This is not the worst way to spend a beautiful fall afternoon. Purchase copies or access of the newest issue of @inkinthirds.bsky.social at www.magcloud.com/browse/issue... and then check out my poem “Water/Skin” on page 38. Such a beautiful journal, well worth your time.

I made it to the finalist stage in some recent single poem and chapbook contests. I mean, just a few, but a few is better than straight out rejection. I’m surprised how good not winning can feel.

Check out my poem "Water/Skin" in the new issue of *Ink in Thirds* (Fall 2025, 6.2) @inkinthirds.bsky.social, a journal full of wonderful writing and art. The print version costs a couple of well-spent dimes, but you can also purchase an online version for $3.33. inkinthirds.org/vol-6-i-2/

ICE has fatally shot an Illinois resident close to a school. Schools must be safe zones; ICE should not be creating this fear for our kids and families and communities- I join the IFT in calling for a full accounting

Why am I getting followed by a whole lot of "women" who love my posts and are just looking for friends? Do I come off as that lonely and forlorn? Or are these new friends really turned on by political/poetic/pedagogical content? Ah well, at least I'm reaching the bots.

Mr. Rove, Dr. Arendt would like a word: “Thought..is still possible [when] men live under the conditions of political freedom. [N]o other human capacity is so vulnerable, and it is in fact far easier to act under conditions of tyranny than it is to think.” Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition. (1958)

Violence begets violence begets violence. Peace is attainable by breaking that chain with critical thinking, discourse, and the promotion of mutual rights. If a group commits to violence, all the rest can do is practice peace, support others who seek peace, and work to persuade those who don’t.

My dog may be the only one in the house who is grateful I’ve been forced to lay flat all week due to the sadistic tendencies of my back.

There's probably a poem somewhere in being flattened by back pain. If I wasn't so drugged up, maybe I could find it.

Please check out my new poem (as well as the other fine work) in the new issue of MINYAN. (Special thanks to editor Liz Marlow.) It should be easy enough, just choose a psalm, any psalm, say #19 for starters… www.minyanmag.com/leonardkress...

F25 office hours sign quote: “Education is the point at which we decide whether we love the world enough to assume responsibility for it and by the same token save it from that ruin which, except for renewal, except for the coming of the new and young, would be inevitable.” --Hannah Arendt, 1954

The fall semester has started and my submissions, my writing, and my reshuffling of poems to try to make them make sense have all fallen dormant. This is the way of both poetic and economic work, but I need a slight moment to feel bad about it. Alas...

I'm late to the party on this tweet by @briantylercohen.bsky.social, but here goes: Given what's on our home TV when other people control it, I can't help but think this little vacation is the perfect setup for a cozy mystery in an episode of Agatha Raisin.

My wife, @shaunachill.bsky.social, is a #dietitian starting a new venture to support women as they pursue #WomensNutrition and #HealthyLiving. She is holding a free live webinar tomorrow at 5pm EST. To join, check out her site. While you're there, read a blog or 2: www.shaunahillnutrition.com @shau

As I sat down to create the agenda for a faculty meeting and syllabi for classes starting this week, I glanced over at my youthfully optimistic pile of books and journals I intended to read this summer. Alas, these forlorn books must now join past neglected piles, unread.

People are reading AI-generated synopses of books and then claiming they read 100 books in a week. This is how the abolition of books began in Fahrenheit 451: classics were condensed into five-minute summaries for those too busy to do the reading. Later came the burnings.

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Not all news makes us despair. Sometimes the news just reminds us that life is absurd. Four people were injured after a tractor-trailer crash left thousands of hot dogs scattered across the highway in York County, Pennsylvania. NBCNews, 8/1/25

I am thrilled that @inkinthirds.bsky.social will be publishing a poem of mine in their fall edition. Warning: there may be nudity in my poem. Look me up. Hook yourself up. Ink in Thirds is a lovely journal filled with prose, poetry and photography. inkinthirds.org

Linda Pastan

Literature—the life of it, especially so close to the ground of it, the living and writing and reading with each other—is community work; we do this together. It’s participatory. It’s gift exchange.

The unyielding opinions of my 17 year old have taught me that perhaps we would all be better off if we stayed true to the purity of our most simple convictions while also being open to rational negotiation with those who oppose our ideals. Parenthood is a pretty good training ground for citizenship.

I am thankful for the trees in my yard and the birds that perch there because I'm probably not going to get away this summer and trees and birds are essential for my brain regeneration and poetry production.

I'm in the middle of responding to student emails, planning a class, scheduling medical appointments, reviewing a friend's legal letter, writing poetry, submitting poetry, working on manuscripts, and considering a refinance of the house. My language is all a-Crumbed right now.

Prose this evening by Michael Hill. Be sure to check out the fantastic video he so kindly recorded for us. @ccprof.bsky.social librelit.com/2025/07/16/m... youtu.be/DAP1yn_fxKE?...

I wrote this piece published by @librelit.bsky.social on the day before the innauguration of someone. It’s called “Winter Poetics,” but is as valid today when the cold steel of politics is pressing up against us. Check it out. While you’re there, read more. librelit.com/2025/07/16/m...

If I was younger and didn’t have a career (that has been protected and enhanced by AFT Michigan), I would love to work this job. AFT Michigan is an important and vibrant chapter and they do meaningful work across the state and country. unionjobs.com/listing.php?...

"If you're an instructor, smol press lit is an excellent weapon to wield against ChatGPT, since the chatbot can't make arguments about stories that aren't canonical." (Kathy Pratt).

Another reminder: The second issue of Jackdaw Review is out and it has two poems by an intrepid little poet named me. Here is one of them. Check out the whole shebang in the lovely online journal: online.fliphtml5.com/nnzao/xinr/#...

I posted a link the other day; here’s another one: the new issue of Jackdaw Review is up and I’ve got poems! While all work in the issue is great, my daughter reviewed this one saying it needs a trigger warning. High praise, indeed! Check out the whole issue at online.fliphtml5.com/nnzao/xinr/#...

I have two new poems in the 2nd issue of Jackdaw Review (Pgs 26 and 28). Just me, Ted Kooser, and a whole bunch of fine poets and artists hanging. (Yes, I just name-dropped, but how often does one get their work published alongside a poet laureate?) Check it out. online.fliphtml5.com/nnzao/xinr/#...

Happy 4th of July. Words matter.

This is on @kirstengillibrand.bsky.social and @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social and @ericswalwell.bsky.social and @danielsgoldman.dg4ny.co and everyone else who has aligned with the Republicans on their hyper Islamaphobic shit. You guys are the GOP.

The Onion has sent the following letter to all 535 members of Congress. This special edition will be in their physical mailboxes as they return from recess tomorrow. We hope it inspires them to continue to cower as our essential liberties are systematically dismantled. theonion.com/letter-to-co...

When we cover the ethics of war in my Ethics class, we always look at how steps toward peace require the mutual recognition of the humanity of those with whom you disagree. The problem with profiteers and/or narcissists fostering war is that neither recognize the humanity of others.

As someone who was on the receiving end of one of these close readings and personal notes, I can say that their note was the kindest, most supportive rejection I’ve ever gotten. I’ll be submitting to @the-engine-idling.bsky the next time they have a call and you should too. #litsky

When we cover the ethics of war only Ethics class, we always look at how steps toward peace require the mutual recognition of the humanity of those with whom you disagree. The problem with profiteers and/or narcissists fostering war is that neither recognize the humanity of others.

A student quoting an interview subject tried hard with MLA citation: My dad said, "Kids today....." (Father) I love this citation so much and I didn't know I could love citations. Students, man, they can really make you feel the feels.

I just signed my first book contract. It's a chapbook--but that counts, right? Either way, it's exciting and gratifying that someone would make me sign a legal document about my own work. #poetrysky

A definition poem for #NoKings Day. #poetrysky

Maybe one of your best possible reads today. In this one, Richardson provides a fairly well-known story about how the USA became a country without a king. Happy No Kings Day!

Remember when we taught (some of) our history? This casually dismisses the subjugation, oppressions, and destruction of indigenous peoples, but still has key lessons we would do well to remember. I can almost sing along, so clear is this in my memory. Happy No Kings Day! youtu.be/3R1tZ6l876Q?...

I was fortunate enough to have work published in Delicate Emissions. My work was treated with care and published both online and in a physical zine in a delightful manner. Jump in; the water is fine.

I may need to change my reading list for Fall classes.

I look at my shelf upon shelf of lit theory, comp/rhet pedagogy, political philosophy and think, “None of this relevant anymore.” My dissertation was on democracy, education and resistance. What can we resist when power has no ethical center, no identifiable meaning? www.nytimes.com/2025/06/07/t...

When I text myself, my phone reports receiving a text from “Maybe: Michael Hill” The iPhone solves the basic epistemological puzzle: we are only the moment; all identity is mutable. Being and time solved! Whew, now I can return to tapping different colored shapes without worrying about meaning.

The deadline for The MacGuffin's 30th Annual Poet Hunt Contest is in ten days. The MacGuffin is a great journal published by Schoolcraft College to create and support writing culture on their campus and beyond. Check out the contest, submit, and repost! www.schoolcraft.edu/macguffin/po...

This looks like the skies being run by a Trump administration FAA.

My three #poetrycommunity starter packs are almost full. But I still have space in the one below. If you're a #poet with a #poetry collection & you're looking for a publisher, just follow the people in the pack, repost it, then ask me for a place & I'll happily include you #booksky #writingcommunity