Meet Miranda July

If you haven't already met her.

I learned of her last year when I watched a short film she wrote and starred in (along with John C. Reilly) called "Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody?" It's indeed short (running about four minutes) but it's funny and odd as well as poignant and sweet.

That's the thing about July, she can present a melange, if you will, of different emotions whirled into very small spaces. Her collection of short stories for instance, No One Belongs Here More Than You is a quirky, tender, honest collection of stories that take seemingly insignificant moments and make them powerful. In the first story, "The Shared Patio," she writes, "I pressed my lips against his ear and whispered again, It's not your fault. Perhaps this was really the only thing I had ever wanted to say to anyone, or be told." Beautiful writing. Within the same story, she has some very funny bits as well. "What is the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to you? Did it involve a car? Was it on a boat? Did an animal do it? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I am not surprised. Cars crash, boats sink, and animals are just scary. Why not do yourself a favor and stay away from these things." The collection, recently published by Scribner, has been reviewed by The New York Times, New York Magazine and A.V. Club, among other newspapers, magazines, and websites.

She's more than simply a writer, however. She's also a filmmaker, a performance artist, a Renaissance Girl, July is.

So, watch her movies ("Me and You and Everyone We Know" won oodles of awards at Cannes when it was shown there), catch her in a live performance (her schedule can be found on her website), and/or read her stuff (she's been published in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and Harper's, amongst others). You'll be happy you did.

"Do you have doubts about life? Are you unsure if it is worth the trouble? Look at the sky: that is for you. Look at each person's face as you pass on the street: those faces are for you. And the street itself, and the ground under the street, and the ball of fire underneath the ground: all these things are for you. They are as much for you as they are for other people. Remember this when you wake up in the morning and think you have nothing. Stand up and face the east. Now praise the sky and praise the light within each person under the sky. It's okay to be unsure. But praise, praise, praise."
- Miranda July, from "No One Belongs Here More Than You."