Esther Lin
@estherwslin.bsky.social
HERE TO STAY (HarperCollins 2024). COLD THIEF PLACE (AJB 2025). 2024 Pushcart. Stegner, FAWC Fellow. D&D nerd. Coörganizer for Undocupoets.org.
A short essay I wrote on writing poetry while undocumented. Many thanks to @alicejamesbooks.bsky.social and @timemagazine.bsky.social
I Was Undocumented for 21 Years. This Is Why I Tell My Story
"I laugh when one of my poems emerges especially dark. It’s dark because I was truthful," writes Esther Lin.
time.com
Trans rights are human rights. Pass it on!
Captain Revo@captainrevo.bsky.social · 2y agoTrans rights are human rights. Pass it on!
Cigna Healthcare needs a specialist to tell me if I have mental health coverage or not 🙄
I reviewed Here to Stay, which gives voice to 52 undocumented, or once undocumented, poets. Their rebuttal to the Trumpian zeitgeist are invaluable. www.greenlindenpress.com/interviews-a... @j9joseph.bsky.social @marcelohcastillo.bsky.social @estherwslin.bsky.social @harperperennial.bsky.social
One of the best parts of the meal is when you just finish, lean back and sip coffee. #avoidingthenewstoday
This is a great piece. "As deportations ramp up again, we have a choice: We can watch as our neighbors disappear or we can build on these proven strategies to protect the diverse communities we've built together."
How to Keep Tabs on ICE Agents Who May Be Surveilling Your Neighborhood
Here’s a step-by-step guide.
teenvogue.com
If you’re in DC tomorrow come see Janine Joseph in conversación with Kyle Dargan at the Hill Center. www.hillcenterdc.org/event/the-li...
The Life of a Poet Featuring Celebrated Poet and Librettist Janine Joseph in Conversation with Poet/Editor Kyle Dargan
Established in 2013, The Life of a Poet is a quarterly series of in-depth literary conversations. The series offers a rare opportunity to consider a writer’s entire career and explore the major events...
hillcenterdc.org
BOUGIE THINGS I'VE SAID #1: 1/10/25: It's 14K minimum now. I don't buy silver anymore.
Dismayed by this act, which will surely harm many innocent migrants, and demonstrates how cowardly some of our legislators are in trying to make good with the incoming power.
House Passes ‘Laken Riley Act’ to Deport Unauthorized Immigrants Charged With Minor Crimes
Forty-eight Democrats joined Republicans in supporting legislation that aims to deport more migrants charged with nonviolent crimes, a first salvo in a broader crackdown.
nytimes.com
Please share! Three fellowships of $500 each to undocumented (formerly or currently) poets and a fully funded workshop with the Fine Arts Work Center! At undocupoets.org/fellowship
I’m struggling to get into #EverythingEverywhereAllatOnce. It’s so zany?? But so many people insist I will like it
Overhearing in cafe: young man showing photos to his girlfriend of “here’s when you’re snoring”; “here’s when you tripped”; “here’s when you got embarrassed when Aunty said you have too much makeup on.” 😰 Is this a new kink?!
Many undocumented workers employed by staffing agencies have been placed in dangerous situations where they suffered serious physical harms — fractures, amputations, miscarriages — or death, a New York Times investigation found.
Undocumented Workers Take on Dangerous Jobs to Feed America
Undocumented workers help feed America’s hunger for prepared foods, but some take jobs with staffing agencies that expose them to hazardous conditions.
nytimes.com
No good explanation for why this #undocumented man’s friends and neighbors voted to deport immigrants other than white saviordom: “I won’t let them deport YOU.”
The Alienation of Jaime Cachua
His friends and family members in Rome, Ga., voted to support mass deportation. Now he’s scrambling to stay in the country.
nytimes.com
Finally watching #TheBear and #SchittsCreek. I’m connecting really hard with families screaming at each other—with superb comic timing
When my dad worked in the laundermat, he accumulated giant silky laundry bags—which I still use. Yesterday I noticed a discreet Chinese character he’d Sharpied. Mystery! A family name? A code? Written 30 years ago, knowing his youngest might see it? A friend translated: “It’s ‘wa.’ For ‘socks’!”
Not renting an apt over winterbreak means my office is the best place to stash my stuff while I’m back in Seattle. Well, I learned 10pm is when campus security alarms are set. It was interesting to explain to a campus cop why I was in the English Dept alone at night with a hot pink exercise ball.
When my dad worked in a laundromat, he found all sorts of coins people used to stick in the machines: wheat pennies, Eisenhower dollars, Indian head cents. The l’mat was tough; his health suffered after years of 15-hour days. But he collected them for me—he found beauty in them and wanted me to, too
Some days I really miss #Seattle. Other days I remember it’s in Seattle where a woman burst into the cafe to loudly announce, “A carfull of diverse people arrived just now, and there were just so many of these diverse people!” This shit’s everywhere but this polite insularity is special.
