OMM’s 2024 Holiday Gift Guide
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Last updated _ 12.12.24
Check back, I plan to update this. I just wanted to get it out there before it would be too late in the season for gifts to get shipped in time for the holidays.
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#1 – Donations
Consider a donation on behalf of someone you love.
I recommend checking a charitable organization’s record on Charity Navigator. Sadly, sometimes the money is not going where you wish.
I recommend GiveWell and The Life You Can Save for high impact giving.
I’ve been giving micro loans through Kiva since 2009. I’ve developed my own system for giving through Kiva. This involves more time and careful consideration than traditional charitable donations. I’m by no means suggesting this is a preferable method. It’s another method.
I have a personal list of organizations that I like to give to. Again, I’d suggest spending some time on Charity Navigator before making decisions.
I know it should go without saying… there are certain organizations that are going to need assistance as a result of Trump’s return to power.
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#2 – Support your local poets/writers.
#3 – Support your local visual artists.
#4 – Support your local musicians.
#5 – Support local theater programming. Or classical music, or opera—the institutions and programming that matter the most to you.
#6 – Support your NPR and your local public radio station. They may be about to get defunded.
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Need a holiday gift for a birder?
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Good writing to inspire writers:
Capote - Portraits and Observations
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Fun Reads:
Print collections of web comics…
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For the Swiftie in your life:
Invisible Strings: 113 Poets Respond to the Songs of Taylor Swift
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Little gifts for poets & writers….
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Lit Mag Gift Subscriptions!
Poetry East (single issues)
Mid-American Review (MAR)
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Journal of The Month is a bit pricey but it’s the only way some of us will encounter print lit mags.
Other magazine gift subscriptions (think about what might spark writing in the individual or be of general interest)
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Small Presses need our support!
Natalie Homer's poetry collection ‘Under The Broom Tree’ (Autumn House Press)
Fun fact: Autumn House published U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón's first book
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Aqua Notes or related waterproof notepad … for the inevitable “shower moments”
High quality seat cushion … since good writers inevitably sit too much
Also… a back cushion. Haven’t tried this one yet but the reviews appear positive-ish. Sadly, these products never seem quite right…and so we settle for “good enough”.
Beats and, notably, Bose are having unusually good sales on headphones
Some may benefit from access to MasterClass … though I’d advocate for letting someone decide for themselves if this is a gift they want
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Online/Virtual Workshops / Classes
There are so many online workshops these days. Yes, I’m hosting a semi-monthly workshop via ONE ART.
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Poet scarf?
Storiarts makes fingerless writing gloves… do all writers have Raynaud's syndrome? (I do.)
Good pens
Easy reading
Some of the best anthologies out there
Lesser known craft books
A tea set?
A new/experimental way to make coffee?
A brainy old school word game like Boggle?
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Your local bookshops are going to have some fun gear. Might be even more fun to send these far across the country (and even internationally!).
Fun fact: Turns out many of the place names in the U.S. are stolen from elsewhere!! :P
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Local art gallery? Maybe a small print?
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Museum giftshops have great stuff.
You can theoretically order from anywhere…
The Louvre, for instance.
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Seoul)
I absolutely love the Brandywine River Museum!
Wikipedia has a list of the most visited museums… which I suppose we can equate with popularity.
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I’m sure you know someone who would just like something that says “Milan” on it. Or, “New York / Milan / London / Paris”. Or, “New York / Milan / London / Paris / Tokyo”. It’s fine, really. Fashion is fashion is fashion.
You can always make someone a thing that suits them on Redbubble or related.
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Personally, I don’t think you can go wrong with a thoughtful thrifted gift.
This comes from someone who loves to hit up the Goodwill and local thrift shops anywhere I visit.
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Occasionette is a super cute hyperlocal Philly-based boutique.
Great cards and little gifts.
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The good folks at Atlas Obscura have ideas for gift-giving.
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Etsy: ‘Gifts for Poets’
Etsy: ‘Gifts for Writers’
Etsy: ‘Gifts for Artists’
This mug might be too scary to drink out of… is there a phobia term for lowkey fear of optical illusions? Some of these are neat… ones where it looks like you’ll fall into the ground… nah, not cool with that. There are so many if you search…
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You could be bold and gift someone a writing retreat.
Obviously, not everyone can just up and leave their day-to-day at a moment’s notice… so this is a gift for someone you know well… and you probably want to check their schedule first to be polite.
It could also be an IOU / DIY writing retreat…
It could also be a virtual writing retreat. They exist! Louisa and I did a 3-hour writing retreat with ‘Holes in The Wall Collective’ during peak pandemic. Some of the poems writing during that virtual getaway ended up in Louisa’s chapbook ‘Plague Love’.
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Check out: The Literary Gift Company (UK)
They offer fun items like… a typewriter handbag
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New York Public Library sells swag.
Your local library probably has a tote of something, too, just to say.
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Famous bookshops.
The Strand sells gifts.
So does Powell’s.
Maybe something from more of ‘The 10 Most Famous Bookstores in the World’ (LitHub)
Maybe something from ‘The 9 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World’? (Architectural Digest)
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Uncommon Goods:
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A book… that is also a light?
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For the Minimalist
Kyle Chayka – The Longing for Less
Junichiro Tanizaki – In Praise of Shadows
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For the ethical traveler:
Shahnaz Habib – Airplane Mode
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Trump 1.0 (throwback on demagoguery)
Brooke Gladstone - The Trouble with Reality (probably feels tame now) – It’s a short read.
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Novellas / autofiction for quality short reads…
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Magical Escapes:
Carlos Ruiz Zafon – The Shadow of the Wind
(you can get a used copy very inexpensively, typically)
Kelly Link – Magic for Beginners + Get in Trouble
Kurt Vonnegut – Galapagos, Cat’s Cradle, Sirens of Titan, the list goes on…
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Short stories:
Kelly Link – Magic for Beginners + Get in Trouble
George Saunders – Tenth of December
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Essay collections:
Hanif Abdurraqib – They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us
Michael Robbins – Equipment for Living: On Poetry and Pop Music
Jonathan Franzen – Farther Away
David Foster Wallace – A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again
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Books that take you back:
???
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Books that change your life (or mine anyhow):
Barry Schwartz – The Paradox of Choice
There are… a lot of books I could add to this list.
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Books worth getting obsessed with:
???
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Feel free to ask me questions about anything I’ve added to GoodReads…
It’s not recently updated or comprehensive… but the list contains a lot of books I’ve enjoyed (or not) over the years… and I’m happy to make personalized suggestions based on your interests.
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What are your favorite things to gift poets/writers/artists?