fiction and creative non-fiction from Brennan Quenneville
The stereotype says that athleticism and physicality are reserved for jocks, bullies, and meatheads, and that part of the reason that some people elect to be punks or hipsters or whatever is a lack of physical capacity for sport. And, hey, I get it. I and almost everyone I know are deeply tied to that [...]
Congress is in the early phases of negotiating another massive stimulus package and it's tempting to append "before it's too late" to the end of that statement but, in truth, it's probably already too late for this next stimulus package to have anything near optimal impact for the people it's meant to serve. Of course, [...]
This is arguably the most unimportant impact of COVID-19 and yet it's one that seems undeniable and has been on my mind a lot lately: Since the pandemic first shut down my life in mid-March it feels as if time has stopped. It hasn't, of course, as evidenced by the fact that it's now mid-July [...]
A writer's creative space is sacred, or at least that's the impression that everyone on the internet wants you to have. And, in fairness, they're not necessarily wrong. Every writer I know, along with the graphic designers, musicians and creators of whatever else, has a favorite place to settle in and get to the messy [...]
Like a lot of you, I often turn to music for escape when I'm stressed. I'm less interested in the science of why we do this than I am in the choices we make of what to listen to. Broadly speaking, classical music should offer the most stress release but—even though there are a handful [...]
We are living in a fraught, historic time and right now it feels nearly impossible to think about anything save the unrest that grips the nation and the onslaught of dangers that beset black Americans and other systemically disenfranchised minorities. As a member of the privileged white middle class, I make a less than compelling [...]
"Liz Lemon isn't funny." That's all it said. One text, lobbed like a grenade into a group text without any pretext. It was incendiary. It started a war. We're still sorting through the carnage. To be clear about which side I stand on, let me say this very clearly: Liz Lemon is very, very funny. [...]
We're five months into a global pandemic and the world is (still) on fire. If you listen closely, above the raucous tumult of daily news briefings and abrasively selfish protestors, you can hear the soft whine of every single person on earth collectively screaming through clenched teeth. We all need a break. We all need [...]
Like every other card carrying millennial, I was disappointed when HAIM delayed their upcoming third album, the aptly titled Women in Music Pt. III, due to concerns arising from COVID-19. Is there nothing that this novel coronavirus cannot ruin? The pain of this delay is made all the greater by the album's absolutely killer first [...]
This time of year, when the days are growing longer and warmer, my omnipresent-but-oft-latent wanderlust awakens and blooms with the dandelions. Unlike the rebirth of that yellow scourge, I've embraced the urge to travel, especially since Caitlin and I got married in May of 2014. This will be the first year that we've not taken [...]
Songs & Stories 