Support Friends with Words
Dear language-speaking people,
It took me longer to write this than it took me to finish my Ph.D. dissertation, but here goes.
I started this newsletter in November 2023 because I wanted to escape the constant onslaught of bad news by channeling my curiosity into something completely different and connecting with people who wanted to read something different.
But before I knew it, it turned into a central part of my life, in the best possible way.
In an effort to make it more sustainable, I’ve set up a way for readers who wish to support my work by making a one-time or monthly donation.
Many of you have pledged a paid subscription when you signed up, for which I’m immensely grateful. Unfortunately, I can’t accept those pledges because, as it turns out, Substack doesn’t support paid subscriptions for writers based in my part of the world.
Instead, I’ve set up an account for Friends with Words on Buy Me a Coffee.
Any amount will be hugely appreciated.
I want to say that this newsletter is a labor of love but this phrase evokes images of the writer giving birth every week, and that’s… well that’s just not how I see my work here.
What I’m saying is that I've never worked this hard in my life and never enjoyed something so profoundly.
If you choose to become a paid subscriber, you will earn my undying gratitude and will directly contribute to my ability to continue writing it.
If you remain a free subscriber I promise we will still be friends. There are many other fantastic ways to support me. For example:
1) sharing Friends with Words with your friends and enemies;
2) laughing (or crying ) very loudly in public spaces when you read my posts, prompting passersby to stop by and ask if everything is ok (and then replying yes yes it's just that the latest issue of Friends with Words is out...)
Most importantly, this newsletter is likely the main reason for me not sliding into the dark pit of depression and anxiety during what after all is a profoundly shitty time for planet Earth in general and my corner of the world in particular.
So, I just wanted to thank you all for being here.1
Fun fact. Classical Sanskrit doesn’t have one straightforward way to say ‘thank you.’ Not because people were rude but because Sanskrit acknowledges that gratitude is a complicated and multifaceted concept. I wrote the only word I know (namastubhyam, related to namaste) which to the best of my knowledge means ‘I bow to you’ and can be used both as an expression of gratitude and a greeting. But I might be wrong, in which case I apologize in advance to any Classical Sanskrit speakers out there.