SC Weekly – January 2026 – #1
~ a curated selection of discoveries ~
::: The Open :::
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoy this edition of SC Weekly (published on Sundays).
Please consider sharing with a friend who you think may enjoy this newsletter.
Thank you for reading and for your time.
With Gratitude,
~ Mark
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::: Personal Notes :::
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Well, here we are, a new year— 2026.
Years like age are just a number. It’s what you do with them, right?
Trump is already controlling the narrative, no surprise, capturing Maduro (of Venezuela) in a way that is, well, not exactly legal. This has never stopped the U.S. before. And oil is involved. That’s novel. In any case, hopefully the people of Venezuela do not have to suffer too much because the U.S. is strong-arming their country… Hi Libya, how are you these days? Iraq? Afghanistan? Anyhow, you don’t need me for this. I’m not Captain History… Heather Cox Richardson has you covered.
Long ago, I stopped “resolutions” because data shows they don’t bear out very well. Think gym memberships. Instead, these are good moments to take stock, an opportunity for reflection, mindful “resets” (more my brother Mike’s mindset to be honest)… I usually think in terms of “goals” for years now. And, slightly more recently, “pivots”. I’m not the first to push the importance of the concept that you “Pivot from Now.” The past is the past (as much as it can be and as much as it is needed to inform the present and future).
I’ll share a 2025 Wrapped (recap), so to speak, in the coming days…
Here are a few ideas for the outset of 2026 that I’m going to try to keep in mind:
- No social media after 8pm
Exceptions: Nationals emergencies, serious situations, time-sensitive direct messages (literary community), boundaries are always a push and pull
- Grow ONE ART readership by [min.] 15% (up 35% 2024-25)
- Social?
- Personal growth?
- Navigating pain / energy?
- My writing? I may return to my longtime nudge to submit to at last one lit mag each month
- ONE ART: many ideas related to programming and anthologies
- VRS CRFT: mentorship (I have space for about 3 more clients at the moment)
- Stay Curious: Increase value for readers
- Hoping to find the bandwidth to start running personal poetry workshops again
- Podcasts: Maybe a few self-imposed limitations on time commitments
What are your goals/aspirations/pivots/resolutions for 2026?
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::: ONE ART :::
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ONE ART’s January 2026 Reading
Date: Sunday, January 11
Time: 2:00pm Eastern
Featured Poets: Katie Dozier & Timothy Green
>>> Register Here <<<
Free!
(Donations appreciated.)
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ONE ART’s February 2026 Reading
Sunday, February 1
Time: 2:00pm Eastern
Duration: 2-hours
Featured Readers: Kim Stafford, Kari Gunter-Seymour, J.D. Isip, Todd Davis, Grant Clauser
Tickets are FREE!
(donations appreciated)
>>> Register Here <<<
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Speaking To & Listening To Our Aging Bodies – A Workshop with Amy Small-McKinney
Workshop Leader: Amy Small-McKinney
Date: Tuesday, January 13
Time: 6:00-8:00pm Eastern – Please check your local times.
Duration: 2-hours
Cost: $25 (sliding scale)
>>> Register Here <<<
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Mastering the Epistolary Poem – A Workshop with John Sibley Williams
Workshop Leader: John Sibley Williams
Date: Monday, January 26
Time: 11:30am-2:00pm PT / 2:30-5:00pm ET – Please check your local times.
Duration: 2.5 hours
Cost: $25 (sliding scale)
>>> Register Here <<<
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Explore New Poetic Territory ~ Find New Meaning & Connections Using Found Poetry Techniques – A Workshop with Jennifer Mills Kerr
Break free from your usual poetic groove. Very often and without realizing it, poets slide into familiar language and images. In this workshop, Jennifer will guide you on how to restructure, remix, and recontextualize words from other texts in order to break into new poetic territory. This class is a creative kickstarter for all experience levels.
Bring at least three inspiring texts you’d like to explore to class–whether historical documents, novel passages, your favorite poems, or all of the above. Choosing your source materials prior to workshop will allow you to immediately jump into our writing sessions.
Workshop Leader: Jennifer Mills Kerr
Date: Tuesday, February 10
Time: 6:00-8:00pm Eastern – Please check your local time.
Duration: 2-hours
Cost: $25 (sliding scale)
>>> Register Here <<<
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::: The Literary Community & Beyond :::
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INAUGURATION HIGHLIGHT: Cornelius Eady Delivers Chilling Poem at Zohran Mamdani’s Inauguration (YouTube)
A wonderful Occasional Poem and a terrific example of poets bringing realness to public speaking.
