Gathering is
a process of seeing, observing, collecting, and parsing through. In a culture overwhelmed with content– gathering asks us to move slowly and deliberately, wandering through digital and physical spaces with our woven baskets, plucking inspiration and hope from the wilds.
Gathering is
a concept I picked up years ago and slowly made my own. As a writer, I was feeling so much pressure to create: To constantly think of new ideas and projects while barely finishing old ones. Over time, I lost the thread of why I’d started creating at all.
Gathering invites us to observe and process before sending ourselves, our words, our art, and our activism, out into the world. To parse through the endless scroll of images and words, collecting, listening, and absorbing, rather than drowning in overwhelm and energy.
Gathering works in tandem with creativity and creation, with activism and action.
Gathering deliberately strays from the path of compulsory productivity, workaholism, and overdoing.
Gathering is a multifaceted newsletter,
dipping its toes into writing, neurodivergence, film, ecology, history, art, activism, television, education, chronic illness, gender diversity, race, and politics. Nothing is off limits here.
Gathering is
a community of people interested in listening, sharing, connecting, and accepting one another across cultures and identities. This is an interactive space where members can show up as much or as little as they’d like, as themselves.
Gathering is created by River Selby.
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and have lived on all coasts, in Alaska, and in Colorado. I was raised by a single mother, left home for the first time at twelve years-old, and barely graduated high-school (the first in my family to do so). After a couple years working minimum wage jobs, a foray into stripping and sex work, and struggles with serious drug addiction, I found my footing working as a wildland firefighter– a job I held for a total of seven years.
I left firefighting when I was thirty, after my mother died by suicide. This was a profoundly difficult season of my life. Ultimately it led me to Syracuse University, where I fulfilled a lifelong dream of pursuing my Bachelor of Arts (In English and Textual Studies, with a film concentration and Hindi minor). Then I received my MFA in creative writing (after three years of graduate school, of course). Currently I am a PhD candidate in English literature and creative writing. My first book, a memoir called HOTSHOT, debuts on August 12th. You can pre-order it here.
Why should I pay for Gathering?
Writers and artists are undervalued in our culture. When you pay for a subscription to Gathering, you’re supporting an emerging writer. More than that, you’re paying for the extensive work and time I devote to this newsletter. Crafting these newsletters, from essays to deep dives to Q & A’s to recommendations, takes more than time. They are a product of decades of hard-won knowledge and education. Your paid subscriptions also supports members who can’t afford one.
In return, you have access to five years of archives, a vibrant community, essays, education, support, and resources.
While this newsletter is not published on a strict schedule, you can count on monthly essays, recommendation lists, and discussion threads, plus many opportunities to make your voice heard.
If there’s something you think I should be paying attention to, a story you’d like me to cover or write about, or a resource you’d like me to share with readers, please feel free to message me on Substack. I will always give credit!
If you can’t afford a membership but would like to participate, please message me with your email and I will comp you a subscription, no questions asked.
