#matt ortile

[wehavethoughts]

Bonus Thoughts! by CoreaMod

As I mentioned in my original review about How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee, I really enjoy Chee’s online presence. I follow him on Instagram and Twitter and love seeing bits of his daily lives, news about his work, and any political matter he voices his opinions about.

Earlier during the pandemic, in an effort to support independent bookstores around the nation, he posted in Instagram stories that he’d personally recommend books if you submit the latest book you enjoyed. And he asked you to please order from the independent bookstore he frequents (Still North Books & Bar in New Hampshire) or any independent bookstore of your choice. I had just finished and learned a lot from On Immunity by Eula Biss, so I submitted that as my answer. He responded to my response, which made me very happy! He recommended me to preorder the new Eula Biss, Having and Being Had and read Nobody’s Looking at You by Janet Malcolm while I wait for the new Biss.

So I immediately ordered a copy of Nobody’s Looking at You from Still North Books & Bar. (The grey book with its back cover showing, photographed next to my iPad in the original review, is Nobody’s Looking at You. I hadn't read the book, and still haven't! but it was a sneaky way for me to express my excitement when I reviewed Chee's essay collection.) I loved my little interaction with Chee, which definitely made him a little more special author in my heart. Having and Being Had by Biss is also out now, and I'm excited to read it as well.

p.s. If you liked How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, I also recommend The Groom Will Keep His Name by Matt Ortile.

[man-reading]

“The Groom Will Keep His Name” by Matt Ortile

  A riotous collection of "witty and captivating" (Bitch Magazine) essays by a gay Filipino immigrant in America learning that everything is about sex—and sex is about power   When Matt Ortile moved from Manila to Las Vegas, the locals couldn't pronounce his name. Harassed as a kid for his brown skin, accent, and femininity, he believed he could belong in America by marrying a white man and shedding his Filipino identity. This was the first myth he told himself. The Groom Will Keep His Name explores the various tales Ortile spun about what it means to be a Vassar Girl, an American Boy, and a Filipino immigrant in New York looking to build a home. As we meet and mate, we tell stories about ourselves, revealing not just who we are, but who we want to be. Ortile recounts the relationships and whateverships that pushed him to confront his notions of sex, power, and the model minority myth. Whether swiping on Grindr, analyzing DMs, or cruising steam rooms, Ortile brings us on his journey toward radical self-love with intelligence, wit, and his heart on his sleeve.

Matt Ortile is the managing editor of Catapult magazine. Previously, he was the global publishing lead for BuzzFeed International and the founding editor of BuzzFeed Philippines. His writing has been published by BuzzFeed, Into, Self, and Out, among others. He lives in NYC.

[sometimesjenniferreads]

[icedoatmatte]

get you a man who can do both (e.g. wear clothes and also not)

[neverthetwinsshallmeet]

#QueerYourYear prompt 15: An essay collection

The Groom Will Keep His Name: And Other Vows I’ve Made About Race, Resistance, and Romance by Matt Ortile is a witty, insightful collection of essays by a gay Filipino immigrant about race, sex, power. I honestly don’t remember how this essay collection ended up on my radar, but I’m glad that it did because I really enjoyed it and found it to be a smart, politically engaged, and entertaining collection.

Born in the Philippines, Matt Ortile moved from Manila to Las Vegas at a young age and immediately found himself an outsider. While Ortile realized he was gay pretty early on, it was his identity as a Filipino immigrant that he spent more time grappling with. Throughout the collection, he unpacks his experiences with assimilation, tokenization, and fetishization that he’s faced as a gay, Asian American man. 

What Ortile really excels at in this essay collection is understanding and examining his life within broader world and history. This book really encapsulates “the personal is political” as Ortile explores personal experiences such as dual citizenship or attending a prestigious but predominantly white college, but also manages to examine broader issues like colonization in the Philippines and the model minority myth and explore how his life has been shaped by them.

I tend to read memoirs pretty fast, but I found that reading this collection essay by essay instead of blowing straight through at my usual quick speed was a good change of pace. Ortile’s essays aren’t dense–they’re actually quite conversational and entertaining–but I found that my reading experience was improved by giving myself time to really think over and digest each essay. Ortile is now definitely on my radar as an author to watch and I’ll be keeping an eye out for any of his future works!

[huttson-blog]

Matt Ortile charts a course of unlearning in The Groom Will Keep His Name — EW.com

Matt Ortile charts a course of unlearning in The Groom Will Keep His Name — EW.com

Read more at EW.com

— by Alamin Yohannes: “There’s something at stake when you start an essay.”

No one knows this better than Matt Ortile. As a writer — and the managing editor of Catapult — he has used the format to share pieces about his own life with purpose. Now, he’s created a personal collection of essays that make up The Groom Will Keep His Name: And Other Vows I’ve Made About Race,…

View On WordPress

[huttson-blog]

Fil-Am writers Mia Mercado, Matt Ortile and Meredith Talusan on race, class, sexuality — Inquirer.net

Fil-Am writers Mia Mercado, Matt Ortile and Meredith Talusan on race, class, sexuality — Inquirer.net

Read more at Inquirer.net

— by Walter Ang: Nonfiction works by Filipino American writers Mia Mercado, Matt Ortile and Meredith Talusan are ushering in the summer reading season.

Mercado and Ortile have crafted essay collections while Talusan has written a memoir…

Image courtesy of the Inquirer

View On WordPress

[whoismims]

I felt guilty for having more than enough when, with today’s cost of living in New York, it never feels like enough. I felt undeserving of the freedoms my mother, my aunts and uncles, my cousins and second cousins, would never know. I have 'a better life' only because my mother placed hers at the American altar. That tang of guilt is how my own immigrant privilege tastes.

Matt Ortile, “I Make More Than My Immigrant Mom Ever Has. But I Can Never Repay Her.”