In my “WORDS SHOULD MEAN SOMETHING” era.

In my “WORDS SHOULD MEAN SOMETHING” era.

More SPECIMEN Blurb Week praise from Dylan Fisher: "Liu strings together minute pieces of evidence—a tender text exchange, a dreamed Parisian scene, a Bolaño quote—to imbue what we so often mistake for the casualties of everyday life with purpose and meaning." www.splitlippress.com/specimen

So tell me ... why is the John Templeton Foundation (an org with a history of financing conservative/libertarian/anti-science projects and think tanks) funding literary magazines?

From Tropisms by Nathalie Sarraute: “It seemed certain that, for as long as possible, she would have to wait, remain motionless like that, do nothing, not move, that the highest degree of comprehension, real intelligence, was that, to undertake nothing, keep as still as possible, do nothing.”

If you’re a writer on a book tour and Austin, TX is your only “Southern” stop, I have some questions!

Every time I see a book tour announcement that skips the South, I’m reminded how insular and intellectually incurious so much of the publishing industry is.

My favorite genre of poetry is the Jenny Holzer.

Today’s dog photo. Sisters on a rainy day.

Everyone should read Grace Paley's fiction. But folks seem to anthologize "Wants" (and *only* "Wants") in spite of her many other terrific stories. Sure, "Wants" is great, AND here are a few additional Paley stories you should be reading:

Leonard Cohen (via @zackamenetz.bsky.social at Emory’s 2025 Science on Spiritual Health Symposium): “I would say categorically at this moment that in any junkie's kitchen there is a greater contact with the spiritual world than any given synagogue on the North American continent.”

Fellow authors, I love you, and I know it feels like we don’t have a choice, but B&N and Am*zon both scheduled sales this week to preempt Independent Bookstore Day, a hugely vital source of income for indie bookstores. Please don’t promote their sales; please promote your local indie this week.

Today’s dog photo. A tired dog.

Flannery O’Connor: “I have found that anything that comes out of the South is going to be called grotesque by the Northern reader, unless it is grotesque, in which case it is going to be called realistic.”

Caught the dogs frolicking in the grass this afternoon! Good for them!

A few years ago, @daniellamazzio.bsky.social introduced me to one of her favorite movies, Kiki's Delivery Service. In a new piece for @autostraddle.bsky.social, she wrote about the movie's vision of community, creativity, & solidarity. Check it out! www.autostraddle.com/miyazaki-ai-...

Italo Calvino on his Invisible Cities: “The desire of my Marco Polo is to find the hidden reasons which bring men to live in cities: reasons which remain valid over and above any crisis.”

Today's dog photo. My ghostwriter.

Some favorites from a visit last week to the @brooklynmuseum.org!

New Pulp! www.youtube.com/watch?v=-27a...

the cat is indeed out of the bag. meow. 💖 @sevenstories.bsky.social Read about it in @publisherswkly.bsky.social ⬇️ 🔗 www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

trump’s reaction (or lack thereof) to the attempt on the lives of gov. shapiro and his family ON PASSOVER is why it’s journalism malpractice to credulously report ANYTHING he does as being in service of fighting antisemitism. jews are pawns in his nazi game and don’t ever get it twisted.

The Three Signs of New York City

This Passover I’m thinking hard about the holiday’s history of resistance to tyrannical leaders, and the imperative for Jewish people to stand with all oppressed peoples of the world.

Today I learned that the poet William Blake was also the painter William Blake.

I saw the best films of my generation on 13 inch laptop screens.

Probably not a wild take, but these new Bon Iver tracks are particularly stellar. youtu.be/yaPX-i1TjCc?...

Outside / Inside

The light of my life, @daniellamazzio.bsky.social, has written an amazing piece about what the year's best theatre films (Janet Planet, Ghostlight, Sing Sing, and A Different Man) all have in common. www.autostraddle.com/the-best-the...

Today’s dog photo. Rosie prepares for a mid morning nap.

Excited to share my latest piece for @chicagoreader.bsky.social which looks at the First Ward's First Look community zoning process including how it came to be and what it seeks to do. chicagoreader.com/news/zoning-...

Today’s dog photo. Daisy in B&W.

Long live The Short Novel!

“A short book is also a form. You can’t have all that lumber that is so satisfying in the old fiction.” —Elizabeth Hardwick on Sleepless Nights, November 5, 1978.

Homemade sourdough baguettes + the last tomatoes of the season (ripening off the vine)

Hot (but correct) take: Best biscuits in metro Atlanta are from Decatur's Pastries A Go Go.

For all the newcomers: What do I post about? Books, writing, baking, diabetes, my dogs. Will I disappoint you? Probably.

Today’s dog photo. Daisy in felt.

If there's one thing I'd bet my life on, it's literary magazines extending their contest deadlines.

Today’s dog photo. Rosie and Daisy caught snuggling.

Shucks,,,

Today’s dog photo. Rosie staring into your soul.

Today's dog photo. A playful Rosie.

Today's dog photo. Rosie and Daisy waking up.

First attempt at homemade sourdough bagels!

I hope the execs of pharmaceutical and insurance companies die painful, prolonged deaths from the illnesses they profit from.

Today's dog photo. Trying out some new (old) harnesses.

My favorite kind of church service is @kellylink.bsky.social in conversation with Josh Russell.

"She suffers it, she curses it, but she doesn't have it, having it implies the desire to keep something close, and she desires no such thing." From "Elena Knows" by Claudia Piñeiro (translated by Frances Riddle and published by Charco Press)

ICYMI