I did a close reading of @mollyakin.bsky.social 's poem "Mothering is a social construct, and I am motherless" — check it out, and then register to hear her read on July 15 at 7:30pm EDT on Zoom! Substack post: open.substack.com/pub/damncuri... Registration link: bit.ly/WTUIJul2025

Preparing for next Tuesday's What The Universe Is: @mollyakin.bsky.social and David Cazden by doing a close reading of Dave's poem "Vertigo" over on my Substack: damncurious.substack.com/p/a-close-re... Go check it out and then register for the reading! bit.ly/WTUIJul2025

Coming up on July 15 at 7:30pm Eastern, @mollyakin.bsky.social and David Cazden will be reading for What The Universe Is: A (Virtual) Reading Series. This means you don't have to leave the comfort of your couch to hear exceptional poems and witty conversation — register at bit.ly/WTUIJul2025!

If you've ever wanted to hear the brilliant poets Megan Pinto and Michael Dhyne read without leaving the comfort of your home, you'll be able to do exactly that on Thursday, June 12 at 7:30pm Eastern. Register at bit.ly/WTUIJun2025! @megg-bean.bsky.social

Can't wait for this meeting of the poetic minds!

Tonight (April 17) at 7:00pm EDT July Westhale will read from their new poetry collection, 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 & we'll chat about it! July is a wonderful poet and 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 is an innovative and exciting modern epic from @blacklawrence.bsky.social Register at tinyurl.com/CCWWesthale for the link!

Tuesday, April 15 at 7:30pm Eastern, @janehuffman.bsky.social and @patrickdonnelly.bsky.social will be reading for What The Universe Is: A (Virtual) Reading Series. It's free! Register at bit.ly/WTUIApr2025

This is the upcoming (non-poetry) book I'm most excited to read!

Have you made a call about this yet? I have.

From October 2024: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/totem-and-...

Whenever people ask me which celebrity shares my birthday, I always lead with Liza, because who could be better?

Keep your eye on what's happening in the Republic of Georgia, friends.

Saw my first red-winged blackbirds of the season this morning. I am no fan of the transition from winter to spring, but it has some lovely moments nonetheless.

“Everything shows. Your newish tattoo. Your lips, that gruesome pool-cue chalk blue. The spinning light on top of the ambulance is blue, the color of a bruise. Inside, Diane, you suffer, and your suffering is you.” — @dseuss.bsky.social “Bluish” @graywolfpress.bsky.social iterant.org/issue8-diane...

You know what to do. Click through and read.

"We may have driven past the point of no return, but at least we got a carpool going." substack.com/@sarahkendzi...

This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the why and the how of where we are now.

Putting Kash Patel in a leadership position in law enforcement, investigation and intelligence is the equivalent of asking Alf to watch your cat.

If I were in Lincoln, NE, on Saturday, February 22nd, this is where I'd be at 4:30pm. If you, unlike me, will be in Lincoln, NE, on that date and at that time, please go to this and then report back. @chotchandani.bsky.social and Maria Zoccola are both really wonderful poets!

New article! On craftsmanship and independence in the face of technocratic dictatorship: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/the-crafts...

80th day of the protests in European Georgia. This is Tbilisi tonight. Look at that crowd. 80 days of this. That’s how you resist a Putin-backed coup.

"A crime syndicate that transcends state borders in its pursuit of power and wealth...this elite criminal network has been building for decades...total domination is the outcome they seek..." HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT (2020) hidinginplainsightbook.com

Honestly, this reads like something out of Gary Shteyngart's novel Super Sad True Love Story.

I'm reposting this. Now that my predictions have come true, folks may read these articles in a different light. Hopefully a clearer light. To fight the future, you need to grasp the past: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/ten-articl...

“I think the role of poetry really is about detailing what it is to live during a particular period in time,” [McClain] said. “It’s within the poems that I’m really able to discover how I feel or what I think.” What joy to read this interview with @nathanhmcclain.bsky.social today!

Friends! This is TONIGHT! Are you ready? Are you registered? Are you as excited as I am to hear @ritabanerjee.bsky.social and @amandacecilypoet.bsky.social read their remarkable work?

I will once again say that outsourcing your intellectual faculties to a plagiarism machine is embarrassing. Microsoft - one of the big players on the AI landscape - is saying it reduces your critical thinking skills. This is NOT what we need right now, people.

Only three seats left at the time I'm posting this. If you want to have some fun with words this weekend you'd better move fast!

Check it out! There's a close reading of Rita Banerjee's poem "Birds on Blue" over on my Substack: open.substack.com/pub/damncuri... You can catch Rita reading with @amandacecilypoet.bsky.social on Tuesday, February 11 @ 7:30pm Eastern on Zoom. Register at bit.ly/WTUIFeb2025!

This is one of my favorite workshops to teach! English is so weird and quirky and YOU can use it to supercharge your writing! Register here and join on Zoom: www.pioneervalleywriters.org/service-page...

This Tuesday, 2/11! PVWW instructor @poetmercurio.bsky.social hosts this all-star poetry reading series, virtually and free to attend!

Add this to your pre-order list, friends! @mollyakin.bsky.social is a terrific poet!

What he said. Plus it's embarrassing if you want to outsource your creativity to a plagiarism machine.

Four albums I think are perfect

In one of the books of his Bridge Trilogy (I'm 99% sure it was Idoru), @greatdismal.bsky.social introduces the concept of "the infinite plasticity of the digital," which has haunted me ever since I read it. Here we have it playing out in real time.

The fact that madman was even allowed to run for president signified the end of democracy.

We are one week away from this virtual reading! Have you registered yet? bit.ly/WTUIFeb2025

"Not queer like a rainbow slapped onto a Wells Fargo debit card, gay as in let's hurl a Molotov cocktail thru the window of the bank at nightfall and kiss while we watch the glass shatter like a supernova." —Ally Ang

Spend the $2.99 to get this as an ebook if that's how you roll. (I prefer hard copies, because they only mysteriously disappear if you loan them to friends. Which, I guess, isn't a mystery.) This is key history to inform our collective future.

"'Red' and 'blue' states were manufactured to create monocultures out of a multifaceted nation in which most people belong to neither party." -- THEY KNEW (2022)

Everyone is less fucked when they understand *why* this is happening. You can’t solve a crisis without knowing the roots. That’s why oligarchs are trying to erase history. On that note — get this one while you can.

This was a wild day.

It makes me so happy to see @cerena.bsky.social's gorgeous book get recognition out there in the world!

Tune in if you can! This will be a great conversation!

These are terrible & confusing times. Times that try the souls of anyone with a soul. One thing that helps keep me grounded is @sarahkendzior.bsky.social's substack. She's brilliant at connecting the facts of our situation with the truths of our humanity. And lord knows we need that.

If graphic novels & comics and/or noise music are your thing, I highly recommend supporting @cantocomics.bsky.social on Patreon. He's doing wild stuff in both realms, and I love having access to it while also helping support his endeavors. www.patreon.com/cantocomics?...

What The Universe Is: Rita Banerjee and Amanda Shaw will be happening on February 11 at 7:30pm Eastern on Zoom. Get yourself registered at bit.ly/WTUIFeb2025 so you don't miss a minute of this reading!

"One of the most horrific realizations when your government is hijacked from the inside is that there is no official to whom you can turn. Living for legacy, living for security, living for money -- it makes no difference, they are not living for you." -- HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT (2020)

The character of Donald Trump in this play was based on Alf, the space alien who eats cats.

Vievee Francis is an American treasure. I have a close reading of her poem "Waterfire" on my Substack today. It's a nice counter to whatever else might be going on: open.substack.com/pub/damncuri... Vievee reads on Zoom with Bonita Lee Penn tomorrow night (1/21) at 7:30pm EST: bit.ly/WTUIJan2025