::: The Open :::
Dear Reader,
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Thank you for reading and for your time.
With Gratitude,
~ Mark
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::: Personal Notes :::
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I’ve been spending time trying to figure out how we can go about doing the hard work together of putting the "unity" in "community"
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There’s a big shift to Bluesky.
I have a Bluesky account and so does ONE ART.
I’m keeping a presence on Twitter (Me / ONE ART) even though the algorithm has taken even darker turns. I’ve been thinking about the idiom “nature abhors a vacuum’ in the context of what happens if poetry and the literary community completely abandon a space.
I do not feel good about using this much social media. I don’t think it’s healthy or advisable.
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I think Substack (and related) can offer a great deal of value though there are also risks. In the turn away from Mainstream Media, many have siloed themselves by taking in curated content by individuals—many of whom are non-experts and/or do not have a clear set of ethics (as it theoretically required in traditional journalism).
Part of Trump’s election win involved reaching out to people directly via spaces with the likes of podcaster Joe Rogan. I listened to a clip of an influencer/podcaster from a Trump “conversation” and it appeared that this person is, in fact, functionally illiterate… which is both very sad and deeply distressing for a person with millions of followers.
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We’re going to have to think hard about our consumption habits moving forward in a world that is filled with misinformation, disinformation, and sheer ignorance.
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The weather… yes, somehow the weather seems worth talking about.
It rained (albeit briefly) after a record drought in the Philadelphia area.
“Sunday's rain will be the first measurable rainfall for Philadelphia in 43 days, the longest drought for the area in 150 years.”
We really needed this rain. I say this as someone who is no fan of rain.
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Since I initially wrote this, I learned that large swaths of the U.S. are experiencing drought conditions.
I can’t remember ever seeing red flag warnings (for fire risk) and restrictions on burning things (I didn’t think that was even legal in surrounding counties).
We did know that, in the decades to come, due to climate change, there was a possibility future wars would be fought over water. Horrible to think about. I hope we’re nowhere close to that reality.
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::: ONE ART :::
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We are going to be announcing ONE ART’s nominations for this year’s Pushcart Prize very soon.
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Upcoming reading:
Sunday, December 8 — 2pm (Eastern)
Featured Poets: Heidi Seaborn, Marjorie Maddox, Erin Murphy, Hayley Mitchell Haugen, Abby E. Murray
Tickets available here (Free or Donation)
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Upcoming workshop:
Weird Up Your Language
Instructor: Grant Clauser
Wednesday, December 11, 7:00pm Eastern
Duration: 2 hours
Price: $25 (payment options – Stripe / PayPal / Venmo / CashApp)
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::: Podcasts :::
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If you're still hurting and frustrated and scared and angry as a result of the election — all of which are completely logical and understandable responses — I recommend listening to this podcast episode of We Can Do Hard Things.
Hearing the hosts express their range of emotional responses, their rage and fears, is meaningful and empowering.
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"Are you surprised?" Three Black women react to the election (It's Been a Minute)
They are not surprised. It’s worth a listen.
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‘From high tariffs to isolation, what a 2nd Trump term might mean for foreign policy’ (Fresh Air)
This is a legitimately interesting listen, in part, because EiC of The Economist, Zanny Minton Beddoes, has a somewhat hopeful view about how Trump’s 2nd term could unfold.
Yes, of course, we’re looking through primarily an economic lens here and ignoring a great deal of disturbing and gross social impacts.
I will say it’s somewhat refreshing to hear someone talk in a fairly level-headed manner about the situation without immediately going right down doom & gloom alley.
I think they got through the whole conversation without (a) talking about fascism (b) using the word Nazi. This is alarmingly surprising for a current conversation involving Trump and his administration.
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‘The Bro Brogan presidency’ (Vox – Today, Explained)
This is more in the normative vein of conversation I’ve been hearing post-election.
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Informative background.
‘The rise of Donald Trump’ (NPR)
Worthwhile 17-minute listen.
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::: Music :::
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Linkin Park’s new album ‘From Zero’ is out and it’s really good. Clocking in at ~ 30 minutes, it’s both in the vein of classic Linkin Park and offers something that feels fresh for the 2020s courtesy of new vocalist Emily Armstrong. For fans and non-fans, I’d recommend the track ‘Over Each Other’ which does something, well, different. It’s a little like if you took a contemporary singer-songwriter like Billie Eilish and tasked them with singing on a nu-metal track.
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::: The Literary Community & Beyond :::
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Morning Pages. The dreaded morning pages.
I know many LOVE this concept. And, admittedly, I have not given it a fair shot myself.
