I clicked with Pablo immediately for every single reason above stated. He has placed more Substack authored fiction from more authors in actual bookstores than anyone I can think of. He's always trying to up his game, but I expect that from someone who cooks Michelin. And just like that, we'd talked and I saw what was coming, I suspect h…
I clicked with Pablo immediately for every single reason above stated. He has placed more Substack authored fiction from more authors in actual bookstores than anyone I can think of. He's always trying to up his game, but I expect that from someone who cooks Michelin. And just like that, we'd talked and I saw what was coming, I suspect he did too, but the job was gone. It's not a great time to be in the service industry, front or back of house. But this man deserves more than just working himself to death so someone can yell "yes chef, sorry chef" at him all day.
And I'd argue that his work is incredibly accessible, but there's such layered nuance to it that while it provides a great read to anyone, the close reader gets the best of the rewards. He showed up in my DMs and it was like I'd known him for years. I suggested a craft book to him and he got it THAT DAY and said thank you and it was making him rethink and rework things he had been working on already. This isn't the mark of a dilettante, it's the mark of someone who already knows how hard you have to work to actually be great. He applied to an incredibly selective workshop on my suggestion run by Elle Nash, and he got in. If this sounds like an indulgence when you've just lost your job and you're flat on your ass here's the deal: Elle is my friend, and I emailed her about it to make sure his seat is saved because I NEED to see what he comes out like on the other side. Because he's incredibly intelligent, impossibly generous, and like myself, he's entirely self taught.
Elle is my age, I think Pablo is a little younger than me, maybe by a few years (or my mind is fucking up my memory again) but either way, it will be a transformative experience and he'll come out of it a better writer than he went in. I know I did, and I'd already been around the industry for a decade or more when I workshopped with Elle during Covid.
He's among the terribly underread, and he deserves the help he's getting by dint of what he has and will do for the community already, and moving forward.
Echo what you mentioned re: accessibility of his writing. For some readers his style (which varies) may be a bit of an acquired taste but I don’t consider myself very worldly and I’ve never felt alienated by his writing at all.
When I learned he was a chef I just smiled and nodded my head. Ofc he is. Everything fit - made me realize how genuine he is in what he does and says. Dude is real.
You know, after reading this this morning, I did consider that accessible may have been the wrong word choice. If there is a better word for it, I guess what I was going for was this: He's not concerned about "everyone" being able to "get" it. He has a vision of what he wants, and he doesn't limit himself to appeal to the wider poetry/fiction audience.
Yeah, that makes total sense. For folks I’ve told about Pablo it’s give him a good read, couple if need be, don’t bail early. Lots of online stuff is so spoon fed because everyone is swiping and scrolling mindlessly. I almost always read his stuff when I can sit and enjoy it. Like a well made meal.
I clicked with Pablo immediately for every single reason above stated. He has placed more Substack authored fiction from more authors in actual bookstores than anyone I can think of. He's always trying to up his game, but I expect that from someone who cooks Michelin. And just like that, we'd talked and I saw what was coming, I suspect he did too, but the job was gone. It's not a great time to be in the service industry, front or back of house. But this man deserves more than just working himself to death so someone can yell "yes chef, sorry chef" at him all day.
And I'd argue that his work is incredibly accessible, but there's such layered nuance to it that while it provides a great read to anyone, the close reader gets the best of the rewards. He showed up in my DMs and it was like I'd known him for years. I suggested a craft book to him and he got it THAT DAY and said thank you and it was making him rethink and rework things he had been working on already. This isn't the mark of a dilettante, it's the mark of someone who already knows how hard you have to work to actually be great. He applied to an incredibly selective workshop on my suggestion run by Elle Nash, and he got in. If this sounds like an indulgence when you've just lost your job and you're flat on your ass here's the deal: Elle is my friend, and I emailed her about it to make sure his seat is saved because I NEED to see what he comes out like on the other side. Because he's incredibly intelligent, impossibly generous, and like myself, he's entirely self taught.
Elle is my age, I think Pablo is a little younger than me, maybe by a few years (or my mind is fucking up my memory again) but either way, it will be a transformative experience and he'll come out of it a better writer than he went in. I know I did, and I'd already been around the industry for a decade or more when I workshopped with Elle during Covid.
He's among the terribly underread, and he deserves the help he's getting by dint of what he has and will do for the community already, and moving forward.
Echo what you mentioned re: accessibility of his writing. For some readers his style (which varies) may be a bit of an acquired taste but I don’t consider myself very worldly and I’ve never felt alienated by his writing at all.
When I learned he was a chef I just smiled and nodded my head. Ofc he is. Everything fit - made me realize how genuine he is in what he does and says. Dude is real.
You know, after reading this this morning, I did consider that accessible may have been the wrong word choice. If there is a better word for it, I guess what I was going for was this: He's not concerned about "everyone" being able to "get" it. He has a vision of what he wants, and he doesn't limit himself to appeal to the wider poetry/fiction audience.
He is who he is, and who he is is a genius.
Yeah, that makes total sense. For folks I’ve told about Pablo it’s give him a good read, couple if need be, don’t bail early. Lots of online stuff is so spoon fed because everyone is swiping and scrolling mindlessly. I almost always read his stuff when I can sit and enjoy it. Like a well made meal.
That's exactly it.