isn’t for everyone, but I don’t think you need to want to be a writer to enjoy it. He’s really quite a singular person who has developed his own methods over the last 30 years. To me, it was very interesting to hear how someone decides to do something and develops an independent way of thinking and approach to working.
I’ve attended writing schools and most of them have been okay. I’m going to do some generalizing here. The problem is that the teacher, almost always a writer, tries to get the students to write like they do, in both process and style. To me, the teacher should be encouraging students to pursue and develop their own style. But, what do I know? What’s great about Murakami’s book is that he keeps saying: “Hey, this is what I do and it’s right for me. If it helps you, great! If not, listen to what I’ve said and figure out your own path.”
Anyway, this post isn’t about this one particular Murakami book, but about his work in general. Norwegian Wood is a good place to start, but really, you could pick up any of his books and find something in there.
I’m not the type of guy who enjoys fighting and arguing, so I wasn’t up for battling the system, or duking it out with any of the unwritten laws. I am, however, an independent person who likes to think things out for himself. Having taken the trouble to become a writer, and realizing that we all get only one chance in this life, I was determined from the start to forge ahead and do what I wanted in the way I wanted. The system could go its way and I would go mine. As a writer I wanted to remain spiritually free, beholden to no one. To write novels the way I wanted, according to the schedule I myself had laid out. This was my bottom line, my assertion of authorial independence. — Haruki Murakami, Novelist as a Vocation.
The trailer below has nothing really to do with what I’m talking about, but reading this latest Murakami book inspired me to finally get around to watching this movie inspired by one of his stories. Drive My Car, directed by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. It’s quite a quietly moving film about grief and acceptance A slow-moving three hours, but damn does the emotional weight of it creep up on you. And without giving anything away, there’s an extended sequence near the end which really just knocked me over. Intense stuff.
Q - Who is your favourite author?
IV. FROM THE ARCHIVES
An old story from my blog brought to you in a new way.
A QUIET PLACE (JANUARY 2019): I still feel the joy of roaming through a bookstore and just picking something that speaks to me. I decided I needed to work on this inability to stop my mind racing around and the most appropriate way I felt to do that was getting back to reading more. Luckily, a new 700 page Murakami book was out and that was where I started.
Murakami has a way to ground a story in a lonely reality, while slowly introducing one absurd thing after another until you just accept it as a possible reality.
Since I’m up early, I started devoting an hour to reading before checking any electronic devices. Besides Murakami, I’ve got a stack of unread Atlantic magazines since I thought getting a subscription last year was a good idea. They were dusty. So, I started in on the novel and the magazines. At first, it was difficult and I still had to re-read passages. Soon, I got swept up in the story and started replacing my Tom Cruise fix with it. After a couple of weeks, my mind wasn’t racing anymore and I wasn’t having to re-read any passages.
Read the whole story at this link.
Q - What does a quiet place look like for you?
V. WATCH, LISTEN, READ, OR DO
Something to take with you.
This is a bit of a cross-over post with Stories We Don’t Tell. I figured I’d take the opportunity to share a big development with the event.
When we’ve organized events in the past, we’ve usually just used Facebook. We didn’t really need to do ticketing and don’t charge an entry fee. However, the pandemic changed things a bit, not with the ‘free ticket’ part, but more just knowing the number of people to be expected. As you’re aware, we often have events at people’s houses or apartments, and now more than ever it is important for us to have a bit of control over numbers.
Facebook is not great, and we’ve used Eventbrite before, but it feels a bit cold. After looking around, we decided to give it a go with Artery. You can check out their website, but here’s a bit about them from the founders:
We started Artery because we believe that culture is more than content — it’s a connection between people. The idea of Artery is a website that actually connected people to the real culture of a place. Just like salons in Paris or rent parties in Harlem, there’s nothing like the intimacy of seeing a performance in people’s homes. Artery is already a remarkably diverse community. It cuts across occupation, ethnicity, income levels - just like culture is supposed to. One reason people go to an Artery is to experience something outside their cultural bubble, to meet new people at a human scale. Watching a group of strangers connect in a shared space around an intimate experience is amazing. The most common feedback we get from attendees is “you had to be there” and we’re proud to build a platform for this kind of community. — Salimah Y. Ebrahim and Vladic Ravich (founders).
I mean, if you’ve been to a Stories We Don’t Tell, this all makes sense why we’ve decided to use Artery. We love our event, but the pandemic inspired us to try and communicate and build our online community more. This will be a way for all of us - we the organizers and you the audience - to talk and have an ongoing conversation.
The only thing is that you have to create an account with Artery. We know, yet another thing to join. But honestly, besides us, there’s a ton of really cool events that you can find. Here’s all you have to do:
Go to Artery.is.
Click ‘Join Artery’ or use this link.
Find Stories We Don’t Tell by searching for us or at this LINK.
Say hello! You can also come and say hello to me as I am signed up!
Full disclosure: we are not affiliated with Artery in any way except as a host. If you have any questions about this, please email me.
Q - Any events you’ve attended lately?
You’ve probably noticed that I’ve included a question at the end of each section. No, this isn’t required homework. However, if you are compelled to write to me with your thoughts, I would love to hear from you. Who knows, I might even share some of the answers in future newsletters (anonymously, of course). Email me here: jpd@pauldore.com.
November 2022 Edition: Fitting In / The Red Train / Our Missing Hearts / Backwards Through Time / Books!