Thinking about $1.776 billion. My poem “Currency” from the July/Aug issue of Poetry.

‘We don’t even know all of what we have.’ Howard University fights to preserve Black newspapers. www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/... Last year, during a move, workers found two whole boxes of Frederick Douglass’s’ The North Star’s first year of publication.

repost this if an editor has ever saved you from yourself

I love this devastating piece from Andrea Cohen.

In case you have said in the last month or so that it feels too selfish to spend any time writing right now:

If you teach, you learned a couple of years ago that AI-generated prose has a distinct texture. Propaganda has a similar one, though it’s more oily. Bland, overly neat, and once you get a feel for it you can’t un-hear it.

Why are there so many bots on here, and what do they want with us? Why are they all pretending so hard to be Joe Normal? Genuinely curious.

came across this tweet in the wild, everyone loves the wine-dark sea

A powerful piece of art transcends its time and its maker: Rhiannon Giddens with Paul Simon, singing “American Tune,” with two lines altered in the final verse, and the best thing I could think of to bring forward today. m.youtube.com/watch?v=oTLk...

Sincerely delighted to discover, 45 minutes into this nearly-wordless three-hour documentary about French monks who take vows of silence, that among the reasons they *can* talk is "to make sure the monastery cats know when it's mealtime by making little kitty-calling noises at them."

Word of the Day is ‘uhtcearu’ [ucht-kay-aru, with the 'ch' as in the Scottish ‘loch']: Old English for ‘the sorrow before dawn', when you lie awake in the darkness and worries crowd your mind.

Two stages of writing: 1) This shouldn't take too long 2) Oh no

For my first post in the new year, I offer something fascinating to read:

Thread: (1 of 4)Tomorrow is Winter Solstice, and that's when I begin my usual self-imposed reading and screen fast until New Year's Day. You can do it too if you want but there's no hashtag for it.

Tomorrow is Winter Solstice, and that's when I usually begin a self-imposed reading & screen fast until the New Year. It's just a personal thing, but you can do it too if you want. There's no hashtag for it.

@michaeldowns.bsky.social Wouldn't ten-year-old Michael be thrilled about this one?

I've never read a Conan comic before, but if @michaeldowns.bsky.social wrote one of the stories? I totally would.

It was a nice gift out of nowhere to have a note from poet George Bilgere in my inbox, letting me know that my poem "Handwriting Analysis" appears in his free daily newsletter "Poetry Town" today. PS There's still little better than a manual pencil sharpener! georgebilgere.com/so/edPF0gdtk...

Thread:

HPV vaccines have been linked to a steep drop in cervical cancer deaths in young women. “We observed a substantial reduction in mortality — a 62% drop in cervical cancer deaths over the last decade.” (via @hcrichardson.bsky.social) [cidrap.umn.edu]

In the slow-on-the-uptake dept, I just learned that my essay "Water Lilies," from the fall @orionmagazine.bsky.social , was selected as a 9.27.24 Editors' Pick by @longreads.com & won Audience Pick that week, too. Thanks to editors here, there, & everywhere -- longreads.com/2024/09/27/t...

@grousehollow.bsky.social You're the person who wrote that beautiful "Bloodroot" poem! My Monet essay is on the same page in Orion. I was so happy when I saw your piece -- "in spring my god is not the sun / but aperture." I would happily live in a world full of plant persona poems.

There are three thirteen-year-old girls giggling and decorating cookies at my dining room table. My job is to provide things as needed and otherwise stay out of the way as much as possible. I did show up to check on everyone once, when I heard a big CRASH.

I am more of a listener than speaker, and on social media there is .... so much to listen to. And it goes by quickly. There should be a little ear you can click on, next to the little heart: tell me more. (As for "I don't want to hear any more," I guess that's unfollow.)

I'm following people! I'm writing replies! I feel expansive! I remember this social media feeling... I feel a little drunk. I sincerely hope I don't wake at 3 am and regret this.

@noctambulate.bsky.social As the story about the CEO continues to develop, twist, and twist some more, I have thought of you. We were so glad to see you & HR on Sunday!

This is my first social media post in more than eight years... what'd I miss?