This semester I've added a "warm up exercise" to the Am lit survey class. In groups students fill out a one-page sheet of 3 questions about the reading. They get credit as long as they participate. Discussion is more lively, attendance is better. Students like getting these little points for stuff.

Gratifying day teaching Ward's *Sing Unburied Sing* in my American lit survey. Students came in with opinions! Mad at Leonie. Tried to get them to maybe be slightly critical of Jojo, but they wanted no part of that. Perfect teaching experience: so many strong opinions about these characters.

Had a brilliant undergraduate make it to being a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. Did some mock interviews and coaching to help him get prepped. Just learned that his whole interview focused on why he (as a black man) wanted to "do DEI." What a fucking joke.

Finishing my American lit survey with Jesmyn Ward's *Sing Unburried Sing." What a novel! I told my students I should have required a box of tissues among the course materials.

For my birthday last month, I asked my wife for a ridiculous blazer, and my wife knocked it out of the park. Wore it tonight, and got complements at the restaurant and concert we attended. Am I brave enough to wear it to teach?

Wow, I had this on my cubical all during grad school. What a time capsule--and still good advice.

Lavish.

So enjoying this grad seminar on (recent) literature and infrastructure. Easiest teaching job in the world. Though there are only 6 students, class basically involves me coming in and saying, "so what did you think?" and the students cook for 3 hours. My main job is putting things on the whiteboard.

Last night, on my way back from a local music show, country-ish, and put on the artist on Apple Music. Next song comes up, sure: another singer they worked with. Then Apple picks house music next. Tempted to skip, but I like the idea that Apple thinks this is my music.

Some students in my lit survey clearly didn't do the reading, and were caught unawares by a pop quiz. One student asked if they could get credit by going to the poetry reading last night I was urging them to attend. I said sure, just send me a selfie from the event. Got a 8 or 9 this morning. Lovely

I don't think I was as successful as I had hoped in convincing my students in the literature survey to love Gertrude Stein. Their loss, obviously, but I feel like I let her down a bit.

Enjoying the new Pynchon novel, although I'm not far in. So happy have this appear out of nowhere. He leans into the genre so joyously. I had to edit a book ms. where I referred to *Bleeding Edge* as "his most recent, and probably last" novel. Glad to be wrong.

On the "ripoff degrees" thing, I'm reminded of this data I presented when I interviewed to be dept head at Mississippi State: the difference between humanities earnings and business earnings is trivial over a career. All that matters is finding a way to graduate. Just help people find their niche.

For the midterm and final in my American lit survey, I let students bring one page of notes with them: both sides, whatever format they want, write or type as small as they care to. Boy, I gotta tell you, 18, 19, 20-year old eyes apparently allow them to read some very small fonts.

On the one hand: yay, here's the new Pynchon novel! On the other hand, I guess I put it in my Amazon cart twice and now have two copies. I'll find someone in the department who wants a free copy. My wife: well, you're contributing financially to helping poor Pynchon to finally retire from writing.

Taylor Swift admitted that she didn’t re-read Hamlet for her Ophelia single which is inexcusable really for an “English teacher,” but someone on her team must have been googling images (just like me) and asked her to reproduce hamlet’s posture in this illustration of him killing Polonius.

Also, said a slightly critical thing about how a student approached a presentation (should have used the MLA Directory of Periodicals, which was in the prompt, rather than just Googling around) and one student responded "Wow, thanks reviewer 2." These students get it.

Teaching a grad seminar this semester on infrastructure and literature, and the students are amazing. One of the students told me last night that she'd decided on the title for her paper: "a machine called fiction." Not sure where she's going, but talk about a killer start.

Obviously, I didn't marry my wife because she had an original Mac, but it didn't hurt. But talk about being a geek princess, referencing the computer by its RAM size.

In my American lit survey this week had a bro-y guy always in a ball cap who I assumed was kind of sulky about the class suddenly have like a ton to say about The Waste Land, of all things. Gotta try harder not to infer what's going on in student's heads.

I'm the last person qualified to post about the new Taylor Swift album. But I do make a point in my classes for English majors that the literary essay is one of the art forms that they're doing (and they may have others). Swift is an amazing example of productivity: just constantly knocking it out.

Listening to yet another podcast reference university endowments as a reason why they don't need to worry about federal funding. Endowments are incredibly legalistic, and tied to very specific spending guides. Every donation has so many rules. It's not like a pool of money you can do whatever with.

Very exciting to see two @columbiaup.bsky.social books shortlisted for the ASAP Book Prize! Congratulations to Chris Fan (@chrisfan.bsky.social) author of ASIAN AMERICAN FICTION AFTER 1965 and Sarah Dimick, author of UNSEASONABLE.