Let me say that I definitely see the appeal (read: importance) of brain dumps like this for those who write fiction. Otherwise, you’re going to end up inserting weird (read: boring) things about your personal life or special interests (eg. Franzen + birding… I say this as a birder).
Ok, ok. On with the reason I’m even talking about morning pages.
Nora McInerny (of TTFA) shared this post on her substack…
“What you write is not the point.”
“The point is to physically write for three pages as soon as possible in the morning. Before you check your phone. Before you check your to-do list. Before you start your day and your time and thoughts all belong to someone else. It’s like cleaning out the junk drawer of your mind every morning, making the space for something else.”
“The first few days, writing three pages was absolutely excruciating. It took me an hour, because I was doing exactly what I wasn’t supposed to be doing: I was self-editing, pausing to think about what was worth writing down, trying to find a thought instead of just letting the pen move over the paper.”
“It is one thing to read that it can be three pages of pointless garbage, it is quite another to loosen your rigor mortis grip on perfection and let yourself write pointless, useless sentences that you are then instructed to not look at.”
Also, Nora’s podcast offers really good listens if you need to hear about the subject. If you don’t need to hear about the subject, listen with caution as certain episodes might be triggering.
Not the easiest listen, however, Nora’s TedTalk ‘We don't "move on" from grief. We move forward with it’ is among the best TedTalks that I’ve heard.
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‘How I Got an Acceptance From My “Dream Journal”...and You Can Too’ (Bethany Jarmul feat. on LitMagNews)
“I think it’s important to choose “dream journals” based on magazines that are personally meaningful to you…”
I’m biased but, yes, I agree: “Follow the editors. It’s helpful to follow the editors on social media, to see what they are posting about and talking about. Many editors have also written articles, essays, blog posts, been interviewed for podcasts, etc. about their vision and mission for their literary magazines or what they are looking for in submissions. I sought these things out for both magazines. It was so helpful to hear from the editors themselves.”
“I submitted more than 40 times before I received an acceptance from them.” Writers take note.
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‘Trends & Tips: What We’re Seeing’ (Cincinnati Review)
Becky Tuch highlighted this piece from Cincinnati Review and it’s worth reading.
Also, note the reference to Cy Twombly— a figure who is notably on my Enemies List (kidding, not kidding). Moving on… This confusingly titled article – Donalds says Trump has ‘no enemies list’ – suggests Trump doesn’t have a list. A written list? Debatable. But we all know he has a list.
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Plagiarism issues continue to plague the literary community.
James Penha of The New Verse News issued this apology after determining a poem published on NVN was a plagiarized version of Alison Luterman’s viral poem ‘Holding Vigil’ which first appeared in Rattle just before the election.
The name “Mel Goldberg” was used for the plagiarized poem. This may or may not be another alias of “John Kucera”. Regardless, it’s another name for lit mag editors to be on the lookout for when combing through submissions.
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We truly live in a bizarro universe.
‘JD Vance Quoted One of Cormac McCarthy’s Most Evil Characters to Make Some Asinine Point’ (LitHub)
I like to claim that, cinematically speaking, McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men is the defining work of my generation alongside The Matrix.
I love that quote… and it is extremely odd that JD Vance is wielding it.
It’s kind of like if he said, “Life is a flat circle” and attributed it to the meth-head in True Detective (Season One). This could still happen. (aside: Wouldn’t surprise me if JD is a “flat earther”)
This is a really funny piece out of LitHub (because it seems otherwise destined for McSweeney’s). So, props to James Folta.
“And like a true Yale debater, Vance is snivelingly trying to make his ideas sound smarter than they are.”
“Vance is too online, and sanctimoniously quoting a villain to scold people about assumptions and give some half-baked, LinkedIn-brain, hustle culture advice is depressingly on-brand. I’m not surprised that Anton Chigurh is an icon for the blue-checkmark edgelords, alongside the Joker and Patrick Bateman.”
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‘11 Rare Old Words for the Heinous and Villainous’ (Mental Floss)
Jeez… a time when “unperfect” was criminal.
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‘Legacy’ – a poem by Ted Kooser
Recently featured on Academy of American Poet’s poem-a-day series.
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“Post-Election Abecedarian” by Christine Rhein (Rattle Poets Respond)
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Privacy issues aside— “never go through a girl’s notes app” TikTok trend and a piece about how the “Notes app” has become interwoven into people’s everyday lives. (WSJ)
“Eight years ago, Apple enabled Notes collaboration, letting people share grocery lists with their families, for instance, or track wedding invites.”
