Polish intellectual queers in the 1930s were wild—the rabbit holes have rabbit holes. I wrote about the great gay opera King Roger & some adventures of its composer & librettist. Including a cameo by Czeslaw Milosz. Link to full essay (no paywall): garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/a-queer-po...

I wrote about the wild gay life of the Polish composer Karol Szymanowski, & the Des Moines Metro Opera’s daring production of his wild gay opera, King Roger. It was mind-bogglingly good. garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/a-queer-po...

Starting in Sept, I’m teaching a year-long series of classes on Henry James. Join for one or all as we read some of the greatest fiction in English. First up: Portrait of a Lady. Full info here: www.garthgreenwell.com/classes

Very grateful to George Saunders for this shout-out in his newsletter. You can read more about the Henry James class here: garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/why-we-lov...

New episode of Books Up Close out with THEE @garthgreenwell.bsky.social! 💙https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ep-37-garth-greenwell-small-rain/id1792209740?i=1000776247022

“Aussi contemporain que proustien.” Very happy to see Small Rain as a summer coup de coeur in Le Monde. www.lemonde.fr/livres/artic...

I wrote about Henry James and why I’m teaching a year-long series of online classes on his work. Free post, no paywall. garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/why-we-lov...

Starting in September, I’m teaching a year-long series of online classes on Henry James. You can take them individually or as a sequence. I’d love for you to join us. Scholarships are available. All the details are here: garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/why-we-lov...

On how learning to speak Latin, maybe the least “optimized” or “profitable” use of time imaginable, has reminded me of time’s value. Link to full essay: garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/learning-t...

“…how lucky we are that he got so much time for making, and that he used that time so well.” A lovely tribute, full of wonderful details.

Garth Greenwell@garthgreenwell.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I shared some thoughts on David Hockney, whom I never met but whose work I’ve kept close for a long time. Also: his kindness to the great neglected painter Patrick Angus. Free post, no paywall. garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/some-thoug...

I shared some thoughts on David Hockney, whom I never met but whose work I’ve kept close for a long time. Also: his kindness to the great neglected painter Patrick Angus. Free post, no paywall. garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/some-thoug...

On learning a language to hear the sound of a beloved voice. Link to full essay: garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/learning-t...

About nine months ago I started studying Latin (again), this time in a class that treats it as a living language and aims for immersion. It’s an absolute waste of time, I can’t recommend it enough. garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/learning-t...

"or for pleasure, the great pleasure of the archive, the great archive of pleasure; we will call this art" Today's Poem-A-Day, by Andrea Lawlor, is a marvel; please take a minute to read it. poets.org/poem/positio... @poetsorg.bsky.social @anderlawlor.bsky.social

Position Paper #53: National Archivist

In the new place which will be also the old place we will save useful things neatly,

poets.org

Edmund White died one year ago today. I wrote this piece about the privilege of getting to know him in the last decade of his extraordinary life. Free post; no paywall. garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/on-edmund-...

I wrote about falling in love with my partner through translating his poems—& what it’s like to publish a book of his poems (co-translated with Idra Novey) 13 years later. Free post; no paywall. garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/translatin...

Human meaning is embodied, embedded, holistic--which is one reason ChatGPT & Claude aren't great at translating poems. Link to full essay (no paywall): garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/translatin...

I wrote about the pleasures & anxieties of translating your partner’s poems—& the grace of having a friend like Idra Novey to help. Also: the surprising joys of making a home with another writer. Free post, no paywall. garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/translatin...

Gibt es morgen noch ein morgen? Garth Greenwell verwandelt die Klinik zum Roman.

»Kleiner Regen« von Garth Greenwell: Dankbar und desinfiziert

Gibt es morgen noch ein morgen? Garth Greenwell verwandelt die Klinik zum Roman.

zeit.de

Carmen Maria Machado on Rocío García’s “Tocando la luna,” currently on view at the Leslie Lohman Museum, & the terror & pleasure of releasing yourself to overwhelming forces. Full convo here, no paywall: garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/talking-ab...

I talked with Carmen Maria Machado about the pleasures of thinking alongside paintings, her first experience curating with the Leslie Lohman Museum, writing stories backwards, & the Cuban painter Rocío García. No paywall. garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/talking-ab...

So happy that this beautiful book is in the world today. It was a joy to translate Luis’s poems with brilliant Idra Novey. Thank you Washington Square Press & especially Jenny Xu. Please look for a copy at your local bookstore, or all of the links here: www.simonandschuster.com/books/One-Mo...

If you, like me, have recently read Giovanni’s Room, you would do well to read this lovely essay.

Garth Greenwell@garthgreenwell.bsky.social · 3mo ago

It's not an introduction, but I did recently publish this on Giovanni's Room: harpers.org/archive/2025...

In just over two weeks, please join us for a discussion of Ben Lerner’s new novel, Transcription. Open to all paid subscribers, at any level. Full info here: garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/on-politic...

An upcoming class by Garth Greenwell, a brilliant teacher as well as writer, for anyone interested in style.

Garth Greenwell@garthgreenwell.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Style is one of the most important & mysterious aspects of writing. Join me in June for this Zoom craft class on what it is & how we can get better at it. 3 sessions, all recorded. Scholarships available. Full info here: www.garthgreenwell.com/what-is-styl...

Loved this book when I read it the first time many many (oh so many) years ago, and loved it fiercely again when I read the new printing, movingly introduced by @garthgreenwell.bsky.social. www.mcnallyeditions.com/books/p/noct...

Nocturnes for the King of Naples — McNALLY EDITIONS

Edmund White Foreword by Garth Greenwell The letters of a seducer to the great love of his life, a sensual tour-de-force by “the paterfamilias of queer literature” ( New York Times ). 

mcnallyeditions.com

Style is one of the most important & mysterious aspects of writing. Join me in June for this Zoom craft class on what it is & how we can get better at it. 3 sessions, all recorded. Scholarships available. Full info here: www.garthgreenwell.com/what-is-styl...

"We do things with art, is what I mean to say; we don't just suffer it." —Garth Greenwell, on reading past offense.

Garth Greenwell: On a Sex Scene in Miranda July's All Fours—and…

Garth Greenwell asks what we can do with the art that offends us—and why staying with bad feeling might matter.

yalereview.org

I wrote about why it’s important to insist that art & politics are different things, & why conversations about “political art” often make what I think is a fundamental mistake about value. Link to full essay: garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/on-politic...

He lies if they ask him how he does it. To leap on top or to the side. To dodge the ceaseless lottery. —Luis Muñoz, translated by Idra Novey and Garth Greenwell. Read the full poem: https://bit.ly/4vcQ3Ck