On Tuesday, June 9th we gathered 20 Hot Literati at LES Wine on the Lower East Side to discuss Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita, and life. Steven's Russian Space Dog Necklace Each group put together their own take on Lolita as a love story, a horror story, and/or a comedy. Here's what they said: Our collective intellectual work "The themes of Lolita seem overtly romantic, and those overtones paired with H.H’s position as the narrator and Nabokov's witty, immensely detailed writing st

It's May. One of those balmy days, quite warm with raindrops speckled throughout the day. I'm walking down Orchard St, coming up from Grand and I see him, sitting outside. Erwin, with his strong, kind face, looking down at his phone. So I sneak up really quiet and drop into the chair in front of him. "Hello!" I say. He laughs. I laugh... "You know, I always remember you," he says, taking off his phone case to reveal a Hot Literati sticker. We grow up in a lot of places. If we

Tonight I went to the box for the first time. The first time I heard about the box was from a classmate in my eating club back in 2022 after they attended a party there with a former mayor, lots of models, and other A-list sorts. That world felt so glamorous and aloof to me and a year later that same friend would bring me into their world here in New York and I would begin writing about clubbing online and begin accquiring an audience and something like momentum. An open bar

Little Deaths/Delights 94 Writing Week I'm crazy about writing, and I don't just mean the art form. I write by hand every single day. I have a very specific journaling structure that I do that includes the date, my "chief definite aim," my monthly goals, where I'm at in my cycle, my daily to do list, and a daily scripture. When I don't write this daily, I notice things get a bit more chaotic. Writing touches more parts of your brain than typing and forces you to really slow d

hello beautiful angels, princes, and people of the Hot Literati Digital and irl universe I guess the thing that i'm trying to get at at this point in my life is that life is a marathon, or like trying to walk on water and that you can't look down, or else you fall and settle for a path that isn't yours. When I used to lie next to my ex on the precipice of our breakup during my stretch as a twenty-one year old tradwife, i used to hear this voice in my head that said "i won't b

hello beautiful angels of the Hot Literati Universe. I hope that you are happy and also having a nice time. I'm drinking my first cup of coffee. It is 9:30. I went to the gym and ran three miles. A familiar face came up to me at the gym and told me that I'd gained weight so he didn't recognize me. He was one of the old(er) people I know just from walking around and being chatty. A year ago, hearing that would have devastated me, but I feel really happy with where I'm at and m

hello cuties, angels, and lovers. If you know me, then you know that I strongly believe that life is about walking around and saying hello to a lot of people. That being said, I am going to resume telling you about some of the places I went and the people I saw! Starting with Jean's. Jean's is an iteration of the "club-straunt." Classier than Tao, it's a restaurant on top with a club in the basement. I'd been hearing about Jean's for years, ever since Grub Street did a fun Ti

hello cuties angels and lovers I spent most of today flyering for Hot Literati. It's more fun and potentially more effective than paying meta to show Hot Literati to people who it thinks might like it. I printed out a bunch of these flyers at UPS before walking to the lovely people of Laams to borrow some scissors. I went to Wolfnights, to order my hyperfixation wrap before going to my favorite social club for a glass of water. I sat down and started chatting with one of my f

84. Little Deaths/Delights Hello beautiful people of the Hot Literati Digital Universe. I have taken up a mind to observe the Sabbath. My perceptions of the Sabbath are related to reading Little House on the Prairie as a child and identifying with the children's restlessness in the book. Now as an adult, I sort of like the idea of a day where you aren't allowed to work, or even think about work. So yesterday, I went to church, sitting in my little pew surrounded by couples an

In December, I had the honor of hanging at the office of a record label called Verve Records for a couple of hours. What I did to earn the honor? I have no idea, but hanging out is a skill that I didn’t develop until I stopped being addicted to my phone. And I like to think that I was invited because now, I'm very good at hanging out. That morning, I left my apartment on the Lower East Side of Manattan, walking down the stairs in black cowgirl boots I bought in London and a s

Happy Friday Beautiful people! I am extremely caffeinated and sitting in a beam of sunshine in a new apartment. Moving is a humble exercise, especially in a pre-war buidling. My hamstrings are sore. Last night, I attended a Substack event at The Back Room on the Lower East Side. The first time I went to the back room I was 22 or 23. They have a 25 and up door and I talked my way inside to wait for my date. We roamed around and after on a cool summer night and said goodbye. He

hello hello I'm reading my Bible and packing up my apartment for a big move. To where? That's not a secret I'll never tell :o I own one pair of jeans Leaving this space has me reminiscing on what it was like to move in. In my early 20s I made up for what I lacked in experience with audacity. The bed frame for example, was put together by a very kind Italian man as our first and last date. The mount that held the TV to the wall was a gift from an Australian man who I kept runn

What to do When it Won't Stop Snowing Hello hello. It is the afternoon of New York's second big snow storm this year. What I did not stock up in in groceries, I have happily countered with books. This is the sort of weather that makes you grateful for remote work, even if it is a little lonely. The sort of weather that makes a hot cup of coffee especially delightful and makes peeking outside an act of awe. I'm sort of like a child in the sense that I love being outside and I

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