My favorite Super Bowl: this poem from Mary Ruefle 💙

The Washington Eliminated Post(s)

We've hit the first goal milestone and I just want to deeply thank everyone who has donated or shared! I am hoping to keep this going to truly help my parents rebuild, but this is so incredibly kind!

On January 24th, my parents home burned down. They and my disabled brother escaped with only minor burns but they lost everything they've ever had. I'm running a GoFundMe to help them recover and rebuild. I would be deeply grateful for any donations but also for any shares!

Cried a little in front of my creative writing students today, so that was fun.

Our garden Gromit is hard to spot after the storm:

I can confirm that your dollars (even the amount that you'd spend on canned goods) will go much farther at a food bank. They know how to source the food and have the community resources to deliver it. Most of the food at food shelves comes from food banks rather than food donations.

DHS has shot 12 people during immigration enforcement operations since September:

"The armed suspect reacted violently." An outright, barefaced and monstrous lie, conclusively disproven by irrefutable video evidence.

One thing that irks me: people keep calling the folks on the streets in Minneapolis protestors. They are not generally there to protest, they are there to observe and document. This is the product of organizing and mutual aid. It is telling that these acts of citizenship are seen as protest!

Pritzker: "An American president should be standing up, calling for calm. That's not what this president ever does. In fact, he wants the temperature to go up. Why? Because what he's looking for is an excuse to invoke the Insurrection Act, to bring actual troops into American cities."

This is going to be a fun night.

Just going to leave this here for anyone who needs to find it: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR43...

Took an old 3500 word draft and cut it to 800. Also took a 400 word draft and expanded it to 1200. Sometimes a story has to sit a while before it tells me how long it's supposed to run. Or maybe I'm just stubborn and don't hear it sooner.

"It wasn't murder, and if you say it was murder we will kill you, which again will not be murder."

“i want back my rocking chairs, / solipsist sunsets, / & coastal jungle sounds...” A poem by Renee Nicole Good, who was murdered by ICE earlier today. lithub.com/renee-nicole...

NEW: The January edition of ON THE SEAWALL, our first expanded quarterly. We invite you to stop by the "gallery" & have a look / ronslate.com

Make it viral.

Currently in the jury pool room with a hundred strangers. Lots of coughing and sniffles. I am one of two people wearing a mask. This is a microcosm of America.

Happy (almost) New Year!

Early morning scout.

This is an almost shockingly wise essay. I'm glad I've finally read it.

You're cordially invited to spend An Evening with Stanchion. Please save the date, time & location for this special AWP offsite reading, open mic pitch party & celebration at the stunning Black-owned bookstore, record shop & community space @vinylnpages.bsky.social. Wednesday Mar 4th 8pm

Raking leaves on December 21st here in New England. Better late than never, I suppose.

the 4yo just said that uppercase letters are grown-ups and lowercase letters are babies

Coke admitted they had to generate 70,000 video clips for their latest Christmas slopvertising BY MY CALCS: - 4x the CO2 impact of a normal ad project - 1 day of 2-5 medium hospitals - 1 month of 250 households - 44 years of continuous Netflix viewing futurism.com/artificial-i...

NEW: Without USAID funding to help buy food for refugees, the World Food Program rushed to prioritize families based on need, determining that only half the population would get food. Refugees learned which half they were in from a number stamped on the back of their ration card.

Burying my head in student portfolios and trying to pretend for a few hours that 2025 hasn't been the absolute worst. (I feel like I may have posted something similar in 2024.)

One set of final grades has been submitted! Bring on the "why did I get a ____" emails that I will ignore for at least a few days as I grade my other class!

Did I freeze on this morning's run? Yes. Did I also use that run to finally figure out the ending to a dang flash story that has been haunting me for months? Yes.

We're so close to a true Psycho day this year, which would be apt considering *waves wildly at the world*

Final office hours of the semester. Two students have stopped by, which feels like a record!

Honestly, I'm kind of surprised this administration isn't sending everything out in Comic Sans.

Once again reminded that the sight of bears can unlock extra energy in an otherwise exhausted runner.

If you dig the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame, you can bid on a VERY special item for their annual fundraiser: Four writing prompts composed just for you, received over the course of 2026, each handwritten on an index card, accompanied by a doodle of a monster. new.biddingowl.com/item/monster...

One of my student tutors came in today dressed up for an interview. "Yeah, I look like a real nerd today," he said. Then I realized that I was wearing almost the same outfit.

Do young people see the song title "You Can Call Me Al" and think it's a tune about artificial intelligence?

Last week of classes. Snow forecasted for tomorrow. Hold on tight.

Teaching class right before everyone leaves for Thanksgiving break is enough to make some people change professions, but I have suffered enough literary rejection to weather the ennui without batting an eye.

Planes, trains, and automobiles? In this economy?

Big thanks to @south85journal.bsky.social for this nomination!

My hometown public library has this incredible gargoyle downspout, and I think its existence helps explain the kind of reader and writer I turned into.

Got to love when a rejection hits the inbox while you're meeting with your writing group.

“You dig too deep. Always. That’s the problem. You care like a chump. If only you could take a nap. If only this life allowed detectives to stop detecting now and again.” @woodardwriter.bsky.social in @tinymolecules.bsky.social www.tinymolecules.com/issues/twent...

Chopped up a bunch of firewood and still have all ten fingers and toes. With the way life has played out lately, I'm considering this a big win.

Today I woke up missing my dad immensely. This "grief comes in waves" thing is rough.

Now that FLESH has won the Booker Prize, let's reshare my review from earlier this year at On the Seawall.

Connecticut friends!!! 🥰🥰🥰

This is your friendly reminder that Obamacare isn’t just the exchanges! It’s a set of laws that force insurance companies to actually. You know, insure people!! You can read my full graphic explainer here: aubreyhirsch.substack.com/p/it-could-b...

Here's an invitation to take a trip through the new Nov/Dec edition of On The Seawall ... beginning with our feature on poems from STUDY OF SORROWS: TRANSLATIONS by Shangyang Fang @coppercanyonpress.bsky.social / ronslate.com