Note the cut to Eric Adams’ face when Eady dedicates the poem to his “trans, queer, students of color”… priceless.
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‘Wes Anderson Brings Joseph Cornell’s Studio to Life’ (Hyperallergic)
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Writer-Agent Relationships
I’m wondering what has changed since this 2017 article:
‘10 Things We Hate About Agents (And 10 Things They Hate About Us’
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January updates from Erica Verrillo:
75 Calls for Submissions in January 2026 - Paying markets
64 Writing Contests in January 2026 - No entry fees
12 (Warm) Writing Conferences and Workshops in January 2026
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‘Watch for These 2026 Social Media Trends’ (Jane Friedman)
Marketing advice for literary community folks.
Finally, limitations on hashtags.
Just remember, be yourself. Do your own thing. If for no other reason, because micro-influencers are in vogue. (kidding not kidding)
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‘20 Everyday Words and Phrases Turning 50 in 2026’ (Mental Floss)
Contrary to the listicle’s implication… some of these are older than I would have thought.
I originally thought “meme” was a twist on bell hooks “me-me generation” discussed in her text
Where We Stand: Class Matters.
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‘Every ‘Word of the Year’ According to Various Dictionaries (2020-2025)’ (VC)
Interesting notes about how dictionaries choose their words.
“We can see how 2020 was defined by the pandemic, with pandemic, quarantine, and lockdown all chosen that year (while Oxford University Press didn’t choose a word that year).”
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Opportunities (Hyperallergic)
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‘7 Ways to Increase Your Visibility as a Writer on Social Media’ (Authors Publish)
Hmm… what are your thoughts on this advice?
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::: Podcasts :::
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The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway: The AI Dilemma — with Tristan Harris
Tristan Harris is right, AI should be a top voter issue.
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Higher Ed in the Crosshairs (Aspen Ideas to Go)
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The Poetry Space_
ep. 122 - Viral Poems Part 1
ep. 123 - Viral Poems Part 2
Great listens! Highly recommend. Fun & educational!
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KQED’s Forum: David Brooks on ‘Why America Needs a Mass Movement – Now’
Here, we are asked to think and reflect. What can Dems do to create a movement that maps out a better tomorrow?
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::: Music :::
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Nostalgic deep dives into 90s/00s emo, post-punk, post-rock, post-hardcore, shoegaze…
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::: Health & Wellness :::
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A new study on ADHD meds suggests amphetamines do what amphetamines do. Go figure.
This isn’t clever biohacking.
Basically, meds like Ritalin and Adderall simply make tasks feel more engaging… it’s not that someone has increased ability to focus. Additionally, they have the ability to you up like, well, meth. People aren’t more “alert” on these drugs, it simply masks such things as sleep deprivation.
I’m not saying people shouldn’t use these drugs… though probably not young children and certainly not at high doses or for years and years without a healthy dose of reflection.
W.H. Auden famously began each day with a dose of amphetamines. Not a recommendation. A couple cups of coffee may have health benefits whereas there’s not much evidence that low-dose meth is doing any wonders for anyone’s overall wellness.
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All news is local.
‘‘It’s made things worse for everyone’: Philadelphia grapples with rise of new street drug’ (The Guardian)
From my research, years ago, it did seem like “tranq” first appeared on the scenes in Philadelphia. This runs counter to (from my understanding) where new street drugs often debut which is rural Tennessee. Further research indicates that my data on TN may have been questionable. I’m admittedly forgetting my original sources for this.
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‘Consumption of common mineral associated with lower risk of suicidal thoughts’ (PsyPost)
Please note: This doesn’t appear to be confirmed yet.
I do see that selenium is available as an OTC supplement.
As is almost always the case, it’s preferable to get your vitamins and minerals through food. Selenium seems to be a bit tricky for vegetarians to get… though it seems you can get it through consumption of oats, whole wheat bread, brown rice, and sunflower seeds.
On a personal note, I want to say that I’m lucky that I do not struggle with suicidal ideation. That being said, I’ve known and know many who do… and it’s not easy on a day-to-day basis to have disturbing intrusive thoughts.
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‘Why don’t cars have bulky bumpers anymore?’ (PopSci)
“A bumper should be forgiving,” he says. “It should be something that can take minor damage without that damage even being noticeable, and it should sacrifice itself, as inexpensively as possible, to protect the painted, expensive bodywork. It should be made of materials that can still look fine with some scuffing and scratches and other minor imperfections, which is why those black rubber bumpers so many of us love to hate are actually the best bumpers ever.”
