In March, I interviewed Mexican writer Elena Poniatowska at her home in Mexico City for the Library of Congress. The interview was published today with dreamy photos by Mexican photographer Jacky Muniello. We discussed Poniatowska’s commitment to writing about women's lives and her experiences conducting interviews in prison (some famous men had one room in prison for conjugal visits and another next door for girlfriends). How did I meet Poniatowska? In 2017, I was in Mexico City on International Women’s Day.

The website that published it is now defunct, but you gotta read my review of Harmony Korine’s controversial 2012 blockbuster, Spring Breakers, now that Kim has circled back with a SKIMs campaign inspired by Korine's iconic early aughts imagery. Also, my writing at age 22 was not TOO shabby now that I look at it again. I wrote this long before discovering postmodernism or Baudrillard or any of the material that now guides most of my work.

Three Thoughts, as usual, is a tribute to the late, great Grant Wahl. Today, I test the limits of the question, “can I truly write about whatever I want?” It took me roughly 32 years to finally see Pearl Jam live. I remember buying the Ten CD in Virginia during the start of my sophomore year in college and spending much of that year spinning it. I figured I would see them sooner or later and for whatever reason, here I am at age 51 finally getting to cross paths with that band I have enjoyed so much.

Nancy RommelmannJournalist at Reason, NYT, WSJ, Free Press. Co-host with Sarah Hepola of Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em podcast (smokeempodcast.substack.com). Author of "The the Bridge, a True Story of Motherhood and Murder." Based in NYC. On Twitter @nancyromm ncG1vNJzZmirpZfAta3CpGWcp51kja%2BtzZywq6edorKtucCnpQ%3D%3D

Hi readers, Every November, the Postal Book Clubs begin forming inside the MMD Book Club (I talk about this at length here). A couple of years ago, one of the groups forming that sounded like it might be interesting was a “narrative nonfiction” group. I didn’t know much about narrative nonfiction, and once I found out that it was nonfiction written more like a novel instead of a dry reading nonfiction book, I was all in for it.