#the best american poetry 2022

[myinspirationjournalquotes]

Possibility was a bird I once knew. It had one wing.

From "Final Poem for My Father, Misnamed in My Mouth" by Phillip B. Williams

[dustedmagazine]

Lonnie Holley — Tonky (Jagjaguwar)

Lonnie Holley speaks from an incantatory trance, mining his own and American history for hallucinatory imagery. He ties his own childhood as a cast-off, exploited by predatory systems, to the broader narrative of slavery, Jim Crow and white nationalism, speaking luminously and poetically off the cuff while some of black (and white) America’s most adventurous artists contribute to the driving, electronic propulsions that drive his words forward. Tonky—the title comes from a childhood nickname—revisits the nightmarish narratives that Holley explored in 2022’s Oh Me Oh My, but like all of Holley’s improvisatory works, views them fresh, in the moment, as they occur to this haunted, haunting artist.

As in his previous album, Holley holds the center, while the celebrated producer Jacknife Lee (U2, R.E.M., the Cars, the Killers, etc.) builds out instrumental frameworks, some eerie and minimal like the dub pulse of “Seeds,” others shambolically soulful and celebratory as in “Protest for Love” with its horn like and choir of back-up singers. Guests turn up, primarily for vocals, though Mary Lattimore plays ethereal harp patterns through “Life” and Angel Bat Dawid weaves a dizzying clarinet through the hustle and shuffle of “The Burden.” Though Holley evidently has strong opinions on contemporary pop (see “That’s Not Art, That’s Not Music”), his collaborators span multiple eras—the afro-futurist Saul Williams speaks poetry against a looming background of angels in “Those Stars are Still Shining.” Billy Woods joins in woozy, searching “I Looked Over My Shoulder,” while Open Eagle Mike shares verses with Holley and the outsider sculptor Joe Minter in “The Same Stars.” Less famous, but equally able musicians form a regular ensemble. Davide Rossi’s string arrangements are particularly effective.

No track is more harrowing than “Seeds,” the nine-minute memory piece that delves into Holley’s violent, unprotected youth. As a young child, he was committed to the hellish Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children, starved and beaten and made to work long days picking cotton. The song’s driving beat is like the heartbeat of a young boy in flight. It rushes from measure to measure, never staying too long in one place. Lush swoops and caroms of string sound embellish this rhythm but give it no cushion or comfort. The music serves mostly to frame lucid verses about brutality. Says Holley, “Get to see the children being beat every day the same way/For the same damn thing/Because it was a repeat action/As you looked at the old man sitting there/Whipping and whipping and whipping and whipping/Whipping the bodies that passed along his way/Lines of boy and cries of girls.”

Holley finds the direct line between his own, relatively recent suffering and the longer narrative of black people in America. Funky, percussion driven “We Was Kings in the Jungle, Slaves in the Field,” is one of the album’s best cuts, rumbling forward on syncopated drumming, fired by blares of brass and winds, lit by ghostly patterns of marimba. The song weaves through history, deftly linking the slave crossings with the Oklahoma City massacre, but while its lyrics touch on tragedy, the music bubbles with joyful, gospel choir euphoria.

And indeed, that’s one of the surprising things about Lonnie Holley. After a truly soul-scarring childhood and a lifetime of struggle, he and his music are still full of love and hope. The gorgeous, shapeshifting “Did I Do Enough” (with Jessca Hoop on auxiliary vocals) blossoms in positivity, as Holley considers whether he’s transformed his own dire experiences into progress by touching and inspiring other people. The song is quite uplifting. You can literally feel it pulling you out of despondence into resilience and celebration. And I’d say, yes, Lonnie Holley. You’ve done plenty, and you’ll likely do some more.

Jennifer Kelly

[denimbex1986]

'...Social media has played into this Irish invasion, with users fangirling over actors like Paul Mescal, Barry Keoghan, Andrew Scott, and Cillian Murphy. All of these men have been recognized for their work in critically acclaimed and/or popular films in 2023. Cillian Murphy is nominated for (and forecast to win) an Oscar for his role in Oppenheimer.

...this new male-driven phenomenon likely stems from the convergence of the two online trends: an overwhelming fan appetite for male celebrities in the “internet boyfriend” era, and a growing interest in Irish culture. The result is a super-online (and horny) generation of Hibernophiles.

...the modern romanticization of Irish men doesn’t seem to be pegged to one film or moment in time, and a cursory Google search pulls up a slew of articles declaring the purported pros of dating Irish men. These lists are not necessarily based on hard facts as much as cultural assumptions, and many of them, including one by Popsugar, emphasize the Irish’s supposed charm, good looks, chattiness, and love for their mothers...

