25 Comments

Holy shit. I have recently encountered an Iago. I needed to read this. It makes sense now. THANK YOU!

Expand full comment

Sorry! I'm so happy you are a reader. xxL

Expand full comment

Done and done

Expand full comment

I especially love “I’m a fountain of covet. It’s my oily fuel, the refrigerator air I breathe.”

Expand full comment

Reading your post, I remember reading Othello in ninth grade and marveling how Iago's words could be so destructive. Just a few words here and there could commit murder. I didn't know then about wasps who burrow inside larger insects and control their bodies like puppets. That's effectively what Iagos are capable of doing. Thanks Laurie for this post.

Expand full comment

Thanks for your comments and support!

Expand full comment

Just remembered. I saw The Film Othello

Expand full comment

In Sixth grade with Lawrence Olivier . He was scary and stunning. If you’d not mentioned reading in fifth I’d have forgotten

Expand full comment

Not to push Iago aside, but I enjoyed this: "memory is mostly an improvisation based on a small number of recorded cues." Very helpful to keep in mind (not remember!) when trying to sort real from imagined in fiction (or any writing).

Expand full comment

I loved this too. Our vision, memories, and our day to day existence is our brain making a crapload of assumptions, guesses, and reusing codes and scripts.

And yet, in my memories, I can tell you sometimes the tiniest details, and/or nearly nothing.

Expand full comment

Exactly. xxL

Expand full comment

Yes, important to keep in mind!

Expand full comment

Every woman needs to know this Iago principle. But I love much more here, too.

Expand full comment

Comedy Section: Than this implies I'm a very old soul because I began at 3! HA!

Thank you!

Expand full comment

One of Iago's mottos, lent to him by the Devil, is: "It's not enough for you to succeed; your friends must fail." So, when one of my friends accomplishes something that I wish I had done, I reach for the rusty nail I carry with me and scrape the inner Iago out of my soul. It electrifies my day and makes me want to hug every stranger I meet.

Expand full comment

Good work.

Expand full comment

Gluttony and vanity CAN coexist. You just have to eat really big salads.

Expand full comment

True. But, you know.

Expand full comment

You can teach yourself to binge out on salads Trust me. And not even drowning in dressing. 😂

Expand full comment

Iago is a good descriptor of an encounter I just experienced with someone I thought was a good friend.

Expand full comment

Oy. Sorry. That's what Othello thought, too.

Expand full comment

I love all of your posts and I'm so excited to meet you and read with you on Sunday!

Expand full comment

How great! See you then.

Expand full comment

Ah. The Bard’s He foretold Americas Iago ,… Trump

Expand full comment