About
Brian Gresko (they/he) is a writer, illustrator, literary journalist, and educator whose work has appeared on Slate, The Literary Hub, The Atlantic, BOMB Magazine, The Rumpus, and in The Sun Magazine and Poets & Writers Magazine, among numerous other publications. Gresko is the author of the book You Must Go On: 30 Inspirations on Writing & Creativity and the editor of the anthology When I First Held You: 22 Critically Acclaimed Writers Talk About the Triumphs, Challenges, and Transformative Experience of Fatherhood (Penguin). Some of Gresko's other roles in the literary community include: co-hosting the esteemed Pete's Reading Series in Williamsburg, Brooklyn; co-founding and directing Writing Co-Lab, an artist-owned teaching cooperative; and hosting a podcast on writing and publishing called In Collaboration With…. The first in their family to attend college, Gresko graduated from Oberlin College with a self-designed major in narrative theory and cinema, and received an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School.
Featured Work
You Must Go On: 30 Inspirations on Writing & Creativity
Not a book about how to write, a book about why to write and how to keep at it in a world that wants you to shut the hell up.
You want to get your butt in that chair and write like a motherfucker, but it’s hard. Writing is solitary, and it can be all too easy to feel dismayed or even despondent about giving yourself time and permission to let what is inside of you come out on the page. Hold my beer – I’m here to help. I’ve been at it for almost twenty years now! Yes, it is a tough road, believe me. By many American metrics, I don't amount to much. Even within the world of writers, despite my many, varied publications, I don't even have an agent, let alone a book deal, prestigious award, or influencer-level Instagram following. And yet, I'm still here, and still find this art – and the life I lead which makes space for it – rewarding.
Partly inspired by my work with students, and partly the book I needed to write to convince myself to keep at it, You Must Go On’s provides thirty short epistles on living and maintaining life as a creative person. You can read one a day for a month, or just dip in and out as need be. Divided into four sections–Intention, Motivation, Vision, and Actualization–rich with wisdom gleaned from my years as a reading series host and literary journalist, and grounded in personal stories of triumphs (there've been a few) as well as set-backs (there've been a lot more), with just a touch of theory to get you nerds excited, these letters will help you to focus on the things you're able to control about this creative work we do, and make some kind of peace with what you cannot.
Feel like you just can't go on any longer?
My friend, you must.
If you are interested in purchasing a copy of You Must Go On, please visit my website.
