“I guess my fantasy has always been that things can be reasonable, that life can be arranged in sensible, pleasant ways. But it can’t; I always underestimate the destructive element in human nature…”
Aphorisms, meditations, and provocations on New York's independent theater scene, artmaking in the age of artificial intelligence, devotion versus doom scrolling, and the usefulness of heartbreak. Matthew Gasda argues that we invent the self by way of documenting the self—and in Writer's Diary, we see Gasda's sense of disconnection from culture paired with a relentless determination to create meaningful work.
Also available for preorder via Asterism.
Featuring new Rose Books cover design by Sarah Schulte.
Pleases note that this is a preorder—books will begin shipping on or before October 28, 2025
Matthew Gasda is a writer, director, and critic. He is the founder of the Brooklyn Center for Theater Research and the author of the novel The Sleepers, and two collections of plays, among other works.