Night of the Happy Bodies

The New Yorker|July 10 - 17, 2023 (Double Issue)

I like parties where you sit around and talk to people. But I love parties where you dance and make noise with people. This may seem strange for a writer, but I can find spoken words overly complex and unwieldy, especially in the fast-moving currents of a party.

- MARY GAITSKILL

Movement and sound are the natural language of a group, because they give instinctive access to the heart and to our primal need to connect with our own species whether in friendship or in animus.

This story is from the July 10 - 17, 2023 (Double Issue) edition of The New Yorker.

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This story is from the July 10 - 17, 2023 (Double Issue) edition of The New Yorker.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

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