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I Am Here You Are Not I Love You is a rich and romantic tale of rediscovery for the author, but outright discovery for us. In prose that wanders seamlessly between deeply personal recollections and the cold reality of history, Ryan introduces the reader to his late aunt and uncle, the artists Cindy Suffoletto and Andrew Topolski, the New York art world at the end of the twentieth century, and the long overlooked artistic ferment in his native city of Buffalo. Through the story of his beloved aunt and uncle, Ryan has restored an important missing chapter of the history of American art.

—Mary Gabriel, author of Ninth Street Women, on I Am Here You Are Not I Love You

In this lovely essay at The Millions, Aidan Ryan explores his editing process, and the abandoned, unused writing that he’s accumulated and compiled into a “Miscellaneous” document over the years. Ryan shares inspiring examples of how authors write, build their worlds and the stories of their lives, and continue to draw from and tap into existing work as if dipping into a vat of bread starter. In an anecdote about playing with Legos as a child, he beautifully describes how he liked to tell stories with all of his toys and figurines, from different universes — “I was only interested in the story of everything.” This sentiment is reflected in his insights on writing and editing, but also waiting — the act of putting language aside, but still keeping it close, so that “everything remain[s] possible.”

—Cheri Lucas Rowlands on “Stet” in Longreads