Aditya Gotu Desai
@adityadesai.bsky.social
me jobs: writer, editor, phd student in lit. their job: literature nonprofit programming.
I've been away from social media so long I didn't even know AAWW fell apart
Will be at AWP Thursday and Friday and would love to (re)connect. Let me be your local companion before things get go into overdrive during the weekend.
Will be at AWP Thursday and Friday and would love to (re)connect. Let me be your local companion before things get go into overdrive during the weekend.
People debate whether or not there’s a great millenial novel, but how can there be one when so many classics begin with a character haphazardly buying a new house in a new town for “reasons” and “just because”
Book people: the following small presses have just lost funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Please consider supporting them! A Thread.
One of the things that led us to this shitty political moment is the obsession with intent.
I wrote for @baltimorebeat.bsky.social about how the government’s entire case against Abrego Garcia rests on the assertion of a disgraced cop who could not even testify in state court and was suspended 5 days after encounter with Abrego Garcia. baltimorebeat.com/governments-...
Government’s case against Abrego Garcia is based on PG County Cop who was on the SA’s do not call list
The Maryland cop who first linked Kilmar Abrego Garcia to alleged gang activity in 2019 was placed on a “do not call” list published by Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy in 2021 —...
baltimorebeat.com
“Last year, the arts and culture sector contributed "a whopping $1.102 trillion" to the country's Gross Domestic Product, more, in fact, than the transportation and agricultural industries…So, again, why is the industry under attack?” jeraldcrook.substack.com/p/this-isnt-...
This Isn't Over Yet
or Why We Must Fight for the American Cultural Sector
jeraldcrook.substack.com
FORTY remain active. Almost FIFTEEN HUNDRED canceled.
ACH@ach.bsky.social · last yr.ACH has updated our Impact Database with info about canceled NEH grants as of 4/8/25. We understand around 40 grants remain active, with a small number reinstated. The $ amounts reflect awarded funds. The total amount is a fraction (~.000037%)of the 2024 US budget. Learn more: impact.ach.org
Issue 59 of Baltimore Beat is live. April 19 will mark 10 years since Freddie Gray’s death. This issue looks back on that tumultuous time in our city’s history. Our cover was designed by Wide Angle Youth Media.
my hot take is that if you lost your job to government cuts, you’re allowed to complain about losing your livelihood, full stop, no qualifiers about “and even more, the important work.”
One of the reasons @baltimorebeat.bsky.social is so essential is because it provides features like the multi-page list of community resources for food, rent, health, etc. Critical community information you won’t routinely see in other media outlets serving the City.
The "Book Résumés" initiative from @uabookbans.bsky.social, @slj.com, and publishing partners is a powerful tool to combat censorship. This free resource includes reviews, accolades, and more info on frequently-challenged books. New titles added regularly! buff.ly/dr3btyt
Children’s shoes are lined up on the street in Washington, DC, representing the 17,400+ Palestinian children killed by Israel
This is just to say friends, if you have a space or platform to talk about NEH, IMLS, and other such agency cuts, my job is subject to them and as of yet I have no gag order
I’ve worked on something close to 60 grants in various capacities as a Library of Congress task force director. And if we lose NEH that pretty much ends most research and preservation infrastructure, with no backup plan.
DOGE Demands Deep Cuts at Humanities Endowment
The National Endowment for the Humanities, which supports museums, scholarship and historical sites, could see grants curtailed and staffing slashed by up to 80 percent.
nytimes.com
How are artists/art workers/museums/galleries mobilizing against Trump? My DMs are open for tips about shows, guerrilla actions, performances, posters, billboards, letters, boycotts, you name it — for a story. Pls share.
During COVID everyone realized the med industry had its limits, and how agencies like the CDC and NIH or government injection of funds were vital to incentivize pharma and expand public health and…survive. The NEH is that also. We don’t survive without culture and history, and these grants… /1
I just wrote to all of my congressional representatives to plead them to support the NEH, for everyone, for public history, for scholarship, for teaching, for all of it. I used this widget: very easy, it has a template, and automatically looks up the emails of your representatives. p2a.co/DdtlGIT
URGENT: Save the NEH
p2a.co
Save the NEH, my job, and the jobs of thousands of culture workers who are supported by NEH funds and programming. This link takes you to a SUPER simple form to email all of your reps. It took me 15 seconds and I got email replies from my congressman and both senators. p2a.co/DdtlGIT
URGENT: Save the NEH
p2a.co
3/3 FDLP is indexed for full-text search, unlike the regular Wayback Machine. Pages look more like a facsimile than the regular Wayback. Includes full video. Archive-It link for: The National Endowment for the Humanities Federal Depository Library Program Web Archive archive-it.org/collections/...
hearing that state book festivals funded by National Endowment Humanities are being shuttered — so, no Southern Festival of Books this year... the Kentucky Book Festival is still on, as its funding comes from sponsors & donors, but the Kentucky Humanities Council is readjusting its budget.
The small amounts are also calculated, literally. They know these projects are not going to move the needle on the economy like tariff. They’ll be whispers in the wind, tears in the rain. Money will flow all the same
At a certain point, the numbers become ambiguous. “DOGE saved $12 million” might as well be “billion.” In a federal budget of trillions, it all sounds like a fortune to the right idiot that wants to feel good about this.
Seems like the NEH is being at once gutted and Trumpified. Sigh.
dr. meg smith@megsmith.bsky.social · last yr.Today in NEH watch: the Public Scholars program has a new "What's New in 2025" section that strongly encourages narratives of American exceptionalism in light of the 250th anniversary. #DigitalHumanities #Humanities #NEh
National History Day needs your help: "we learned that our grants from NEH were terminated. This means a loss of more than $336,000 over this year and next." bit.ly/41YDE8v
Join Our 50 for 50 Campaign - National History Day
Invest in preparing students for a life of learning and creating confident teachers to strengthen the democracy and economy of the future
bit.ly
Trump and Musk are the kings of dunking an easy layup. They recognize a small tangible win can pay off dividends as a PR win.
Miriam Posner@miriamposner.com · last yr.As we all know, NEH funding was already almost inexpressibly meager. It bears repeating that they’ve targeted NEH and IMLS exactly because they’ve been *incredibly* efficient at spurring new thought, writing, and community-building.
NEW — After putting all Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS) employees on administrative leave Monday, I'm told DOGE is canceling congressionally-appropriated grants to state libraries across the entire country. Libraries are getting notice that funding was canceled as of 4/1. More here:
EveryLibrary Condemns the Trump Administration's Termination of IMLS Grants as an Attack on Libraries, Museums, and Archives Everywhere.
State Library Agencies and other grant recipients across the country began receiving official notices from the Acting Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services terminating their grants,...
everylibrary.org