"One of the reasons why I do what I do is I don’t want you to have to buy something, I want you to take what you have and give it new life and make it something that’s even better than what you originally bought it for, because now it’s one of one." - Ramell-Correen Frederick

Oh man I wish I were in nyc right now

I saw Marjane Satrapi speak about her work at Smith College 19 years ago, and she said something I have thought about and taught ever since when I teach comics. “I draw what I can’t write and I write what I can’t draw.“

An essay with an important message: listen to your body.

Was just looking at an old journal entry from college where I said I wanted to tell my mom’s story but didn’t know how to do it. Mom, I’m finally writing your story now. This piece is from a collection I’m working on. Thank you to @inshortlit.bsky.social for publishing it in their new issue.

Was just looking at an old journal entry from college where I said I wanted to tell my mom’s story but didn’t know how to do it. Mom, I’m finally writing your story now. This piece is from a collection I’m working on. Thank you to @inshortlit.bsky.social for publishing it in their new issue.

ICE agents pepper-sprayed Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey.

My new enemies are a trio of pigeons. Has anyone tried the fake owls and do they work against NYC pigeons?

The first Memorial Day dates to 1865 when members of Black churches re-buried Union soldiers from a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp to individual grave sites. Memory of the event was later suppressed. apnews.com/31e1623c7565...

A friend of mine who was TA’ing for an AmLit course found a copy of Moby Dick a student had left behind. It had only one marginal annotation, around page 100, that simply said “whale is important.”

revisiting this Mary Oliver poem. or it’s revisiting me.

Some things that have brought me #ABitOfJoy in recent months. 1. This swimsuit

Well this is delightful

Two years ago this month I had a lumpectomy. A mammogram caught my cancer early. This is a reminder to get your mammograms, colonoscopies etc

Every day of Trump 2.0 I think “it can’t get more outrageous than this,” and I am wrong. This slush fund thing is so fucking rancid and unacceptable and I hate the feeling and reality that no politician is going to stop it, or call in Batman or something. This is not a country.

I'm with Jeff on this. "We've been burned before so often that it's easy to flinch at the first sight of a potential spark." (Also, there are bigger things to direct your rage at than a movie you haven't watched)

Crying while drinking your morning coffee is writing

Since 2019, I’ve made a Rejection Stamp Card every year for my literary rejections. Having this ritual helps take the sting out of rejections just a bit. Third rejection of the year came in yesterday but it was a nice one.

This Is Just To Say I have turned off the AI features that were in the update and which you were probably hoping to monetize Fuck you they were stupid so unnecessary and so annoying

Today’s #BitOfJoy: the cherry blossoms are in peak bloom at @brooklynbotanic.bsky.social

I was blessed to have @melissahung.bsky.social work with me on this book. We discussed some key changes that I believe made the book much better. If you need an editor or assistance with writing projects, you'll be very luck if Melissa is available.

I guess it’s less surprising that a shoe company that touted being sustainable & natural would pivot to AI when you remember that at one point they were the sneakers that everyone in Silicon Valley was wearing.

It’s April. It should not be store-your-chocolate-in-the-fridge-because-it’s-melting weather in NYC and yet it is.

Texas' only licensed Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu legal interpreter is now languishing in a Raymondville detention center. She’s lived in America for 35 years: www.texasobserver.org/immigration-...

Last year I helped on a developmental edit of an ambitious book. And now it’s out in the world. Congrats, @scottkurashige.bsky.social! This history of anti-Asian racism (& how it shaped Asian American activism) is on a difficult subject, but it’s a necessary read. www.ucpress.edu/books/americ...

Last year I helped on a developmental edit of an ambitious book. And now it’s out in the world. Congrats, @scottkurashige.bsky.social! This history of anti-Asian racism (& how it shaped Asian American activism) is on a difficult subject, but it’s a necessary read. www.ucpress.edu/books/americ...

