Hello!
Welcome back to the Open Book Podcast! Spring has sprung here in NYC but don’t be fooled by the sprouting Daffodils and bursts of sunshine between the buildings- still winter out here with wind chills and freezing temps to match. We haven’t made it to tax day after all - and as our OB Podcast producer
told me recently- that is when Spring actually begins.
read a NYC piece ft .Daffodils written by our guest Daisy here!
Today we are so excited to welcome
to our podcast! Daisy has attended and performed at a few Open Book events. This is all thanks to YOU (the Substack community!). As his publication grew, naturally so did his online community. When the time came that he wanted to get back out there and explore the NYC Open Mic scene he inquired here online asking what’s good in NYC?! Open Book was on the list. How, freakin’ cool.Meet Daisy!
Daisy Cashin is a writer surviving in New York City by way of Southwest Virginia and Charleston, South Carolina. His work has appeared in HAD, Farewell Transmission, and his Nana's scrapbooks. He also writes monthly chaos essays at ihatethesepeople.substack.com.
Whether you’re new here or not -you’ll learn pretty quick that Open Book’s success is due to the magic of Community. It is not just who shows up but how it feels when you are here hanging with us. I liked how Daisy described writing as a solo practice and open mics help to validate that we’re out here doing the thing. A place to present it to the world, but mostly to ourselves so we can keep at it. He mentions in his episode’s convo with Matt Jancer, “Open Book is professional and regimented in a comforting way”. We don’t have comedy, we got an app, we’re a pleasure to have in class- we’re not like other mics! Haha
Anyways- back to the bologna. This piece, ‘We, Bologna’ speaks to how you could be far from home and spot a glimpse of something that unlocks a memory and brings you back. In his case, specifically a bright yellow case with an Oscar Meyer label, was a package of Bologna. This piece will make you really LOL but also just feel something. After reading, you may wonder to yourself how that kid from gym class is doing or if that mom and pop shop you loved is still around or I don’t know maybe it’s just been awhile since you have had a classic PB&J. Nostalgia can feel tiresome and depressing when it hits but our memories can also remind us how far we have come and be a moment of escape amidst our loud lives. Daisy describes it all, all being humanity, so hilariously wholesome here-
Then I thought maybe that’s all humanity is, one big ol’ tube of bologna, one big ol’ tube of tasty, cancerous farce. And if we humans are just a big ol’ tube of bologna, then Chris was all swine sphincter, shitty and tightly wound, but still, undeniably, a part of it all.
Another fave of mine from his substack and I know the OB audience will remember was Waffle House - another slice of American life that just tells it how it is and makes ya want to eat a biscuit and call your mom.
Subscribe below to OB SS and connect with us all and Daisy online or in person at a future mic!
Friendly reminder- Wednesday 4/16 (a week from today!) is the next Open Book! Ft. Guest Host Noah Fried and we’re goin sci-fi themed! (theme not mandatory) See you there! Fiction Bar 308 Hooper St BK, NY 11211
5-7 Happy Hour/ 7-7:45 Sign up/ 8pm- late Readings
Open Book is a monthly literary open mic that occurs on the third Wednesday of every month at Fiction Bar and Cafe in Brooklyn, NY. Here on Substack we are sharing some of our readers while hoping to connect with others!
Happy Reading/Writing,
-B.Dots/Open Book
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