“Many of her notes are years old at this point, and she goes through them to reminisce. “It’s so funny seeing the different things that you cared about,” Coriolan says.”
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New from Vox.
“After Donald Trump’s second electoral win, what comes next for the Democratic Party? Vox is launching a pop-up newsletter, called The Rebuild, aimed at answering that question.”
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It goes without saying… LeBron James is not your average 40-year-old.
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::: Health & Wellness :::
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I’ve come across a few articles recently suggesting that high intake of sugar, particularly in the first 1000 days of life, leads to negative outcomes— such as a correlation with developing diabetes later in life.
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Skincare.
‘Aquaphor vs. Vaseline’ (SELF)
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::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::
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Keeping up with Trump 2.0
‘Tracking Trump’s Cabinet and Staff Nominations’ (New York Times)
Nothing but winners, obviously.
Seriously… Terrifying nominations. But that’s intentional.
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This piece of investigative journalism is no joke.
The situation is tragic. It’s also a tragic reminder that I, like most Americans, have basically no idea what is going on in most of the rest of the world.
It’s hard to get away from talking about Trump right now. We know that Trump wants to push the U.S. to be less global and more isolationist. It’s not really feasible even if this was something worth trying. Really, we’re isolated enough as it is.
A few pull quotes— because this guy is not your typical military man.
‘How a Poet Became a Militia Leader in Myanmar’
“He used to take part in peaceful demonstrations on behalf of free speech. Now, poet Maung Saungkha leads his own rebel group on the battle against Myanmar’s military junta.”
“Saungkha says that sexism and homophobia are not allowed in his army. Indeed, his young recruits also receive instruction in politics and even in sex education. After all, life goes on.”
“Secretly, he says, he constantly feels sorry for his fighters, young people who are missing out on the life he once had.”
“He is fully aware that people are changed by power and war.”
"If we were able to eliminate the dictatorship without killing, we would do so,” he says. But, he continues, it’s too late for that. Still, if armed groups with which he cooperates demand something that is in violation of international humanitarian law, he says, he will refuse.
“[…] He says he has never beaten anyone, nor has he killed anyone. "But I give the order. That’s just as hard.” He wants to ensure that his troops get the psychological help they need. Perhaps, he says, he could bring in a therapist via video chat.”
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‘It’s not normal for the East Coast to be on fire’ (Vox)
“According to the US Drought Monitor, the long periods of hot and dry conditions have left every state in the country facing drought — an unprecedented statistic.”
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“Protecting the vulnerable and preserving our rights and liberties will require a great deal of hard work by people who believe in our Constitution, democracy, and the rule of law. The work includes: Click to read the list
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Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to Lead Trump's ‘Dept of Government Efficiency’ (DOGE)
Crypto Bros won.
And most of us should be worried.
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Here’s yet another framework for looking at Trump’s win(s).
‘Trump again won counties representing a minority share of national GDP, but with notable gains’ (Brookings)
“Most strikingly, lower-output, small town, and rural areas continue to vote much differently—and more Republican—than the nation’s higher-output urban areas. These areas now comprise the foundation of the nation’s ruling party, joined by numerous new Republican-leaning places in the Sun Belt and elsewhere.”
“And so, while Trump will now assume power, his base in GOP-voting counties encompasses a minority segment of a national economy that remains rigidly divided between rural and small town communities that mostly vote Republican and denser, more dynamic metropolitan areas that tend to vote Democratic. Once again, a relatively small rural and small town economic order will wield inordinate authority over an economy anchored by big city metro areas.”
“These patterns matter because the nation’s sharp economic divides—just like its cultural ones—presage even more clashes between the parties about how best to generate inclusive growth for the American economy.”
“In sum, then, the nation’s stark economic divides—particularly in their latest iteration—do not look like a scenario for economic progress. Instead, they look like a recipe for new levels of mistrust, conflict, and underachievement. Rural and small town leaders as well as urban leaders on the ground in both red and blue America are going to need to work hard to secure their mutual well-being in the coming years.”
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‘Donald Trump's spiritual advisor says there will be "no more rainbow flags" after re-election’ (LGBTQ Nation)
Can you believe this world we live in?
I don’t care if he’s 87, I challenge this man to a boxing match.
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Not news for Philadelphians but… Philly has a knack for getting on the national stage for oh so extremely positive reasons…
“Dubbed the “corridor of death,” Roosevelt Boulevard has been named the most dangerous street in the city (and among the most dangerous in the nation)” (Vox)
I’ve certainly never been a fan of driving on “The Boulevard”.
I know we can all picture the intersections and merge areas where it feels a bit too dangerous. And then highway sections where cars/motorcycles fly by at 120 mph. It’s so different when you’re in proximity to a major metro area.
