I did a close reading of @mollyakin.bsky.social 's poem "Mothering is a social construct, and I am motherless" — check it out, and then register to hear her read on July 15 at 7:30pm EDT on Zoom! Substack post: open.substack.com/pub/damncuri... Registration link: bit.ly/WTUIJul2025

A Close Reading of Molly Akin's Poem "Mothering is a social construct, and I am motherless"

In which I refrain from referencing either the Pink Floyd song "Mother" or the Danzig song "Mother" because neither one is germane.

open.substack.com

Preparing for next Tuesday's What The Universe Is: @mollyakin.bsky.social and David Cazden by doing a close reading of Dave's poem "Vertigo" over on my Substack: damncurious.substack.com/p/a-close-re... Go check it out and then register for the reading! bit.ly/WTUIJul2025

A Close Reading of David Cazden's Poem "Vertigo"

No, it has nothing to do with the U2 song of the same name. It's much, much more interesting than that.

damncurious.substack.com

Coming up on July 15 at 7:30pm Eastern, @mollyakin.bsky.social and David Cazden will be reading for What The Universe Is: A (Virtual) Reading Series. This means you don't have to leave the comfort of your couch to hear exceptional poems and witty conversation — register at bit.ly/WTUIJul2025!

If you've ever wanted to hear the brilliant poets Megan Pinto and Michael Dhyne read without leaving the comfort of your home, you'll be able to do exactly that on Thursday, June 12 at 7:30pm Eastern. Register at bit.ly/WTUIJun2025! @megg-bean.bsky.social

Can't wait for this meeting of the poetic minds!

Molly Ferguson Akin@mollyakin.bsky.social · last yr.

masspoetryfest2025.sched.com/event/23GPb/... Looking forward to being in Salem, MA later this month for "The Informal Formal: A Craft Reading" with @poetmercurio.bsky.social, Tatiana Johnson-Boria, and Desiree C. Bailey. Should be a fun exploration of how we each reckon with form.

Tonight (April 17) at 7:00pm EDT July Westhale will read from their new poetry collection, 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 & we'll chat about it! July is a wonderful poet and 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 is an innovative and exciting modern epic from @blacklawrence.bsky.social Register at tinyurl.com/CCWWesthale for the link!

Tuesday, April 15 at 7:30pm Eastern, @janehuffman.bsky.social and @patrickdonnelly.bsky.social will be reading for What The Universe Is: A (Virtual) Reading Series. It's free! Register at bit.ly/WTUIApr2025

This is the upcoming (non-poetry) book I'm most excited to read!

Sarah Kendzior@sarahkendzior.bsky.social · last yr.

From THE LAST AMERICAN ROAD TRIP:

Have you made a call about this yet? I have.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez@aoc.bsky.social · last yr.

CALLS ARE WORKING - it has bought us precious time, but we NEED to keep the pressure up. Tomorrow is the cloture vote. KEEP CALLING: (202) 224-3121 ☎️☎️☎️ Tell your Dem Senator to vote NO on Cloture and NO on the Republican spending bill. Do NOT assume your Senator will be good on this. Trust me.

From October 2024: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/totem-and-...

Whenever people ask me which celebrity shares my birthday, I always lead with Liza, because who could be better?

D. A. Powell@dapowell.bsky.social · last yr.

Happy Liza Minnelli Birthday Day 🎉💖😎🪩

Keep your eye on what's happening in the Republic of Georgia, friends.

Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺@marikamikiashvili.bsky.social · last yr.

It’s the morning of Day 104. Theater University students and actors - some of the most targeted people by the regime - held the first overnight protest. They are, for now, leaving the place, and will be back in the evening. “Solidsrity! Freedom! Until the end!” #GeorgiaProtests

Saw my first red-winged blackbirds of the season this morning. I am no fan of the transition from winter to spring, but it has some lovely moments nonetheless.

“Everything shows. Your newish tattoo. Your lips, that gruesome pool-cue chalk blue. The spinning light on top of the ambulance is blue, the color of a bruise. Inside, Diane, you suffer, and your suffering is you.” — @dseuss.bsky.social “Bluish” @graywolfpress.bsky.social iterant.org/issue8-diane...

Issue #8 - Diane Seuss - Iterant

Little Fugue (State) Far have I wandered not knowing the names of where, long have I woven this dress of human hair, hereI have pitched my tent, here and there,not knowing my name, or where, not even ...

iterant.org

You know what to do. Click through and read.

Sarah Kendzior@sarahkendzior.bsky.social · last yr.

New Q & A is up! I answered questions about Trump and Russia, the "Krasnov" rumor, surviving a mafia state, the military purges and martial law, Musk's ambitions, and much more: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/your-quest...

"We may have driven past the point of no return, but at least we got a carpool going." substack.com/@sarahkendzi...

This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the why and the how of where we are now.

Sarah Kendzior@sarahkendzior.bsky.social · last yr.

