In Belgrade on 3 October? Hear Tony Upson talk about art writing as practice and my work in dialogue with Anne Carson and Bruce Hainley. At SKUP Novi Sad as part of the What Should Curating Do? Series. www.wcscd.com/lecture-seri...

For the Berlin Review (@blnreview.bsky.social ): Notes toward a late criticism, on Motherwell's Open rectangles, Jerome Robbins' Afternoon of a Faun, and enjoining: "Dream About Me" as method. Auch in deutscher Übersetzung von Samir Sellami. blnreview.de/en/ausgaben/...

A new Schattenblog! Under Construction (p.324-44): I consider our Narrator's arrival at a wall-building city, the ends of pain and beauty, migraines, Bruegel, and more: schattenblog.avmarraccini.com/post-14

As you can see from the self satisfied liberal hatred response to completely innocuous posts, this website is not a useful or ethical alternative to twitter. I won’t be responding to messages or posts here for a while. Please use @ Saintsoftness on Twitter or Insta. Email [email protected] .

Wouldn’t be ballet class without a pastry afterward— today I was tempted by miraculous gf scone over creampuff:

I realised I talk a lot about ballet but you don’t very often get to see me doing this thing I love. The studio is busy and we like to keep class private, so we feel safe making mistakes, but one day I was early and there was no class before, so I snapped this:

Bedside table plus the vintage Fragonard at frick postcard:

Omg the creampuff bakery had gf chocolate chip scones!!! I got my Goma (black sesame) traditional post-ballet creampuff and a scone to toast up for breakfast, mmmm.

Hello (finally) from the Fragonard room of the Frick!!

Ephemera— Difficult Epigrams (1)-- I actually thought about pitching a series of these to a magazine, but for the life of me could not think of a magazine that would want epigrams? If you do, or are, DM.

Starting at the end of the week, I want to start posting no stakes non-essay ephemera writing to try things out, but in very short form-- one screenshot attached to a tweet. What do you want to maybe read? -prose poem -fictional fragment -verse poem -other (explain more in replies)

Tonight, more Rilke from Edward Snow, I am standing on the backs of the koi that live in lotus ponds, on Greenland sharks that are 492 years old and have worms in their eyes, on every glowing anglerfish. Objecthood the one bank, historical time the other.

"i bought white boots and very short white shorts so i can blend in. i may have to apply my own rhinestones imperfectly with a glue gun. this is not ideal, but it’s the semblance of the thing that matters."

Today’s imitation spoliation (delicious to read aloud) at Prospect Park.

Since there's a new season of America's Sweethearts up on Netflix, here's my short parafiction about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and Robert Smithson (sort of?) over at Death Kit again. Excited to watch doing splits, but I promise no jump splits. deathkitcom.wordpress.com/dallas-cowbo...

Jet Glue and elastic tightening night (I have to tighten my elastics every other class or my arches pull too far from my shanks, which means sewing is a huge part of my life now):

In addition to being incredibly supportive and kind to my work, @sevenstories.bsky.social has the best bathroom in publishing:

Battlestar Galactica is really about what it means to preserve democracy in crisis. Apollo just used the phrase “consent of the governed”! My timeline is folding back on itself. And for the record, President Adar started his career as mayor of Caprica City… Zohran?

Bluesky happened to me: a guy stopped by to yell at me for grieving for my pet of fourteen years to tell me I should be at an ICE protest instead. Don’t fucking do this. It’s crass and you don’t want someone in an emotionally unstable place interacting with cops at a protest.

So basically I’m now coping by a) going to ballet class and focusing really hard on thinking only about what I’m doing and b) streaming all of Battlestar Galactica in the evenings. It’s not totally explicable but it works. I will be slowly coming back on here.

Thank you all, your responses have really been meaningful to me in this difficult time. I’m sorry to send a mass message like this but I can’t figure out yet how to write again.

Some devastating news: Tuft has passed away.

Ballet class impossible due to heat. Doing the leg press in the gym turned out in flat shoes like the reps will make a difference for Zohran. Cranky, hopeful, wondering how many échappés it takes to tamp down anxiety. Answer: probably a million.

New summer spot: inexplicably under the coffee table? (He has ample air conditioning!)

It’s M-A-M-D-A-N-I

Since you can’t wear a political shirt INTO the polls I’ll be ranking in my Zohran Mamdani eyeshadow look! Hope it doesn’t melt off on my way there…

Mahmoud Khalil walked free today. Zohran Mamdani walked all of Manhattan tonight, the longest night of the year. Hope is still possible in New York City; re-enchantment can also be a politics. I’m voting early Sunday, and I can’t wait.

Given the whole wet bulb thing and my vampiric aversion to direct sun, I, too, am an indoor cat today:

I’m interested in real fakes and fake reals for something I’m writing, so I am now the proud owner of this Lafufu: there’s a problem though, I think it’s a “real” Labubu. I got it from AliExpress and it has all the real tags and stuff? Anyway, help me name it!

Japanese learning invader:

I drew her while I was supposed to be self-quizzing my hiragana again (you know this anglerfish is a she because of their extreme sexual dimorphism; males are tiny and basically get absorbed! It’s cool!):

You should all know he’s working very hard today:

Congratulations, you are up late enough EDT to see the results of impulse ordering a plastic tube of deep sea creatures:

From WE THE PARASITES by @saintsoftness.bsky.social

No one tell him it’s not pumpkin season:

Some creatures meanwhile, dwell in total ignorant bliss:

For the @clereviewbooks.bsky.social : American Returns II: An alt-right blackmail grift, James Madison, bulwarks of liberty, Joan Mitchell, John Ashbery, hemlock nights, felt and difficult Americas, bread and roses, lumps and trials. clereviewofbooks.com/av-marraccin...

For the @clereviewbooks.bsky.social : American Returns II: An alt-right blackmail grift, James Madison, bulwarks of liberty, Joan Mitchell, John Ashbery, hemlock nights, felt and difficult Americas, bread and roses, lumps and trials. clereviewofbooks.com/av-marraccin...

TOMORROW, new price going live at @clereviewbooks.bsky.social — stay tuned for this one. 🎆

New Schattenblog: Post 13: Mousetraps-- Mérode Altarpiece, tunnel of looking, self-making, mousetraps, burning Waymos, tempting images and more: schattenblog.avmarraccini.com/post-13

Always forget this is outside the dance studio, makes me grin every time:

Just got the best selfie yet at another jaw specialist:

He also attended Japanese lessons tonight:

LOVE to share the good stuff. Ace cover; up there with @saintsoftness.bsky.social We, the Parasites as my fave book title of recent times too 🙏@memorialdevice.bsky.social sez it's the poetic brother of my upcoming novel and they're not far wrong 🙏✊️🖤 www.ortacpress.com/product-page...

I, like many of you, are thinking of the Freedom Flotilla members tonight, who are being illegally detained by Israel. They knew this would happen. They did it anyway just to get the world to care about the genocide in Gaza. The least we can do is pay attention.

Does anyone have a good essay on “slop” — ideally but not necessarily specifically speaking about Gen AI images— as a new aesthetic category? Looking for something I can discuss with masters students in a fall seminar.

Wanted to show off my new Jackson Pollock Vans for the summer, was upstaged because he always wins in this house:

Today’s post-ballet creampuff is once again tiramisu, I’m on a kick:

New catalogue arrival in the mail this afternoon made me break out in a grin when I felt the contours of the oversized package: