REASONS FOR LIVING with Esmé Weijun Wang

REASONS FOR LIVING with Esmé Weijun Wang

It's Hard to Die When You're Looking at Manets

and stories of other literary men

Esmé Weijun Wang's avatar
Esmé Weijun Wang
May 27, 2024
∙ Paid
a typed John Milton poem with an image of a drying tulip printed upon it and scrawled red handwriting
art: Jane Buyer

NOTE: I know that Monday posts are ordinarily public, and that Thursday posts are ordinarily paywalled. Due to the nature of this post, this week will be the other way around.

I had an encounter with a well-known poet at a writers’ conference. I had an unhealthy crush on the man that I was following around at the time and when we both crept into the hotel room where a literary magazine party was taking place, the renowned, award-winning poet developed a crush on him, too.

“How do you know him?” the poet asked me, and I made up something improbable.

User's avatar

Continue reading this post for free, courtesy of Esmé Weijun Wang.

Or purchase a paid subscription.
© 2026 Esmé Weijun Wang · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture