Throwbacks & Throughlines: March/April 2024
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Maggie Rogers released, ‘Don’t Forget Me’, a very good album that I still listen to.
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A great listen:
Fresh Air – Cloistered
Catherine Coldstream’s new memoir – Cloistered: My Years as a Nun
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In April 2024, I wrote:
5%
Not China, Not Russia— About 5% of Americans say that America is its own greatest enemy. This is the highest percentage on record. This was based on Gallup poll findings at the time.
We should check in and get the Trump 2.0 bump. I’m going to hazard a guess that a lot more than 5% of Americans polled in 2026 would say America is its own worse enemy.
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March 2024:
‘Trump’s tariff plan would cost families $1,500 a year, Democratic group finds’ (Semafor)
‘Former President Donald Trump’s idea to implement a 10% tariff on all imported goods would spike prices by as much as $1,500 annually for American families, according to a new analysis from a top Democrat-aligned group first shared with Semafor.’
Where are we now?
Uhh, well…
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“Since 2020, the wealth of the top 1% has increased by nearly $15 trillion, or 49%.”
‘The wealth of the 1% just hit a record $44 trillion’ (CNBC)
As of Q2 2025, the Top 1% were up to $54T.
“Billionaire wealth has increased by 81 percent since 2020” (Oxfam, Jan 2026)
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Looking Back on Small Press Distribution Chaos
[on] Small Press Distribution (SPD) Collapsing Abruptly (LitHub)
Small Press Distribution: 1969 – 2024
Here’s a List of Presses impacted by the SPD collapse. (Courtesy of CLMP)
“The small press world is about to fall apart,” Goettel remembers thinking.
“Goettel says SPD owes Black Lawrence Press more than $17,000—an enormous sum for a small press.”
“I was distributed by SPD for about a year until the troubling allegations about the working environment came to light, which, coupled with the abysmal business terms, made for an easy decision to try something different,” Rothes tells me. He’s referring to an essay (no longer online) published by a former SPD employee, as well as further reports in 2021 that accused SPD of fostering a toxic workplace and poor labor conditions, as well as “financial issues and mismanagement.”
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Remember the Guernica troubles?
Gina Moore resigns as Editor-in-Chief of Guernica.
Spring 2024 was a time when there were a bunch of people quitting their positions with lit mags.
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Pretty sure this holds true:
“75% of reading periods for first books exclude poets who can’t afford to pay.” (Emily Stoddard)