I WILL NOT SACRIFICE THE JOY OF EFFORT AT THE ALTAR OF CONVENIENCE
Burn Pile November 2025 Questions: What Media have you been consuming? What are your current Fascinations?
Media: It’s nearly winter, and I’m in grad school, which means it’s time to watch Moonstruck and Sorry, Baby several times each. Between those two movies, you basically understand how it feels to be me. I’m just getting into Intermezzo by Sally Rooney, which is promising to make me feel weird in a fabulous way. I haven’t listened to anything besides Geese’s Getting Killed in two weeks, but will also offer Dar Williams’ Mortal City and, yes, Vampire Weekend’s self-titled album to round out my 100%-unique and not-at-all-derivative present palette.
Fascinations: Last summer, I was standing in my kitchen bemoaning my lack of some ingredient I needed for dinner and debating finally caving and downloading InstaCart instead of just going to the grocery store 5 minutes from my house and getting it when a voice boomed into my brain and said I WILL NOT SACRIFICE THE JOY OF EFFORT AT THE ALTAR OF CONVENIENCE. This has become my motto for the past several months and I tell everyone I can about it. Related fascinations include painful earnestness, the art of surprise, and trying somewhat unsuccessfully to spend less time on my phone. Also, chamomile tea.
— Chloë Moore, First Year Poet
“Fall Leaves” Photo Taken by Chloë Moore