About Us

Muddle, or the Unbearable Ambivalence of Being.

This title, while partly the result of an unhealthy affection for alliteration, is mostly inspired by such luminaries as Zadie Smith, Naguib Mahfouz and/or Milan Kundera, whose general prettiness we hope not to have offended. In its guise, this blog will be mediating a variety of ideas — original or not — with the intention of providing some sort of clarity against everyday confusion, and the everyday confused.

My contributors, Ibn Ruqeyeh and Simon Mercer, will update me twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, sharing their penny thoughts and would-be artistry both in long and short form. Topics will include politics, diverse histories, literature, music, and critical theory — covering all from the abominable Hillary Clinton to the sweet Kingsley Amis, with every moment of zen in between (caress me Jon!).

Raised in New York, both authors are recent fortunate NYU graduates, brought together by a certain fondness for recursive questions and a rapacious desire for, you know, the smarts. As once achieved by Lawrence and Ali, Mercer and Ibn Ruqeyeh aim to carry you out of the desert of modern piffle (take that Said!… though, seriously, may he rest in several critical pieces) — this time towards whatever paradise, or ideal, lies beyond. Isn’t ambition just the cutest?

Update 03/2016: WE NOW ACCEPT SUBMISSIONS! Alongside weekly pieces to be provided yet again by your favorite editors, Muddle will now publish long-form submissions, the first of which will be posted next month. We accept a wide range of topics, just make sure you know what you’re writing about — or, failing that, you write about it well. See? We’re not that picky.