Rats, Take the Wheel

And some writing news.

I routinely make notes about what I want to share with you all. Recently, I’ve jotted down not to forget that Hollow Bones will be out in audio and paperback formats soon, but more importantly that I’ve got to tell you about the driving rats.

If you are an original subscriber to Writings & Curiosities, you may remember that my very first newsletter was about rats who help clear landmines. Because of their light weight, they do not set off the explosives but can sniff them out and signal to handlers. These furry heroes are seriously amazing, and I recommend never approaching me at a cocktail party unless you want to hear all about the rats. What a delight then to read about a recent study at the University of Richmond in which rats were taught to drive. More importantly, they seem to enjoy their spins around the lab.

These rats also perform better on cognitive tests, implying that joy improves problem-solving abilities. The lead neuroscientist, Kelly Lambert, believes that optimism plays a key role in brain health. So on these metaphorical and literal dark days, I find myself thinking, what gives me hope? Good stories and conversations. Nonprofit organizations like One Tree Planted. Fox sightings in my neighborhood. Little Free Libraries. My four-year-old declaring “I have butter hands” as he drops his Legos. Poems like “The Conditional” by Ada Limón. And rats, obviously. They’re seriously amazing.

Supposedly there’s a documentary on Netflix about the driving rats, but I only watch British quiz shows.

Anyway, writing news! I have BIG writing news. I’m thrilled that my new poetry collection A Buyer’s Guide to the Afterlife will be published by Black Lawrence Press in 2026. I’ve been working on these poems for nearly a decade now, and they cover everything from sharks to pregnancy to that time a rat ran across my socked foot while I was taking out the trash. My response was less enthusiastic than you might expect from my previous praise of rodents. I contain multitudes?

On the reading front, I’ve been in the weeds with the Complete Poems of James Agee, and I’ll share the ensuring piece with you all soon. And I adored Radha Vatsal’s new historical crime novel, No. 10 Doyers Street, about Chinatown gangs in the early 1900s.

Thanks for being here and being you!

Erica