Julie Metz
@juliemetz.bsky.social
Writer, designer, gardener, and most of all, mother to O.
📚 EVA AND EVE + NYTimes bestseller PERFECTION
📚 EVA AND EVE + NYTimes bestseller PERFECTION
We are seeing a rise in use of AI in all spheres of art and writing. Authors…be warned. It’s harder to generate something truly individual but best to put in the work... professionals can tell the difference.
Authors dumped from New Zealand’s top book prize after AI used in cover designs
Ockham Book Awards dropped two titles from contention after new guidelines introduced on artificial intelligence use
www.theguardian.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:03 PM
We are seeing a rise in use of AI in all spheres of art and writing. Authors…be warned. It’s harder to generate something truly individual but best to put in the work... professionals can tell the difference.
My latest dispatch from lovely Sicily.
You Had Me at Island
Happiness is being surrounded by water…and cats…and history
considerthespider.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:13 PM
My latest dispatch from lovely Sicily.
Summer was busy for everyone, myself included. Take a break and catch up on Consider the Spider!
Consider the Spider with Julie Metz | Substack
For a lesson in taking your time to do a task with care, consider the spider. Click to read Consider the Spider with Julie Metz, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.
considerthespider.substack.com
October 3, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Summer was busy for everyone, myself included. Take a break and catch up on Consider the Spider!
My beloved “wild garden.” My front garden is now a place that shifts in color with the seasons, enjoyed by birds, small creatures, and neighbors on dog-walking adventures.
A Few Thoughts on Lawns
and why you can get rid of yours
considerthespider.substack.com
September 19, 2025 at 6:12 PM
My beloved “wild garden.” My front garden is now a place that shifts in color with the seasons, enjoyed by birds, small creatures, and neighbors on dog-walking adventures.
And then, beyond congested city streets, we were free, on a glorious sunny afternoon...
Motorcycle
Who had the better ride?
considerthespider.substack.com
July 30, 2025 at 5:06 PM
And then, beyond congested city streets, we were free, on a glorious sunny afternoon...
This week on Consider the Spider: how I satisfy the two halves of my brain while freelancing, plus a podcast rec and my thoughts on Lena Dunham's "Too Much."
Sounds, Words, and Pictures
Satisfying the two halves of my brain.
considerthespider.substack.com
July 25, 2025 at 8:39 PM
This week on Consider the Spider: how I satisfy the two halves of my brain while freelancing, plus a podcast rec and my thoughts on Lena Dunham's "Too Much."
Until I met other jazz lovers, I would think of her every time I played a record and say a private thank you.
I Thought About You
Truth, Beauty, Jazz, and a Sip of Sherry
open.substack.com
July 23, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Until I met other jazz lovers, I would think of her every time I played a record and say a private thank you.
July 16, 2025 at 7:24 PM
June was a light month for Consider the Spider but more essays will be coming soon! In the meantime, catch up on Substack.
Do We Really Need More Babies? Part Two
Further thoughts on reproduction
considerthespider.substack.com
July 1, 2025 at 4:37 PM
June was a light month for Consider the Spider but more essays will be coming soon! In the meantime, catch up on Substack.
Writing memoir is time travel.
The Memoir Time Machine
As a writer of personal nonfiction, I worry that with every memoir or essay, I risk fragmenting and simplifying my life into words living on pages.
considerthespider.substack.com
June 25, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Writing memoir is time travel.
My review of Prayer for the French Republic:
A Night at the Theater
“Is this the only story we have?”
considerthespider.substack.com
June 18, 2025 at 8:37 PM
My review of Prayer for the French Republic:
Since no help is coming for this generation, who can blame young people for choosing their freedom for a bit longer, or maybe forever?
Do We Really Need More Babies? Part Two
Further thoughts on reproduction
considerthespider.substack.com
June 13, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Since no help is coming for this generation, who can blame young people for choosing their freedom for a bit longer, or maybe forever?
We are in a bar on Likoma Island, a small blotch of land in Lake Malawi, close to the border with Mozambique. It is May 1989 and we are on our honeymoon.
Emergency
Two newlyweds, far from home
considerthespider.substack.com
June 11, 2025 at 8:49 PM
We are in a bar on Likoma Island, a small blotch of land in Lake Malawi, close to the border with Mozambique. It is May 1989 and we are on our honeymoon.
#ICYMI: May on Consider the Spider 🕸️
Cassandra vs. Sean
In defense of too-young women
considerthespider.substack.com
June 4, 2025 at 9:04 PM
#ICYMI: May on Consider the Spider 🕸️
Today on Consider the Spider: falling birthrates, Ross Douthat, Catholic converts, and more.
Do We Really Need More Babies?
A few thoughts on pro-natalism
considerthespider.substack.com
May 30, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Today on Consider the Spider: falling birthrates, Ross Douthat, Catholic converts, and more.
So, off we went to summer camp.
Survival Skills
What I Learned in Episcopal Summer Camp
considerthespider.substack.com
May 28, 2025 at 8:42 PM
So, off we went to summer camp.
My dad talks a lot about not being here forever.
So Much Paper
Excavation and the art of letting go
considerthespider.substack.com
May 23, 2025 at 9:21 PM
My dad talks a lot about not being here forever.
On those days, when I get too lost in my head, I take comfort that a person with almost my name is living his life, working through his own challenges. I remember that I am just one human in the multitudes I’ll never meet.
My Doppelgänger
The gift of random encounters
considerthespider.substack.com
May 21, 2025 at 9:07 PM
On those days, when I get too lost in my head, I take comfort that a person with almost my name is living his life, working through his own challenges. I remember that I am just one human in the multitudes I’ll never meet.
My thoughts on US v. Combs, and the abuse Cassie Ventura has suffered at the hands of Diddy.
Cassandra vs. Sean
In defense of too-young women
considerthespider.substack.com
May 16, 2025 at 7:55 PM
My thoughts on US v. Combs, and the abuse Cassie Ventura has suffered at the hands of Diddy.
Considering the impact this badass disease has on our productivity and personal joy, we should all be banging on doors lobbying for capsule distention.
Why Frozen Shoulder is a Feminist Issue
I promise you—there’s a connection.
considerthespider.substack.com
May 14, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Considering the impact this badass disease has on our productivity and personal joy, we should all be banging on doors lobbying for capsule distention.
Language matters, a lot.
Invasive Species
How we speak about Otherness
considerthespider.substack.com
May 7, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Language matters, a lot.
Teaching offers an introvert like me a chance to share what I’ve learned and to learn from my students who share their lives so honestly during our sessions.
Learning while teaching
A trip to Florida
considerthespider.substack.com
April 25, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Teaching offers an introvert like me a chance to share what I’ve learned and to learn from my students who share their lives so honestly during our sessions.
As I emerged out of the dream, I began laughing aloud, at the creative power of my wishful thinking.
Dreaming in Another Language
The best French I ever spoke was on an island in Greece.
considerthespider.substack.com
April 23, 2025 at 7:02 PM
As I emerged out of the dream, I began laughing aloud, at the creative power of my wishful thinking.
Notes from book club.
War in Val d’Orcia
Iris Origo’s vivid and timely wartime diaries
considerthespider.substack.com
April 18, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Notes from book club.