And… back to Trump.
“At the moment, President-elect Donald Trump and incoming congressional Republicans show little appetite for transportation reforms, but a golden opportunity will come during the development of the next multiyear surface transportation bill, which is expected to be passed after the 2026 midterms.”
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Hold up. Quick rabbit hole to jump down.
How am I only hearing about ‘Rod of Iron Ministries’ now?
Why now? ‘Donald Trump’s New ‘Border Czar’ Defended Child Separation at Festival Held by Gun-Worshipping Sect’ (Wired)
Yeah, just totally normal group of folks who worship a highly specific assault rifle.
WWJD? Not this.
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‘What does it mean that Donald Trump is a fascist?’ (The New Yorker)
“A fascist marries conspiracy and necessity. Not everyone can tell a spontaneous Big Lie, as Trump did, when he lost the 2020 election. And the Republicans around him did not challenge him. The Big Lie came to life when his followers stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Crucially, he paid no price for that. That made the Big Lie true, in a fascist sense. His de-facto impunity and then de-jure immunity also generated a sense of the untouchable, the heroic.”
“When the Nazis dreamed of a radio in every home or a newsreel before every film, they did not imagine Germans motionlessly staring at screens for most of the day, as we all do now. Fascists a hundred years ago liked the male body, physical fitness, and marching around outside. Fascism today involves a masculinity softened by screen time. In both eras of fascism, women were explicitly deemed inferior. If the old fascism depended on a fantasy of accelerated male prowess, today’s rests on the anxiety of mechanical inability.”
“Fascism is a phenomenon, not a person. Just as Trump was always a presence, so is the movement he has created. It is not just a matter of the actual fascists in his movement, who are scarcely hiding, nor of his own friendly references to Hitler or his use of Hitlerian language (“vermin,” “enemy within”). He bears responsibility for what comes next, as do his allies and supporters.”
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In positive news.
The Onion has taken control of Alex Jones’ Infowars. Serious.
Good to see the comeuppance.
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Sometimes you just gotta laugh it off…
“Of more than 1,000 millennials who were surveyed, 81% of them reported they can’t afford to have a midlife crisis…” (yahoo finance)
“However, some experts argue that it’s not that millennials can’t afford a midlife crisis—it’s just that this inflection point in life may just look different from past generations.”
These experts are, in fact, wrong.
My generation chose avocados and Starbucks lattes early on instead of taking Warren Buffet’s advice about the value of a 30-year fixed-rate home mortgage.
Ok, I’m kidding. They make some good points.
Not all generations have the same desires.
Also, being able to move has been professionally important for many millennials. Think, “digital nomad” and related terms.
I’d like to think I’m not alone in my generation believing the following:
“We’re the first generation that realized that money isn’t worth it if it costs you your soul and freedom.”
While hustle culture and the gig economy have had a lot of detractors, I suspect these shifts played into the tide that helped make remote work more normalized. And the blowback toward RTO (return to office) being understood by at least companies that, in turn, offered hybrid schedules or at least some level of flexibility.
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Exciting & terrifying.
‘Photos: Xpeng’s Land Aircraft Carrier merges car and aircraft for 621-mile range’ (Interesting Engineering)
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::: News of the Weird :::
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Atlas Obscura has a food section.
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American Food Traditions That Started as Marketing Ploys
I am not surprised that green bean casserole is the result of a corporate meeting.
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‘Costco is selling a cookware set that costs more than its gold bars’ (QZ)
It’s 170-piece cookware set for $4,999.99.
Clearly, they are targeting the minimalist demographic.
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::: Thoughtlets :::
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Maybe we should all become Wikipedians, nowadays with less irony, to ensure that there is a place with limited misinformation and disinformation.
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Consistent Recommendations:
Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American – daily news with historical context
ONE ART: a journal of poetry – daily poems
Verse Daily – daily poems
Chill Subs – down to earth submissions resource
** Want to subscribe? Get a discount using this ONE ART exclusive affiliate link.
Becky Tuch’s LitMagNews – literary community news & essential resource
Trish Hopkinson – resource for the literary community
Erika Dreifus – resource for the literary community
C. Hope Clark’s Funds for Writers –weekly email newsletter contains invaluable short essays
Jane Friedman – blog, email newsletter, resource for the literary community
The Poetry Space_ with Katie Dozier & Timothy Green (podcast)
Commonplace: Conversations with Poets and Other People (podcast hosted by Rachel Zucker)
The Gray Area with Sean Illing (podcast)
Hidden Brain (podcast)
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