“Earnestness is cringe” is just the mirror image of “cynicism is savvy” and the matching partner to “lol nothing matters” which is the fertile ground for fascism to grow. Hope is cringe. Progress is cringe. Change is cringe. Getting together with other people and imagining something better? Cringe.

Toby Buckle@polphilpod.bsky.social · 2w ago

i also wonder if part of the backlash was that we've decided obvious earnestness is 'cringe' &, like, look at the world around you. do we like the alterative? getting back to a sane & just world will involve a lot more of things we dismiss as cringe now

Fascists lie all the time not to make the lies matter but to remove weight from the truth. In this way, sincerity is a weapon against fascism. It is how we embrace the heft of truth.

This is a fun game, but today was, frankly, absurdly difficult.

I strongly recommend this award-winning flash piece.

Suzanne (writing as S A Greene)@sagreene1.bsky.social · 2w ago

Utterly exquisite. Huge congratulations @sarahillswrites.bsky.social 🥳🎉🥳🎂I love this micro sooooo much💐💐💐

Today, August 4, 2026, is the date when the fictional events occur in Ray Bradbury's "There Will Come Soft Rains," which was published in Collier's Weekly in 1950. You can hear Leonard Nimoy reading the story here.

August 4, 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains | Ray Bradbury & Leonard Nimoy | OEW Institute

YouTube video by OEW Institute

youtube.com

My live band and I decided to play ONE show this year and this is it! The awesome Freeville Harvest Fest on Sept 12 from 12-1. (It’s at 39 Main St, Freeville NY). We love this little fest and are stoked to play our 8th year there! Don’t miss it! 😃🎶

Logged in to Spotify for the first time in a while to see this: my high school rockstar friend @rosealaimomusic.bsky.social just dropped an EP! #newmusicfriday

With everything going on in the world, it warms my heart to learn there's a subreddit dedicated to Borges. Found this while searching for the Di Giovanni translations: www.reddit.com/r/Borges/com...

From the Borges community on Reddit

Explore this post and more from the Borges community

reddit.com

My debut collection, "Impossible Children," is on sale through Friday!

Sarabande Books@sarabandebooks.bsky.social · 2mo ago

☀️ SUMMER SOLSTICE SALE! 20% OFF BOOKS JUNE 23-26 ☀️ Enter code SUMMER20 at checkout. Free shipping on orders of $75 or more. All orders receive a complimentary "Books Before Billionaires" sticker. What are you waiting for?! *Sale excludes preorders, merchandise, and bundles.

Hi, I'm a finalist for a book prize! If you haven't seen my performance for it, check it out, like, and or comment. (I would do it for you, just saying. 😃) #poet #poetsofbluesky youtu.be/iGYapFJSU6Q?...

WriteBloodyfinalist2026.Subject_Lines_from_Democratic_Fundraisers_in_an_Election_Year.VincentRendoni

YouTube video by Vincent Rendoni

youtu.be

Counterpoint: the only thing this set of people want to get rid of more than academic research is serious teaching.

Chronicle of Higher Education@chronicle.com · 2mo ago

Opinion | Liberal education once prepared students for citizenship. Reviving it will require a radical shift: less academic research, far more serious teaching. https://chroni.cl/4uJBSmy

Very very cool I got to see this live.

In this interview with @aubreyhirsch.bsky.social, @francescadonner.bsky.social asks, "Are we living in a man’s world?"

Aubrey Hirsch is Done With Gender Injustice

'Graphic Rage' is her response to life as a woman in America.

thepersistent.com

In addition to reading this, please make sure an adult is always watching your kids at the pool or beach - always, like every second, drowning happens so so quickly

Trish Greenhalgh@trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Every summer I repost this article on how to spot drowning. Please read it and pass on. In the last few years I’ve had SIX messages from people who saved a kid’s life after clicking on the link from my feed. slate.com/technology/2...

The news about Trump’s $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund has left me absolutely ENRAGED! So I made some art about it. Here are some ideas for other places where we could put that money to much better use. Click the link to read the whole comic! aubreyhirsch.substack.com/p/trumps-18-...

Check out AHP's #PGHBookFest line-up! It's going to be an incredible day for writers and readers. Come for the books and conversation, stay for the community!

Open call for novels and single-narrative nonfiction this Saturday only!

I have no idea why this post blew up, but I *do* know that this event will be an absolute banger. This story collection is incredible--accessible and unpredictable in the best way. I also felt like I learned a ton about China. AND there's a story set in Pittsburgh!

I'm loving this book, and it's really neat that the author (and book) has so many Pgh connections. Wang Xiaobo and Li Yinhe studied at Pitt in the 80s. Li-Young Lee began writing poetry in Pittsburgh & Huang Xiang created his House Poem here. Details: whitewhalebookstore.com/events

I woke up early to make an emergency comic about the current ruling on mifepristone, how people in red states can still access abortion medication, and some facts about the safety and efficacy of abortion drugs.

WTF is Going on with Mifepristone?

again...sigh

open.substack.com

Something we don’t address enough is how many people, especially adults, do not have a working imagination.

Goddamn, what a book! Also, I always like to read the acknowledgements page bc it's a reminder that any book is the distillation of a tremendous amount of individual thought and effort, plus the love and support of so many different friends + communities.

why the New Yorker publishes the brilliant Hanif Abdurraqib and then does not put his name in the social media post about his essay is absolutely beyond me, but anyway, the important thing here is that you should always read Hanif

The New Yorker@newyorker.com · 4mo ago

People are pining for old technologies—CD players, VCRs, Walkmans. What’s behind our longing for inconvenience? www.newyorker.com/culture/essa...

Listen up: I am one of those rare sex assault victims who actually took the guy who did it to court. It was a local scandal that put my initials on the front page of the local paper (not my whole name because I was a minor). You have no idea what happens to women on the stand or in the press.

1/ Here's an easy writing hack that's made a big difference for me: every time you save your novel-in-progress, save it as a new file with the date attached. Yesterday: NovelTitle Apr 9 2026.docx Today: NovelTitle Apr 10 2026.docx It works because: a) It feels like I've written A TON, which

If you're in or around Pittsburgh, join us this evening at 7PM at White Whale Bookstore for this double celebration! Event is free and open to the public. More info: whitewhalebookstore.com/events/

White Whale Bookstore

Conversation, community, and culture. Pittsburgh's family-owned, general interest independent bookstore. Check out our online store, literary events, and writing workshops.

whitewhalebookstore.com

Thrilled to be part of this lineup! If you're in Pittsburgh this Saturday, join us on March 28, 2026, at 7PM at White Whale Bookstore for this double celebration! Event is free and open to the public. More info: whitewhalebookstore.com/events/

Today, on International Women's Day, I, a human woman, want you to know there is a type of sea cucumber called the Headless Chicken Monster

'Headless chicken monster' spotted swimming in Antarctic Ocean

Unlike many other sea cucumbers, the headless chicken monster can swim up into the water column.

abc7chicago.com

Article in the second image is by Emily Zarevich, quoted in Jstor Daily.

You can see our full AWP schedule here: www.autumnhouse.org/ahp-at-awp20...

AHP at AWP2026 - Autumn House Press

Book Signings Thursday, 03/05 Anthony Immergluck, author of The Worried Well, from 2:00 - 2:30 PM Friday, 03/06 Meredith Nnoka, author of Les Portes,

autumnhouse.org