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::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::
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The job market was bad in 2025. It’s getting compared to The Great Recession. Many sources indicate that the 2026 job market will be as bad if not worse.
Job hunters, especially Gen Z and recent college grads, are struggling to find work.
Many headlines and recommendations have circled the idea that those in jobs should try to keep them, that more job changes have been lateral shifts and not resulted in higher pay or benefits or better working conditions. People are hunkering down and trying to keep their jobs.
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Pew Research findings:
“After more than 50 years of rapid growth, the number of immigrants living in the U.S. is on the decline.”
“Views of the U.S. have worsened – and views of China have improved – across many of the 10 high-income countries we surveyed this year.”
“Seven-in-ten Americans now say the nation’s higher education system is generally going in the wrong direction, up from 56% in 2020.”
“Americans have grown more critical of the widespread legalization of sports betting.”
“Around seven-in-ten Americans (69%) say Donald Trump is trying to exert more power than his predecessors.”
“A majority of parents with a child under 2 years old (62%) say their child watches videos on YouTube, up from 45% in 2020.”
“Google users who encounter an AI Overview are about half as likely as other users to click on search results.”
“For the first time in nearly two decades of surveys, most Hispanics say their group’s situation in the country has worsened over the past year.”
“Americans are far more pessimistic than optimistic about the effect AI will have on human creativity and connection.”
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“A report in The Wall Street Journal detailed the rigorous tests that AI models are subjected to: they must answer 2,000 questions that are frequently updated and achieve a 95% refusal rate for queries related to forbidden topics, like the Tiananmen Square massacre or human rights violations, according to the report.” (Sherwood News)
It’s something… but we also believe we know that these models are aware of when they are being tested and are clever enough to provide the answers that appear to be desirable whether or not that is information they would provide or suggest in other circumstances.
As usual, we don’t know what we’re up against.
I’ve heard multiple references recently that, in the long game, AI (or what we’re calling “AI” right now) may be considered the most significant human innovation since the discovery of fire. Yes, fire. Like Prometheus… Sure, the hype machine is clocking a lot of overtime but there’s more to this and the one thing that seems clear is that we’re in over our heads. Humans love to play God and history has shown that no God will save us from ourselves.
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In Gen Alpha x Gen Z trendz…
‘Why the quarter-zip trend is about much more than jumpers’ (Guardian)
Quarter-zip & a matcha.
I’m too old to “understand”, I know… that being said, let’s pull a Jay Z reference out to note that 30+ was an age deemed too old to wear jerseys. It’s partly about dressing like a grownup or “adulting” in terms that did not exist in 2003.
The fact that this quarter-zip movement is catching on with Black youth says something about Culture. Deep down, there is safety here. It’s a goofy co-opt of a boujee white guy look. Who isn’t get shot at? That boujee white guy. Black youth are inevitably feeling even more fearful in the Trump era and, it’s nothing new, that minorities have had to dress much better than white people in order to receive fair treatment (or at least not immediately be perceived as a threat or criminal) whereas a white guy can show up in sweats and demand respect.
There’s more, of course. All this to say there’s a lot to unpack behind-the-scenes, cultural anthropologically speaking.
There’s a noted tie-in here with the “Performative Male” phenom which… is also not new. I had to have this explained to me, initially, because it was pretty deeply ingrained as a thing that’s been around since my youth. The term “metrosexual” was coined in 1994 and peaked around 2003. Being “metro” was thrown around quite a bit as a straight guy (in theory) who dressed well and displayed feminine traits (possibly a bit of emotional intelligence) … but there was a performative aspect. When I was in college, I felt righteous studying feminism (and, eventually, a little too self-loathing… but that’s a separate issue). It didn’t feel performative, but I can see it being perceived as such. Just an example.
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In & Out 2026 (WaPo)
It’s somewhat goofy and lighthearted.
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‘Stingless bees from the Amazon granted legal rights in world first’ (Guardian)
Yeah but what if they weren’t stingless?
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‘Someone made a huge profit predicting Maduro’s capture. Here’s what happened’ (Axios)
Again… the creepiness of prediction markets. Prediction markets are dangerous and we’re going to find out just how dangerous.
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~ Mark’s Consulting, Coaching/Mentoring, Editing Services ~
Information about my services.
Reach out directly to discuss.
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~ Ways to Support ~
If you’d like to support my work, there are ways to do so other than subscribing to this substack.
>> Buy a copy of my poetry collection, Take Care. Copies are available from Moon Tide Press and Amazon.
>> Make a donation to ONE ART: a journal of poetry.
Happy New Year!
So many interesting things to explore!