Dorianne Laux: Spirit Level
I see how my whole life has been a dream,
one she built for me from the ground up,
her daughter, my mother the axe, beautiful
tool with which she shaped me, a house
much like the one she lived in, but smaller
Shelley Inglis: How to prevent elections from being stolen − lessons from around the world for the US
Citizens of many affected countries have learned various techniques to help protect the integrity of their elections and democracy that may be helpful to Americans today.
John Lawson: Flowers
A special tragedy, to survive
Almost till spring, when the nearing sun
Might quell dark fear, still
Convulsive shivering.
Woody Lewis: ‘A Stranger Comes To Town’, a novel by Lynne Sharon Schwartz
Lynne Sharon Schwartz begins her new novel, A Stranger Comes To Town, with Tolstoy’s maxim about plot: “All great literature is one of two stories: a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.”
Barbara Crooker: Things That Can Be Doubled
Team, time, troubles. It’s this,
or nothing. Boiler, barrel, bed, the blind’s
bind that puts us in jeopardy.
Robert Lipsyte: The Barbarians at the Gate
I was shocked, but not surprised. What do we do now? Yes, we all knew they were coming, still….
Todd Friedman: The World is Filled with Learning
Yes, good and evil are on the table like salt and pepper shakers.
It’s easy to reach for the wrong one.
Negin Owliaei: As Trump Bombs Iran, We Need to Reckon With the American War Machine
We in the U.S. need to reckon with the fact that so much of our state wealth, capacity, and technology goes toward burying children in rubble.
Donna Hilbert: Two Poems
Fire and ice, ice and fire.
I’m loathe to say much more
of fear, of loss, and of desire.
It’s all been said, or sung, before.
History of US-Iran relations: From the 1953 regime change to Trump strikes
Iran remains the US’s adversary in the Middle East since the 1979 Islamic revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. ~ On February 27, 2026, President Donald Trump ordered direct strikes … Continue reading
J. Kates: Two Poems
I gave up cigarettes and sex and booze
and anything that might have got me hung.
I’ve grown too old to listen to the blues.
George Yancy: A New Era of Scholarship Is Shining a Light on the Black Philosophical Tradition
Without this history, students may see Black thinkers as footnotes rather than world-historical contributors.
Chana Bloch: Beaux Arts
They knew something about pleasure, too,
those painters—how well they understood
it may be compounded
of the simplest elements, the merest trace
of water or light.
Zia Kandler and Moira Birss: How to build emergency response systems for the long haul
The international accompaniment movement teaches us that to sustain an emergency response to state violence, we must build durable, collective and supportive structures now.
Allen Ginsberg: The Velocity of Money
I’m delighted by the velocity of money as it whistles through the windows of Lower East Side
