HeyJaredPolyester Bride
A newsletter about what author Zoe Whittall is thinking about lately: books, TV, film, jokes, cat rescues, queer politics, queers in general, trans rights, craft, writing tips, the farm supply store, particularly interesting dogs, anything really.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 12
- Latest publication
- Sep 30, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 13, 2026
Latest issues
I Keep a List of Best Small Town Things (opens the original)
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The school bus runs a red, I’m dream stalledout at the green anyway, blinking at thebright tips of September corn stalks swayinglike a field of millennials raising their armsto M83. These are just small town things:a neighbour who works the campgroundhas a barn full of fancy coolers and canopiesthat rich people just abandon on the beachThe dog dips his face in the cold lake, the sky is clearI’m eyes closed to the equinox sun trying notto check my pocket email, the second bestsmall town thing is
The Thorny Emotional Politics of the Book Dedication (opens the original)
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I am a romantic (durogatory). I couldn’t wait to dedicate my first book, a collection of confessional lyric poetry called The Best Ten Minutes of Your Life, to my best friends. Yes, the title is from a Team Dresch lyric. Yes, I have complex feelings about publishing at the age of 25 and whether or not this should be illegal now. But this is its dedication page, from McGilligan Books, 2001. (RIP)Polyester Bride is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support m
Light Autumnal Sweater Weather (opens the original)
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I’ve been thinking a lot about first pages. I’ve been having a real Time with my latest novel where I think the first page is incredible, but no one who reads it agrees it should exist. I’ve been refining the first section for months, and I see that it is improving, but I worry that the feedback (from my agent, two editors I worked with on my last book, and several granting juries) is making me change the tone and style to be more palatable. That feedback feels like a fox surrounding a chicken c
I hate Cutesy ADHD meme content (opens the original)
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I hate ADHD content and words like “neurospicy”. Mostly because having ADHD is a huge fucking bummer that has brought me a hodge podge of reliable repeat humiliations, and trying at mid life to ask for accomodations is actually pretty hard. There are funny moments though. All the various sub-types of ADHD are basically word-for-word comedic archetypes. I had a laugh this morning when I realized that when I moved here I purchased a cute blue velvet bench for the end of my bed. It opens up so that
A Friday afternoon poem (opens the original)
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