A Shift

What this space is becoming

A small note before we begin:
Last week I mentioned that I’ve been working on the kind of writing I want to be doing on Substack. Today I want to share what that means.

For the past year, this space has been a mix of ideas about work, identity, and creative life. I’ve enjoyed writing those pieces, but over the last few months I’ve felt a pull toward something more focused, something that feels closer to the kind of reading and thinking that actually animates me.

So I’m making a shift.

Going forward, this newsletter will center on a project I’m calling The Split Screen Reader: a series where I pair classic literature with modern film to explore how old ideas echo through contemporary culture. It’s a way of reading that’s always been natural to me, holding two works up to the light and seeing what they reveal about each other, and about us.

This won’t be academic or heavy. Think of it as reflective, accessible literary criticism; the kind you can read on a Sunday morning with coffee. A slower rhythm. A deeper look. A chance to sit with ideas that have lasted.

The first essay in this new direction arrives next Sunday. It’s about Walden and Into the Wild, two works separated by 150 years but driven by the same question: what remains when you strip life to its essentials.

Between now and then, I’ll be sharing a few short Notes from Walden —> small reflections that set the tone for what’s coming.

If you’ve been here for the career and identity pieces, those aren’t going away. They’ll continue on LinkedIn, where that work fits the rhythm of the platform. This space, though, is shifting toward something more creative and literary. And if this new direction isn’t for you, no hard feelings, truly. But if you stay, I think you’ll find something meaningful in the slower pace and deeper focus.

Thanks for reading, and for being here as this space evolves.
More next Sunday.

—Steve