Dear readers! (Swordsmen? Sandwich maestros?) Because this week marks six months of this newsletter being in existence, I thought I’d hit pause for a moment and both reflect on the work so far, and to ask for your feedback. I really value the lively, funny and adroit community in the comments, and wanted to elicit your feedback more explicitly.
Hi I like the “sand witchers” moniker. It is very thoughtful and brave of you to ask for everyone opinion, on my end I have a hard time thinking how you could improve your work besides telling you to keep doing what you are doing. I really like your style, the way you write and the topics you breach, I wouldn’t like to cage your creativity in any way, just keep writing whatever interest you and comes to your head.
I've always enjoyed seeing creativity born from arbitrary constraints, and believe your Sandwich project is that at its best. Is there a List of Notable Swords somewhere? I'd definitely support more sword-adjacent content too.
Always fascinating to read your take on whatever is going on in the world, and I love how your sandwich columns can sometimes be much more sandwich-y or much less depending on how it associates for you. Brilliant stuff. ♥
I love your newsletter. It is one of the only emails I look forward to in my inbox. Among the list of why I read: your exhaustive link citations (in which I always learn something); your peppering of literary allusions; your appreciation of history and your ability to provide context to current affairs; your naked and honest vulnerability of your literal and metaphysical journeys in the world; and your lyrical prose and attention to detail. Moreover, I am thankful for your bravery and sacrifice in covering the onslaught of rising fascism from both a global and hyper local perspective. But above all, I am entirely delighted to read your sandwich columns. They are a vessel to learn about culture and history, and at times it feels like I'm getting access to a personal diary of culinary musings. A breakfast sandwich column that details deliberating depression? That's something I can relate to.
Ok, I admit that some of the topics are more interesting to me than others, but that doesn't mean I want you to focus on specific ones. What is so wonderful and compelling about your work is how much thought and heart and soul you bring to each piece. I'm guessing that that passion lands on particular topics at particular times for you, maybe somewhat out of your conscious control. So I say just write what you're feeling about, whatever the topic, and the quality will stay very high. As a reader, I'd rather follow along with a burning light on its own path, rather than try to shine it in some other direction just because I think that might be more interesting.
Another sandwich post lover here, but I think your insights on the heavier subjects are always really powerful and worth reading. Very appreciative of your work!
One of the reasons that I love your Substack is because of the mix! I subscribed because of your series on corporal punishment, and I have stuck around for the sandwiches, the novella (if that went away before completion, I would officially be upset!), and the explorations of various topics (of particular interest recently was your piece on the Ukrainian language). I honestly couldn’t imagine not having all of your writing. So, perhaps being an entirely satisfied reader makes me a rather unhelpful one! No notes! ;)
The sandwich posts are the highlight for me. I never had bahn mi before you wrote about it, and the local bahn mi restaurant would be grateful to you if they knew. The guest post about bratwurst was my favorite -- the idea of major regional variations within Wisconsin was so unexpected and fascinating! I enjoy the political posts too, they're always important and I always learn something. I skip the novella e-mails -- I just don't read fiction in my e-mail, and I skip the fiction in another Substack too. But I wouldn't tell you to stop them! It's not like it's a lot of work to swipe delete.
Hi I like the “sand witchers” moniker. It is very thoughtful and brave of you to ask for everyone opinion, on my end I have a hard time thinking how you could improve your work besides telling you to keep doing what you are doing. I really like your style, the way you write and the topics you breach, I wouldn’t like to cage your creativity in any way, just keep writing whatever interest you and comes to your head.
I've always enjoyed seeing creativity born from arbitrary constraints, and believe your Sandwich project is that at its best. Is there a List of Notable Swords somewhere? I'd definitely support more sword-adjacent content too.
Always fascinating to read your take on whatever is going on in the world, and I love how your sandwich columns can sometimes be much more sandwich-y or much less depending on how it associates for you. Brilliant stuff. ♥
I love your newsletter. It is one of the only emails I look forward to in my inbox. Among the list of why I read: your exhaustive link citations (in which I always learn something); your peppering of literary allusions; your appreciation of history and your ability to provide context to current affairs; your naked and honest vulnerability of your literal and metaphysical journeys in the world; and your lyrical prose and attention to detail. Moreover, I am thankful for your bravery and sacrifice in covering the onslaught of rising fascism from both a global and hyper local perspective. But above all, I am entirely delighted to read your sandwich columns. They are a vessel to learn about culture and history, and at times it feels like I'm getting access to a personal diary of culinary musings. A breakfast sandwich column that details deliberating depression? That's something I can relate to.
I always read your posts on extremism and regularly follow the links to the materials you reference.
Ok, I admit that some of the topics are more interesting to me than others, but that doesn't mean I want you to focus on specific ones. What is so wonderful and compelling about your work is how much thought and heart and soul you bring to each piece. I'm guessing that that passion lands on particular topics at particular times for you, maybe somewhat out of your conscious control. So I say just write what you're feeling about, whatever the topic, and the quality will stay very high. As a reader, I'd rather follow along with a burning light on its own path, rather than try to shine it in some other direction just because I think that might be more interesting.
Another sandwich post lover here, but I think your insights on the heavier subjects are always really powerful and worth reading. Very appreciative of your work!
One of the reasons that I love your Substack is because of the mix! I subscribed because of your series on corporal punishment, and I have stuck around for the sandwiches, the novella (if that went away before completion, I would officially be upset!), and the explorations of various topics (of particular interest recently was your piece on the Ukrainian language). I honestly couldn’t imagine not having all of your writing. So, perhaps being an entirely satisfied reader makes me a rather unhelpful one! No notes! ;)
The sandwich posts are the highlight for me. I never had bahn mi before you wrote about it, and the local bahn mi restaurant would be grateful to you if they knew. The guest post about bratwurst was my favorite -- the idea of major regional variations within Wisconsin was so unexpected and fascinating! I enjoy the political posts too, they're always important and I always learn something. I skip the novella e-mails -- I just don't read fiction in my e-mail, and I skip the fiction in another Substack too. But I wouldn't tell you to stop them! It's not like it's a lot of work to swipe delete.
Of the regular features, I've particularly enjoyed the sandwich posts.