A case for “unreadable” books like mine: “In 2010, psychologists at Princeton University published “Fortune Favors the Bold (and the Italicized),” a study demonstrating that people have better recall of what they’ve read when it is printed in smaller, less legible type. Texts presented in unusual typefaces (…) created “disfluency” in readers, triggering deeper processing and significantly improved retention. When people are forced to stare at something to decipher what it says, it sticks with them.”

Last night, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philly hosted a wake for my thirteen year-old pen name, Lord Breaulove Swells Whimsy. My friends Ben Warfield, David Kessler, Laura Baird, and Jesse Sparhawk contributed music and animated projections of fantastical terrariums. Over 600 people attended, many of them dressed as various creatures. After giving three readings throughout the evening, I reclined on the funereal plinth by the front door, gave a short reading of a selection from my old book, and then received the commiserations of mourners as they left. Happy to say that the morticians did a nice job on me. (Photo: Addie Métivier)

The German edition of my first book arrived today. It’s quite handsome: Metrolit Verlag did a beautiful job with the crisp design. My thanks to Barbel and everyone at Metrolit!