I attended the 2026 National Book Festival of the Library of Congress last weekend. There, I had the pleasure of meeting Jenny Lawson, author and bloggess extraordinaire. Jenny has survived depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and miscarriages, tackling the strangeness and struggles of life with humor, creativity, and warmth as she builds community and uplifts others through her work. She is a supremely delightful human, and I was honored that she signed and drew hearts and kitty faces in our books. Read her writings to learn about armadillo racing, demented squirrel puppets, and so much more.

In addition to Jenny’s signing and panel, the other event we got to enjoy at the festival was a screening of clips from the new PBS documentary Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World. Mary Oliver has always been one of my favorite poets and greatest influences as a writer. I finally got to watch the full film today, and it made me feel so inspired and alive that I proceeded to write a new poem for the first time this month! You can stream the film here for free until September 23, 2026 at 2:59 am EDT.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do/with your one wild and precious life?” ~Mary Oliver, from “The Summer Day”