Why not.

When asked "why not have a Substack?" Here's the sequel to Shrine Magazine (with some flashback episodes), an attempt to revive it... gently, gently.

Shrine Magazine

It all happened during the plague, when I was feeling antsy, desperate, mad, and I was locked up with Jeremy Corren for a few months. During those days, I still indulged in the reprehensible and impulsive guilty pleasure of angry-ranting and crusading on Facebook for no good reason – and is there ever a good reason? One evening, after watching Céline Sciamma’s dreadful film “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and feeling like punching a wall, I had pulled out my laptop and was halfway through creating a social media display of discontent when I was rapidly stopped by… an epiphany. Suddenly, instead of these shameful and sporadic flatulent releases, I visualized an entire online publication devoted to unpopular opinions: that’s how Shrine Magazine was born – with Jeremy’s help, encouragement, and eye rolls. It was short lived and thankfully not as reactionary as I had fancied in my moment of wrath, but thrilling while it lasted, with articles, interviews, and reviews centered around arts and culture provided by Yours Truly, Jeremy, and three other main contributors: Ray Dademo, Mark Buchan (editor of In Medias Res), and Graham Jacobson (whose substack you can subscribe to here.)

Then as the plague ended and we returned to our main occupations, Shrine ended too. And I was amazed that you kept asking about it, hoping there would be more of it, telling me how much you had enjoyed it. Thank you, with all my heart. There have been attempts to revive it since its demise, but the time and energy that go into the release of a full edition are beyond what I have in stock at the moment. It feels like I’ve been on my last legs for years. But then Jeremy – ah, it’s always Jeremy! – had an idea: I could turn it into a substack, republish the old pieces, and write new ones at my own pace, without the pressure of a deadline. I thought, why not.

So, here goes. And please subscribe :)

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