Sachin, I didn’t realize how much time you spent in Houston. I feel an enormous sense of … kinship (?) or kindred-ness with your writing. Maybe it’s Houston that does it to people. Maybe it’s being in a city teeming with life and liveliness that is so hospitable and inhospitable at the same time that makes people think about who they are and where they fit in. Many people I meet in and from Houston have a strong sense of self that is nonetheless tempered by an immense longing for something sturdier or more finite, like despite knowing who they are they feel like there is context missing. Anyhow I loved this. A shame to hear about Rothko Chapel, I didn’t know. (PS-if I haven’t said this before, you might enjoy joining the writing community called The Soaring Twenties Social Club.)
I like that read on Houston and people from Houston - I think its a sentiment that will probably feel relatable to people who are from what gets labelled as "second tier cities". Unlike big cities like NYC, LA or currently trending cities like Austin, people in second tier cities have weird and unorthodox inputs that inspire them I think. For example if the Rothko chapel was in NYC it would have been written to death by now. My girlfriend is from San Antonio and that is a place that has its own interesting inputs, another favorite example of mine is Pittsburgh - Michael Chabon's break out novel is Mysteries of Pittsburgh, and Werner Herzog spent some time there and wrote this funny chapter in his memoir - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/08/28/the-mysteries-of-pittsburgh
Loved this piece, the memories you are writing about and the way you approach them in your writing feel eerily familiar.
Thank you Laoura, I'm glad you enjoyed and was able to relate - kind of the platonic ideal of what I aim for with these pieces
Sachin, I didn’t realize how much time you spent in Houston. I feel an enormous sense of … kinship (?) or kindred-ness with your writing. Maybe it’s Houston that does it to people. Maybe it’s being in a city teeming with life and liveliness that is so hospitable and inhospitable at the same time that makes people think about who they are and where they fit in. Many people I meet in and from Houston have a strong sense of self that is nonetheless tempered by an immense longing for something sturdier or more finite, like despite knowing who they are they feel like there is context missing. Anyhow I loved this. A shame to hear about Rothko Chapel, I didn’t know. (PS-if I haven’t said this before, you might enjoy joining the writing community called The Soaring Twenties Social Club.)
I like that read on Houston and people from Houston - I think its a sentiment that will probably feel relatable to people who are from what gets labelled as "second tier cities". Unlike big cities like NYC, LA or currently trending cities like Austin, people in second tier cities have weird and unorthodox inputs that inspire them I think. For example if the Rothko chapel was in NYC it would have been written to death by now. My girlfriend is from San Antonio and that is a place that has its own interesting inputs, another favorite example of mine is Pittsburgh - Michael Chabon's break out novel is Mysteries of Pittsburgh, and Werner Herzog spent some time there and wrote this funny chapter in his memoir - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/08/28/the-mysteries-of-pittsburgh
Also, thanks for the writing community rec, going to check it out