SC Weekly – May 2026 – #5
~ 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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Notably less pain for [parts of] the last few days. A relief. Feeling much more like myself.
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::: ONE ART :::
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>> Past recordings of ONE ART readings
>> ONE ART ~ Poetry Community (on Facebook)
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ONE ART’s Pride Month Reading (June 2026)
Date: Sunday, June 7
Time: 2pm Eastern
Duration: 1.5 – 2 hours
Featured Poets: Julie Weiss, Ren Wilding, Moudy Sbeity, Nicole Caruso Garcia, Abby E Murray, Kai Coggin
>> Register Here <<
Tickets are FREE!
(donations appreciated)
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Write a Demi-Sonnet!
Instructor: Erin Murphy
Date: Thursday, June 11, 2026
Time: 6:00-8:00pm Eastern
Price: $25 (sliding scale)
>>> Register Here <<<
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::: The Literary Community & Beyond :::
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NEW
DEAL
NOW
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‘The Problem of Money: Thoughts on Lewis Hyde’s The Gift’ (Mary Bunten / Lit Mag News)
“You knew you weren’t getting into this for the money.”
“This makes me think about Joseph Brodsky’s trial. In 1964, Soviet authorities accused the Russian writer of “social parasitism” for not working.”
“BRODSKY: I did work. I wrote poetry.”
“Hyde argues that art is a gift.”
“As Margaret Atwood says, a gift “by its nature has spiritual worth but no monetary value, being priceless.”
“But nobody appreciates the hours I spend alone writing, developing my skill. If it doesn’t pay, it doesn’t matter.”
“The challenge for us all is how to stay true to the demands of our gifts, despite the necessity of participating in the market. Hyde argues that this should be our main concern, that impoverishment of our gifts is a fate worse than actual poverty.”
“We loaf and invite our souls. Hyde says that artists with such inner riches are never truly poor, although they may seem so to outsiders.”
“This labor of love idea is an excuse that allows writers to continue to be taken advantage of. Writers get jerked around because we can be. Literary magazines’ practices are opaque and often unfair. Writers deserve money—but our situation is complicated. Magazines need money too. Editors don’t get paid, or are paid very little. They’re overwhelmed with submissions and need time to evaluate them. We shouldn’t think of ourselves as adversaries. We want the same things and suffer the same abuses.”
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Erica Verillo shared:
86 Calls for Submissions in June 2026 - Paying markets
57 Writing Contests in June 2026 - No entry fees!
47 Glorious Writing Conferences and Workshops in June 2026
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::: Podcasts :::
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‘The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos: The Art of Doing Nothing’
Keep a list of things you can do (fun or constructive, but valuable so not doomscrolling) when you have “time windfalls” + ways you can use “time confetti” for something other than an email or catching up on work tasks.
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The Gray Area with Sean Illing: Who needs experts?
Through hedonic adaptation, America has become a nation of children.
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The Daily: A Flood of New, Deadlier Drugs
Wild story. Scary. Sad. Defeating.
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The Book Club: James Geary: A Brief History of the Aphorism
Listening to this was delightful, made me temporarily happy and at ease.
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The Gray Area with Sean Illing: Talk to strangers
Nicholas Epley always makes for a great interview.
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Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard: Ezra Klein Returns
Long listen. I found this pretty engaging, overall. The opening is somewhat funny and telling of the times we live in.
These are folks that are good at talking, no question.
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::: The Trump Regime :::
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It is legal tender? Who knows, really.
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::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::
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Eric Church - 2026 Commencement Speech at UNC Chapel Hill (Full Version) (YouTube)
Truly wonderful.
I cannot recommend this enough.
Valuable use of 18-minutes of your time.
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FULL SHOW: Stephen Colbert Hosts Public Access Show “ONLY IN MONROE” (YouTube)
(About 1-hour long)
Colbert went on public access tv the next day after his long-running show was cancelled.
Really enjoyable.
What’s next for Colbert? Podcasting? A presidential run?
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‘Even the Gilded Age had better aesthetics than this one: Taste got democratized, wealth got hoarded, and nobody’s spending makes sense anymore.’ (Hanna Horvath)
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Is AI Going to Destroy Our Lives or Not? (Kyla Scanlon)
Valuable long read.
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Magnanimity: Help Cuba (Scott Galloway)
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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 ~
>> Become a Paid Subscriber to Stay Curious.
>> Make a donation to ONE ART: a journal of poetry.
>> Buy from The Poetry Shop via this affiliate link.
>> Subscribe to Chill Subs via this affiliate link.
>> Buy a copy of my poetry collection, Take Care.
Glad you are feeling more yourself. Re: The Problem of Money: businesses have to make money, but so do employees. There should be a livable minimum wage.
Glad to hear you are feeling better! Thank you for the reading and viewing suggestions. I have already listened to the happiness expert, and I will put her suggestions into practice.