Josh Cook’s work has appeared in the Iowa Review, the Millions, the Rumpus, Sugar House Review, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and Rain Taxi Review of Books. He teaches at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Recently, after a season of heavy protests, a number of my friends vanished from social media. Some went quiet, some quit altogether. The ones who persisted were the ones who’d always been vocal, who’d already learned how to fold civic engagement—and occasional resistance—into their daily lives without experiencing the whiplash: engage, protest, engage, burnout.
On two occasions, during the preparation of this piece, people stopped me in cafés, pointing to the stack of Krasznahorkai’s books on my table, expressing their enthusiasm for his bleak comedy and particular brand of absurdity. The conversations ended in starry-eyed camaraderie, akin to the sparks between thrill seekers who’ve both traversed Machu Picchu.
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