Jay Jennings
@jayjenni.bsky.social
Writer: CARRY THE ROCK / Editor: CHARLES PORTIS: COLLECTED WORKS / jayjennings.net
Salad made by a robot. Yum.
“Sweetgreen has been focusing on automation after it bought Spyce, a Boston restaurant company that developed robotic kitchen and conveyor belt technology, in 2021.”
“Sweetgreen has been focusing on automation after it bought Spyce, a Boston restaurant company that developed robotic kitchen and conveyor belt technology, in 2021.”
November 23, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Salad made by a robot. Yum.
“Sweetgreen has been focusing on automation after it bought Spyce, a Boston restaurant company that developed robotic kitchen and conveyor belt technology, in 2021.”
“Sweetgreen has been focusing on automation after it bought Spyce, a Boston restaurant company that developed robotic kitchen and conveyor belt technology, in 2021.”
By Foote and the editor. I’ve also always been a Foote fan.
November 13, 2025 at 1:54 AM
By Foote and the editor. I’ve also always been a Foote fan.
Highly recommend this McMurtry interview with Rhett Miller. overcast.fm/+ABC6iCuCzPo
James McMurtry — Wheels Off with Rhett Miller
James McMurtry, hailed as one of our greatest living songwriters, joins Rhett for a candid conversation about the craft of songwriting, life on the road, and the realities of sustaining a career in music. Known for his sharp storytelling and uncompromising perspective, McMurtry opens up about his process, from finding inspiration in small details to shaping lyrics around the musicality of the human voice. They discuss the making of his latest record, Black Dog and the Wandering Boy (New West Records), working with producer Don Dixon, and how the touring life remains both a necessity and a joy. McMurtry reflects on influences like Kris Kristofferson, lessons from decades in the business, and why persistence and endurance matter more than inspiration. Follow James: jamesmcmurtry.com Follow Rhett @rhettmiller Wheels Off is hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Executive producer Kirsten Cluthe. Music by Old 97’s. Episode artwork by Mark Dowd. Show logo by Tim Skirven. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts,…
overcast.fm
November 11, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Highly recommend this McMurtry interview with Rhett Miller. overcast.fm/+ABC6iCuCzPo
Those Portables were valuable to me as a young student to grasp a sense of an entire oeuvre relatively quickly. The Portables Nabokov and Faulkner, especially.
November 11, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Those Portables were valuable to me as a young student to grasp a sense of an entire oeuvre relatively quickly. The Portables Nabokov and Faulkner, especially.
Will check this out! I spent a junior year abroad in Leeds when Gang of Four and Mekons were there. Didn’t know them but I’m sure we were all at the Elvis Costello show at Leeds Refectory.
November 3, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Will check this out! I spent a junior year abroad in Leeds when Gang of Four and Mekons were there. Didn’t know them but I’m sure we were all at the Elvis Costello show at Leeds Refectory.
One of my most Portis moments was having him give my motorcycle a jump with his good jumper cables.
October 27, 2025 at 11:48 AM
One of my most Portis moments was having him give my motorcycle a jump with his good jumper cables.
Reposted by Jay Jennings
Chaser; a great Charles Portis piece on life on the open road:
oxfordamerican.org/magazine/iss...
oxfordamerican.org/magazine/iss...
Motel Life, Lower Reaches
MOTEL #1 Back when Roger Miller was King of the Road, in the 1960s, he sang of rooms to let …
oxfordamerican.org
October 23, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Chaser; a great Charles Portis piece on life on the open road:
oxfordamerican.org/magazine/iss...
oxfordamerican.org/magazine/iss...
I’m afraid the former is as lost a cause as “pardon the pun” is about things that are not puns.
October 20, 2025 at 1:15 PM
I’m afraid the former is as lost a cause as “pardon the pun” is about things that are not puns.
I studied the poem at U of C with Dr. Gwin Kolb in his class “Dr. Johnson and His Circle.”
October 20, 2025 at 12:55 PM
I studied the poem at U of C with Dr. Gwin Kolb in his class “Dr. Johnson and His Circle.”
My cat, Jeoffrey, of blessed meowmory.
October 20, 2025 at 12:32 PM
My cat, Jeoffrey, of blessed meowmory.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned The Pale King in this thread. It’s similar to what I worked through in a recent decision to help publish an excerpt of an unfinished Charles Portis novel. Approved by the estate (and the family), but would likely not have been by the author.
October 20, 2025 at 10:50 AM
I’m surprised no one has mentioned The Pale King in this thread. It’s similar to what I worked through in a recent decision to help publish an excerpt of an unfinished Charles Portis novel. Approved by the estate (and the family), but would likely not have been by the author.
I appreciate that. Reading one Portis make you want to be a completist.
October 18, 2025 at 10:59 AM
I appreciate that. Reading one Portis make you want to be a completist.
This was a terrific essay. And a great discussion with the Defector staff. As I’m the editor of Portis’s Library of America volume and a former features editor at Tennis magazine, the Venn diagram of our interests has a large overlap. Buying your book today.
October 17, 2025 at 8:18 PM
This was a terrific essay. And a great discussion with the Defector staff. As I’m the editor of Portis’s Library of America volume and a former features editor at Tennis magazine, the Venn diagram of our interests has a large overlap. Buying your book today.
He is an intense reader.
October 8, 2025 at 12:02 AM
He is an intense reader.
I love those Irish Barrys and their American westerns. Sebastian’s were cracking as well. I also recommend listening to Kevin read and discuss Brian Friel and V.S. Pritchett, as well as his own stories, on the New Yorker fiction podcasts.
October 7, 2025 at 9:58 AM
I love those Irish Barrys and their American westerns. Sebastian’s were cracking as well. I also recommend listening to Kevin read and discuss Brian Friel and V.S. Pritchett, as well as his own stories, on the New Yorker fiction podcasts.
One of my favorite poets. I had a nice conversation with him after DFW died. Dave told me that Dunn had “kicked his ass” in a tennis match at Yaddo. Dunn confirmed that he won but said it was close.
October 4, 2025 at 11:17 AM
One of my favorite poets. I had a nice conversation with him after DFW died. Dave told me that Dunn had “kicked his ass” in a tennis match at Yaddo. Dunn confirmed that he won but said it was close.