For @texashighways.bsky.social’s Night Issue, I wrote about Houston’s 24-hour diner with the iconic neon sign that’s been serving comfort food for nearly 60 years, Dot Coffee Shop. The April issue is on newsstands now, but you can also read this story online here:

For @texashighways.bsky.social’s Night Issue, I wrote about Houston’s 24-hour diner with the iconic neon sign that’s been serving comfort food for nearly 60 years, Dot Coffee Shop. The April issue is on newsstands now, but you can also read this story online here:

"Attacking a hospital is a crime, full stop. Doctors must treat patients without fear or favour. If a child is in cardiac arrest, I will not stop chest compressions to interrogate the political affiliations of her parents.” By Seema Jilani

Today is a good day to follow news outlets that have strong guardrails against Generative AI slop: go.bsky.app/8cn1XfT

Good news for San Francisco Chinatown! Proud of the people i know involved in this, who have been working hard to keep Chinatown Chinatown against forces of displacement.

Today, my fellow founding worker-owners and I are launching a subscription drive to @feedravenous.bsky.social. We are a group of experienced and award-winning food journalists here to publish thoughtful writing and incisive reporting from around the food world. www.weareravenous.com

I was so nervous & emotional watching this. (First live launch I’ve watched since Challenger.) Godspeed, astronauts.

Gutting story of the US bombing of the Iranian school, told through the eyes of the parents Even after identifying their own children's tiny, mangled bodies, many went back to the site to dig for other people's children www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Thinking of my beloved tiger queen Alice Wong today, and what better a way to celebrate than with her work; Alice was so many things, and among them was an incredibly sharp, talented writer with a luminous love for words.

I miss Alice Wong. I miss seeing her online. I’m sad I’ll never get another postcard from her. There was a beautiful celebration of her life today. Thank you to everyone who organized it and spoke.

41 years old, evacuated here legally, asylum case pending, kidnapped while driving his six children (one a US citizen) to school. Dead within 24 hours. Betrayed and murdered by the United States government. 42nd confirmed and reported death in ICE custody under Trump.

Super long line (the longest line I’ve ever seen in NYC) for this math-themed late night event at @bklynlibrary.bsky.social. Line goes past the museum toward the botanical gardens. I love how much we love the library www.bklynlibrary.org/night-library

I miss the heyday of alt weeklies. They were often bolder and more enterprising than the dailies.

Attending Tin House Workshop, now @mccormackwc.bsky.social, was hugely important to my development as a writer. Love to see this interview by @alexismwright.bsky.social with director @djcampdaddy.bsky.social about the center’s next chapter.

In San Francisco, nonprofits are trying to make the city more affordable for artists through community land trusts. "What if they could curb gentrification by subverting the traditional rhythms of the real estate industry?” www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/a...

So nice to see this interview with editor & writer @saribotton.bsky.social, who found success starting her own thing in @oldstermag.bsky.social. "It did not occur to me ever that I would be starting the best phase of my career at 60.”

Mailbox snow index report from Brooklyn

"This neurological condition is the second most prevalent cause of disability in the world. Yet, despite its common occurrence and debilitating effects, migraine still remains largely a mystery.”

"This neurological condition is the second most prevalent cause of disability in the world. Yet, despite its common occurrence and debilitating effects, migraine still remains largely a mystery.”

What is it like for Minnesotans in this moment? If you have some time, check out the essays in @literaryhub.bsky.social's Letter From Minnesota series: lithub.com/tag/letter-f...

omg everybody go draw a horse this is what the internet was made for gradient.horse

I went to this writing workshop last summer because sometimes I need someone to force me to write every day, and they delivered. Recommend. (Also, there’s a beautiful Olympic-sized pool on campus)

With alt text. Applications for the Oregon Summer Workshop at McCormack Writing Center (formerly Tin House Summer Workshop) are due soon on Feb 9. I had such a great experience when I went a few years back. The way the workshop is run, you can tell the people behind it are thoughtful & intentional.