What's in a list? What do the lists we make say about ourselves?

Inspired by a poem from playwright Bertolt Brecht, The Pleasure Lists began with a simple post online — a prompt calling for people to catalogue their pleasures. The outpouring of entries, an unexpected response to a humble exercise, led to The Pleasure Lists. Meant to be fun, delightful, and pleasureful, it is a reflection on the things that bring you joy.

In our first-ever live gathering of The Pleasure Lists community, we invite you to a workshop where you will have the opportunity to write your own Pleasure List and connect with other pleasure-seekers.

The evening will begin with writing your own lists, followed by readings (at 7pm) from Pleasure Lists founder Dalya Benor, friends Emmeline Clein, Camille Sojit Pejcha, Whitney Mallett, Rachel Syme, Sophie Haigney, Lauren Servideo, and more guests to be announced.

The Pleasure Lists is a space for reflection, a reminder of the things that bring us joy. It’s as public or as personal as you want; as artistic or straightforward as calls you. The pure simplicity and banality of Bertolt Brecht’s poem shows us what we know to be true about pleasure: that it truly is in the eye of the beholder. Each list is as unique as its author, telling us more about the writer than the list itself. From the material to the mundane, the tactile to the intangible, the things that bring us pleasure speak volumes about what we value.

Your participation in this live event will contribute to the living, breathing project that is The Pleasure Lists.

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Dalya Benor is a writer from Los Angeles, currently based in NYC. She writes about art, culture, and the in-between. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Vogue, The Guardian and more. She holds a master's degree in Journalism from the Cultural Reporting and Criticism program at NYU. Her latest project, The Pleasure Lists, is a community-oriented prompt for notes on pleasure.

Emmeline Clein is the author of Dead Weight: Essays on Hunger & Harm (Knopf US, Picador UK). Her chapbook, Toxic, was published by Choo Choo Press. You can read her writing in the Paris Review, The Nation, The Yale Review, the Washington Post, and the New York Times Magazine, among other publications. She has taught writing at Columbia University and the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.

Lauren Servideo is an actress and comedian from NYC. She has had supporting roles in RAP WORLD (2024), OR SOMETHING (2024), and OUR HOME OUT WEST (2023), as well as roles in the upcoming feature films 31 CANDLES and FINDING DADDY. She dreams of visiting Pittsburgh one day.

Camille Sojit Pejcha is a Brooklyn-based writer and editor covering sex, culture, technology, and nightlife. Formerly the Features Director at Document Journal, Camille has contributed to T Magazine, W, CR Fashion Book, Slate, and other leading publications. She is the creator of Pleasure-Seeking, a newsletter and podcast that is read across 90 countries and has been featured in the New York Times for its insights on sex, desire, and modern culture.

Whitney Mallett is the founding editor of the Whitney Review of New Writing, a twice-yearly journal of literary criticism. She is the co-editor of the book Barbie Dreamhouse: An Architectural Survey. Sometimes she writes about art, architecture, scent, dinner parties, book shops, and porn.

Sophie Haigney is the web editor at the Paris Review. She is working on her first book, a collection of essays about collecting.