Welcome

Once upon a Brooklyn co-working space, two women met and bonded over a mutual love of gummi candy. Then they didn’t speak again for two years.

A Mouse, A Man, and a Whole Lotta Books

Written By

Caroline Donofrio

We arrive at Isaac Fitzgerald’s Brooklyn home to find the BuzzFeed books editor brushing his teeth. “Welcome!” he exclaims, through a mouthful of toothpaste, excitedly ushering us into the garden apartment he shares with his girlfriend, writer Alice Sola Kim. Ever the gracious host, he makes sure we’re settled before excusing himself to finish getting ready.

That’s when we spot it. A dead mouse.

Want Eye Level in your inbox? Subscribe here.

Shantell Martin

Drawing on Everything

If you’ve ever found yourself in NYC’s Lower East Side, it’s likely you’ve stumbled across large black and white wheatpaste posters that confronted you with the question ARE YOU YOU, then affirmed your existence with YOU ARE YOU. This is the work of Shantell Martin, a British visual artist best known for her stream-of-consciousness drawings and light projections. We met with her at her NYC studio, where she talked about dyslexia, Harold and the Purple Crayon, and the importance of following a line…

“Think before you speak. Read before you think.” — Fran Lebowitz

Hey, Reader:

Elise Peterson

@eliserpeterson

#heyreaderhey

Name: Elise R. Peterson

What do you do? Artist, Writer & Educator

Where do you live? Brooklyn, NY

Name one book that has been meaningful to you: A Taste of Power is a memoir chronicling Elaine Brown’s rise to leadership within the Black Panther Party while on her own path toward understanding of self beyond the party. Basically, it’s me in a past life.

Reading ritual: Reading on the train is a go-to.

Guilty pleasure: There’s no guilt in anything that brings me pleasure.

Artist crush: Faith Ringgold & Jayson Musson

Must-follow: Your intuition

Words to live by: Trust your gut.

Giveaway

Get Lit. So Much Lit.

To celebrate our inaugural issue, we’re giving away five titles to educate, entertain, and inspire. The Meaning of Michelle, sixteen writers on the iconic first lady; The Sellout, the Man Booker Prize winning novel; Discontent and its Civilizations, hailed by NPR as a “near-perfect essay collection,” Notorious RBG, an illustrated biography about the incomparable Ruth Bader Ginsburg; and Milk and Honey, a powerful collection of poetry and prose about love, loss, violence, heartache, and survival. All five books come nestled in a GET LIT tote from The Strand in NYC.

To enter, leave a comment below telling us which of these books you’re most excited to read. A winner will be chosen at random on Friday, February 10th. Good luck!

Click here to cancel reply.

509 Comments

Jamie 'Independent Woman' Taylor • March 22, 2018

For all the single women out there like me, reading books is my only peace in life. I just LOVE books. I. REALLY. LOVE. BOOKS. #WomenPower
Renee • November 29, 2017

milk and honey is INCREDIBLE and Rupi Kaur regularly inspires my day to day living. I feel blessed to be able to read the writing at all!
Page • March 3, 2017

The Sellout sounds good. Good luck with the blog
Hannah • February 20, 2017

Oh! I missed the deadline too. SOB. 😭😭 Important sidenote: what a wonderful project this is. Eeeeee!!!! (Excitement)
Jill • February 17, 2017

Well I would love to read Notorious RBG because, well RBG! Milk and Honey also sounds like a much needed balm, but maybe that’s more the title than the actual contents. Poetry can rock your world and be very un-balm-like after all.