Time for a social media hiatus. Wishing you well, Bluesky folks!

Looking forward to this. Subscribed! Recommending!

I keep thinking about this chair I saw. I'm in a rough patch and thinking of this chair makes me happy.

This one is close to my heart. As a Nordic-American I have a deep fondness for the traditional folk school model, and as a Minneapolis resident I treasure the rich cultural diversity of our city. It was an honor to speak with Anna and Cal and share their vision with @racketmn.com readers.

I drank good coffee and visited the wonderful exhibit of contemporary Nordic folk art from the upper Midwest, on display in the gallery by FIKA at American Swedish Institute. Especially loved this chair, work of Grand Marais craftsman Mike Loeffler, with a warbler perched on the back.

Cover reveal for our newest Field Guide, releasing in September 2026, The RMP Field Guide to Writing the Lyric Essay, edited by @heidiczerwiec.bsky.social & @artichokeheart.bsky.social! Thanks to Pamela Callahan for more amazing crow artwork! Book details here: rosemetalpress.com/cover-reveal...

Loved this piece about Iranian-American artists making beauty in the face of war. www.minnpost.com/artscape/202...

A picture book to look forward to! *The Muéganos* is coming in both English and Spanish editions. Transit Editions does a wonderful--exemplary--job presenting books on their website, so this link is work a click. Also: small presses, small presses, small presses.

Pasque flowers in bloom this week near Cannon Falls, Minnesota — one of the earliest signs of spring on the prairie

I haven't tried all of the Baker's Field breads yet, but a couple of their breads are among my favorite things to eat. This morning, "Hundred Rye." Flour milled and bread baked in NE Minneapolis. So good! List of all their breads here: www.bakersfieldflourandbread.com/breads

Canadian author-illustrator Jon Klassen has been named the laureate of the 2026 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world's largest prize for children's and young adult literature! #BCBF

Reading my way through the International Booker shortlist, and this morning this novel swept me right in: *The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran*. thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-l...

I want more - smart people doing cool things - in my news feed.

I'm looking forward to visiting some new-to-me Minneapolis-St. Paul bookstores during this year's passport time window, Wednesday, April 22, 2026 and Sunday, April 26, 2026.

Oh, gosh, the "2026 Twin Cities Independent Bookstore Passport" cover is sweet and sharp and brilliant. Kevin Cannon @kevincannon.bsky.social nailed it. Can't wait to see all the artwork inside later this month. Hooray for this bookstore project from Rain Taxi. raintaxi.com/twin-cities-...

It's not really a day for announcements -- but my translation of Diao Dou's 刁斗 short story "Squatting" 蹲着 is in The Penguin Book of the International Short Story, edited by @rabihalameddine.bsky.social and John Freeman and out today.

“The toll of the surge on children, families, schools and teachers is something some school leaders say they are still struggling to understand.”

The #Artemis II astronauts said they needed more superlatives to describe their view of the eclipse, when the Sun was behind the Moon and its near surface was faintly illuminated by Earthshine

Literary translators! And small presses! I'm grateful for the work that they do. I discovered these books in different ways: *Migratory Birds* was recommended by a friend; *She Who Remains* is on the International Booker shortlist; *Transient Worlds* was face-out at the bookstore.

Gift link of article with photos of Earth taken from Artemis II.

From the index for my book THE INTERNET WILL DIE, AND SO WILL YOU (out in Sept. 10). Here are some accidental poems: globalization Glück, Louise God G/O Media control of fragility of function of as human as magic as transporter Macbeth machine learning maggots

THIS. 🧵

This. 🧵

Poet Michael Dennis Browne visited my high school in the early 1970s with his big dog, Snow Dog. It is the first of my many luminous memories of him. Years later, I ended up teaching for many years in the same writers-in-the-schools program that brought him to my school.

Anastasia Tsioulcas did an expert, concise write-up on the International Booker Prize shortlist for NPR. Thanks for this, @anastasiat.bsky.social.

Michael Dennis Browne (1940-2026) (composer Stephen Paulus, poet Michael Dennis Brown) "Tell me, where is the road I can call my own, That I left, that I lost, So long ago? All these years I have wandered, Oh, when will I know There's a way, there's a road That will lead me home?"

Anastasia Tsioulcas did an expert, concise write-up on the International Booker Prize shortlist for NPR. Thanks for this, @anastasiat.bsky.social.

‘Hope, insight and burning humanity’: 2026 International Booker prize shortlist announced

this is the best 🥹🥹🥹

I haven't been on here for a while, so how wonderful that this is one of the first things I see. 💖

I love finding books I want to read here on Bluesky. And when I clicked to their website to pre-order, I found that my favorite @moonpalacebooks.bsky.social already has Erin Vincent's *Fourteen Ways of Looking* on order. The book releases here in the US on 7 April.

My favorite thing about the Twin Cities Independent Bookstore Passport program is holding and looking through the actual passport with its warm and witty artwork. Well, and visiting bookstores of course. But the passport itself is really a delight. A nice thing about April.

New bookstore now open in St. Anthony Park, St. Paul - corner of Como and Carter (former location of Micawber's).

Thanks for sharing! This piece was cut from a single piece of black paper. 🍂

This photo taken right after the winning basket!

Hooray!

Really love these posts from inside The Barn. Go Gophers! Great win.

Hooray University of Minnesota women's basketball!

"Mní Wičóni (“water is life”) and Mitákuye Owás’iŋ (“we are all related”) are among the Dakota values that guide the organization’s work, promoting ecological stewardship and placing Dakota culture at the center of the riverfront."

Patti Smith: "Some people aren’t safe tonight. Friends of mine aren’t safe tonight. But we have to keep doing our work. We have to radiate good.”

❤️

Yes, she was stunning.

I was curious about the images from Diego Rivera murals in Patti Smith's "People Have the Power" video. As far as I can tell, they're from the "Detroit Industry Murals." There are various reproductions online. The best ones I found just now are in this article: clacs.berkeley.edu/art-rivera-k...

Wanda Gág's birthday! Another fun fact: there is a Wanda Gág Collection in the Children's Literature Research Collections at the University of Minnesota. The holdings include manuscript materials and artwork for *Millions of Cats*.

The St. Paul Public library is scaffolding my efforts to read as far as I can into the International Booker Prize longlist before the shortlist announcement at the end of March. (All of the novels-in-translation on the list are new in the UK and/or Ireland, but are not necessarily new in the USA.)

black raspberries, 1891

“The media has covered the high drama on the streets as well as…those hiding at home. We focused instead on the daily soldiering on that often goes unnoticed: a chef in her idle kitchen, a barber at work, a tailor waiting for customers who never come — because what else can one do?”

These lively watercolor-sketches appeared in the Star Tribune on Sunday. I love this artwork and text about immigrant businesses--and the encouragement to get out and support them. (gift link)

A timely reminder: