Thank you, Reader

HanukkahLand III, Night 1: Establishing the genre and giving thanks for whoever's reading

Dear Reader,

This is a thank you note.

I used to HATE thank you notes. I have a December birthday, so the holiday season always meant three holidays where I could potentially receive gifts, which meant, as soon as I learned to write, the same number of thank you notes.

The day my father told me that I needed to start writing thank you notes was a dark day. I wished someone had told me to cherish my life until then, every day spent in glorious selfishness.

Though I’d always liked writing, what irked me about thank yous was the faking it. It took energy to find gratitude for some piece of crap my dad’s work friend got me, and even more energy to say “I am looking forward to seeing you next time my dad can’t find childcare.”

But I guess I’m grateful to my parents for making me do this. It is how I have learned to express gratitude, which I now know doesn’t have to be authentic or specific. Sure, a thank you is better when you mean it, but an inauthentic thank you is hard to detect because most people are happy to get them.

So take this thank you note for what it’s worth. It’s a mass email to 150 people, only some of you I know or can place in my memory. I can’t be specific, but I can say with authenticity that I appreciate you for sticking with this newsletter for however long as you have. Thank you for following me through flights of fancy, experiments in worldbuilding, and typos that obscure the meaning I barely understand myself. I love having this place to write, even if it seems like I hate it. And knowing that there’s at least a few of you who actually read it makes it all worth the struggle.

For the last two years, I have spent the eight nights of Hanukkah writing eight emails, one email per night, an increase from my usual 1-2 emails per month. I call this series “HanukkahLand,” and I use the time to experiment with voice and rekindle my spirit. In 2023, I wrote eight personal essays. In 2024, I wrote eight chapters of a new Hanukkah Mythology. This year, I’m going to send eight thank you notes.

And since this is the first night of Hanukkah, this is the first note.

Last year I got the feedback that the sudden increase of output was “too much.” If that’s how you feel, then thank you for unsubscribing. If you’re not psyched to get seven more emails from me, then get out while you still can.

For the rest of you, thanks for supporting experimental literature. For the next eight nights, I have a lot of people, concepts, and oppressive regimes to thank. I will try my best (as I always do) to make each one entertaining, insightful, and original.

Get ready. And light that fucking candle!

Sincerely (if you can believe it),

Sam Z.