:There was a coup in America, and no one noticed. It was a slow-moving coup, decades in the making, forged by redefining laws and loyalty until the contours of betrayal blurred." --THEY KNEW (2022)

Putting Kash Patel in a leadership position in law enforcement, investigation and intelligence is the equivalent of asking Alf to watch your cat.

a man with an alf mask is sitting at a table with a cat and a sandwich .

ALT: a man with an alf mask is sitting at a table with a cat and a sandwich .

media.tenor.com

Brian Tyler Cohen@briantylercohen.bsky.social · last yr.

NEW: Kash Patel confirmed as FBI Director by Senate by 51-49 margin.

If I were in Lincoln, NE, on Saturday, February 22nd, this is where I'd be at 4:30pm. If you, unlike me, will be in Lincoln, NE, on that date and at that time, please go to this and then report back. @chotchandani.bsky.social and Maria Zoccola are both really wonderful poets!

Perugia Press@perugiapress.bsky.social · last yr.

Carolina Hotchandani and Maria Zoccola are reading from their beautiful debut collections this Saturday at Francie & Finch Bookshop in Lincoln, Nebraska at 4:30pm. 🌟🌟 @chotchandani.bsky.social

New article! On craftsmanship and independence in the face of technocratic dictatorship: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/the-crafts...

The Craftsman

I was going to make a noose, but instead I made a basket.

sarahkendzior.substack.com

80th day of the protests in European Georgia. This is Tbilisi tonight. Look at that crowd. 80 days of this. That’s how you resist a Putin-backed coup.

"A crime syndicate that transcends state borders in its pursuit of power and wealth...this elite criminal network has been building for decades...total domination is the outcome they seek..." HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT (2020) hidinginplainsightbook.com

Honestly, this reads like something out of Gary Shteyngart's novel Super Sad True Love Story.

Anna Bower@annabower.bsky.social · last yr.

Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Georgia) has introduced a bill to "authorize the President to enter into negotiations to acquire Greenland"—and to rename Greenland as "Red, White, and Blueland." “America is back and will soon be bigger than ever with the addition of Red, White, and Blueland,” Carter said.

I'm reposting this. Now that my predictions have come true, folks may read these articles in a different light. Hopefully a clearer light. To fight the future, you need to grasp the past: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/ten-articl...

Ten Articles Explaining the 2024 Election

Some background reading

sarahkendzior.substack.com

“I think the role of poetry really is about detailing what it is to live during a particular period in time,” [McClain] said. “It’s within the poems that I’m really able to discover how I feel or what I think.” What joy to read this interview with @nathanhmcclain.bsky.social today!

Friends! This is TONIGHT! Are you ready? Are you registered? Are you as excited as I am to hear @ritabanerjee.bsky.social and @amandacecilypoet.bsky.social read their remarkable work?

Michael Mercurio@poetmercurio.bsky.social · 2y ago

What The Universe Is: Rita Banerjee and Amanda Shaw will be happening on February 11 at 7:30pm Eastern on Zoom. Get yourself registered at bit.ly/WTUIFeb2025 so you don't miss a minute of this reading!

I will once again say that outsourcing your intellectual faculties to a plagiarism machine is embarrassing. Microsoft - one of the big players on the AI landscape - is saying it reduces your critical thinking skills. This is NOT what we need right now, people.

Dan Whitehead@danwhitehead.net · last yr.

For those keeping score, so far this week Microsoft has found that regularly using generative AI reduces a person's critical thinking skills, and the BBC has found that AI news summaries contain "significant issues" 51% of the time. www.404media.co/microsoft-st... www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/...

Only three seats left at the time I'm posting this. If you want to have some fun with words this weekend you'd better move fast!

Pioneer Valley Writers Workshop@pvww.bsky.social · last yr.

NEXT WEEKEND, February 16! Join @poetmercurio.bsky.social for a one-day virtual exploration of Deeper Writing Through Etymology! Learn more / sign up: www.pioneervalleywriters.org/service-page...

Check it out! There's a close reading of Rita Banerjee's poem "Birds on Blue" over on my Substack: open.substack.com/pub/damncuri... You can catch Rita reading with @amandacecilypoet.bsky.social on Tuesday, February 11 @ 7:30pm Eastern on Zoom. Register at bit.ly/WTUIFeb2025!

A Close Reading of Rita Banerjee's poem "Birds on Blue"

In which I talk about jazz and nuclear weapons and birds. I also play around with footnotes. I don't know. Things are weird right now.

open.substack.com

This is one of my favorite workshops to teach! English is so weird and quirky and YOU can use it to supercharge your writing! Register here and join on Zoom: www.pioneervalleywriters.org/service-page...

Deeper Writing Through Etymology | Pioneer Valley Write

Every writer—no matter how experienced they may be—feels the pressure of finding the right words to invigorate their manuscripts, to tell stories that resonate with readers and linger for a long time....

pioneervalleywriters.org

Pioneer Valley Writers Workshop@pvww.bsky.social · last yr.

NEXT WEEKEND, February 16! Join @poetmercurio.bsky.social for a one-day virtual exploration of Deeper Writing Through Etymology! Learn more / sign up: www.pioneervalleywriters.org/service-page...