Grad students were over on the weekend to throw some pottery, then trim. Should be ready to glaze next week. Tonight the kid has a house full for D&D. Plus my wife has someone coming over tonight to learn to quilt. I know, the world is terrible but this is a great night in my house. So much life.

Hadn't seen this before. I guess I'll go ahead and submit a claim.

Richardson is, of course, an American treasure. But yesterday's substack is unusually great and timely.

Update. gaillardia, great coneflower, and lavender popped up right away. Yucca, butterfly bush, and others are dragging their feet.

I've been checking quotes and details for this new book project before I send it out. Getting so close: I have this many things still to verify before I call it done.

Teaching this grad seminar on infrastructure in recent (mostly) US lit, and my students are killing it. Next up, Egan's *The Candy House*.

Thinking back on a conference I ran right before covid. It had, in my modest opinion, the best program book design ever. The cover was map-themed & the size approximated a folded map. Inside, each session took up exactly two facing pages, so you could see everything going on without flipping pages.

Gradually working through checking quotes and references for a new book. So intimidating when you first start, but watching that pile of books get whittled down and putting them back on the shelf is so satisfying. I'm down to just the electronic articles, which are less satisfying to check.

Checking quotes for a new book ms., and ran across a couple from Brian McHale, who passed away a few months ago. Man, what a melancholy feeling. I'm sure many others have gone through the same, but this is the first close mentor I've lost.

Drove past a little kid doing a lemonade stand, and thought "wonder if she takes Venmo?" What is wrong with my brain?

The whole, "we're living in a simulation" thing never made any sense to me. But I have to admit that the furniture/layout of this AirB&B in Memphis does look like a video game. Waiting for an NPC to wander down the hallway.

I've gotten into the habit of starting perennials from seed in the early fall, since they take so long to grow. Keep them on the porch until the weather turns cold, then put them under a grow light in December. I'll start annuals like tomatoes in January under the light.

Sent in a book proposal to a press that I thought was a great fit, and they passed. Kudos to them for a quick decision. But it prompted a discussion in my house about being tough about dealing with rejections. My wife invokes the Princess Bride reference, "Get used to disappointment." Alas, I guess.

For most academics, $3000 is way more than you'll earn in royalties. Would it be the worst thing in the world if we regularly got payments like this so that the robots could learn about narrative theory or postmodernism? Bad, I guess, but $3k.... www.theverge.com/anthropic/77...

I am fascinated by this guy who was a Higher Ed administrator and has now moved into teaching classes as a faculty member. He is documenting his whole journey on TikTok. Over the summer, he had so much excitement 🧵

This semester I'm doing two sections of the Am lit survey, and they're great. Maybe it's luck, but I made a point on the first day and next couple to say, "This course is very simple: all you have to do is do the reading." I'd love to think that paring the course down to that one thing mattered.

You all. I have assembled a cheeseboard so attractive that I might now officially be an influencer. Don’t know who the university will get to teach my classes.

Finished a first pass through in proofing. Now just like a million quotes and references to check

Do you really feel like the birds are fooled by those fake flowers on the hummingbird feeders? Ask yourself, who are those flowers really there for? Wake up, people!

Made some pan au chocolat yesterday and it came out great. But food writers seem to lose their minds about croissant recipes. It's not that complicated: dough with a layer of butter, then you fold it a lot of times. The NY Times recipe has 24 steps and recommends starting 24 hours early. Get a grip!

This is a message I wish we could get out to non-academic friends: every time people talk about more "accountability" or tracking "learning outcomes" in higher ed all it means is hiring more associate deans and/or taking faculty out of the classroom to pound numbers into spreadsheets no one reads.

Holy smokes, I did not understand the implication of getting involved in the @tedunderwood.me Bluesky universe. My phone shows 60 notifications, which is like the total notifications I've ever had cumulatively before this morning.

Oh, my. I didn't remember this.

We have started buying old-school travel books (like Rick Steves's Italy) again, after many years of just relying on online stuff. It feels like the equivalent of going back to vinyl.

Crazy exchange. @radiofreetom.bsky.social posts a pro-genocide story, I reply with a Bari-Weiss-would-approve comment (obviously), and he replies in a snarky way, then shuts down comments. Hey, @theatlantic.com is this pro-genocide stuff what you're publishing now? I'm anti-genocide. Maybe not you?

Surely, I'm just getting my wires crossed. You didn't reply to my comment and then shut down replies, right? That would be crazy.