Presumably, there’s a link between the idyllic postcard image many Americans have of Ireland — lush green pastures, poetry, music, and a friendly population — and the view of Irish men as ideal romantic partners. It has certainly helped that Americans and consumers worldwide have been inundated with images of handsome Irish men in popular culture, from former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan to One Direction member Niall Horan to scruffy sex symbol Colin Farrell. While interviewing Cillian Murphy on his podcast Armchair Expert in 2022, host Dax Sheppard raved about the “inordinate amount of handsome men” he encountered on a trip to Ireland...

The 1845 Irish famine meant a huge influx of immigrants to the US, and the men quickly gained a reputation as “feckless, uncultured, and prone to drunkenness and violence,” Burke explained. “That stereotype has been argued to have persisted to some degree right up to the era of John F. Kennedy.” Kennedy’s election, she says, was thought to signal the full assimilation of the Irish in America. (A shift that, in turn, brought us notable Irish Americans like Alec Baldwin, Sean Hannity, and Bill O’Reilly.)

This shift in perception represents the “flexible racial status of Irishness,” as Diane Negra, film studies professor at the University College Dublin, writes in the book The Irish in Us: Irishness, Performativity and Pop Culture. She expands that this is due to a complex history and ethnic identity that allows them to “oscillate between otherness and whiteness.” Likewise, Burke says white Irish people fit into a category of “non-vanilla vanilla” in the Western imagination.

For the American viewer, “Irish actors arguably evoke a kind of safe ‘exoticness,’” she said. “Being native speakers of English with a purportedly cute accent, they are just ‘foreign’ enough for mainstream taste.”

That newfound perception of Irish men as harmless and gentle feels connected to a wider trend that they’ve shown up in on the internet: the “babygirl.” The moniker has become a go-to term of endearment for grown men in Hollywood who are physically attractive and display pleasant traits. According to Mashable, it describes “when a man is being cute, comfortable in his masculinity, or weak in an evocative way.” This act of infantilization can be applied to a wide range of men, but it’s hard not to notice actors like Mescal, Keoghan, Murphy, and Farrell being popular recipients of this treatment online...

The Andrew Haigh film All of Us Strangers, starring Andrew Scott and Mescal, was on the precipice of Oscars glory, with Scott campaigning but failing to make it to the final stage for Best Actor. For months throughout awards season, though, Mescal and Scott were making the internet swoon in joint interviews and red-carpet appearances, demonstrating that their onscreen chemistry carried over into real life. The same attention was paid to Keoghan, who became more of a talking point throughout awards season for his role in the polarizing Emerald Fennell film Saltburn — not to mention that nude dance scene — than a realistic Oscars contender.

Last but not least, there’s Cillian Murphy, whose role in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer could very well win him an Oscar on March 10, after a near-sweep at the year’s major awards ceremonies. The standom and thirst for him on social media is particularly striking, given that he’s had a lengthy, mostly unsung career that hadn’t yielded huge starmaking moments before Oppenheimer, despite playing multiple side characters in Nolan’s filmography. Prior to playing the “father of the atomic bomb” last year, his most notable role as a leading man was as gangster Thomas Shelby in the BBC2 show Peaky Blinders, which ran for almost a decade and earned a strong Tumblr fan base.

Professor and author Christopher Shannon adds that the public’s affinity for Murphy is particularly fascinating, given that American audiences haven’t necessarily fallen in love with him through Irish cinema like previous Irish actors.

“What strikes me about someone like Murphy is that he has achieved his fame mostly in non-Irish roles,” he said. “Murphy is celebrated as an actor who happens to be Irish rather than as a distinctly Irish actor.”

Nevertheless, Murphy’s Irish identity seems to be part of his draw, based on how his online fan base interacts with him. Despite being rather reserved, the Batman Begins star has generated an entire mill of memes, many of them stemming from routinely unenthused interactions and a general “who gives a fuck?” attitude. In particular, it seems as though the internet enjoys the ways he firmly declares his Irishness.

One of his most viral moments is a clip of him repeatedly stating that he’s Irish after an interviewer refers to him and his Inception co-star Tom Hardy as British. Another popular image of Murphy shows the actor seemingly giving Prince Harry a dissenting glare as the cast lines up to meet him at the Dunkirk premiere. This could well just be Murphy’s natural expression (he’s not exactly known for looking cheery), but the internet interpreted Murphy’s look as proof of his disdain for the British monarchy...

Murphy has said that it’s a “good time to be an Irish actor” in Hollywood. At the same time, when asked how he felt about being the first Irish-born actor to win Best Actor at the BAFTAs last week, he seemed slightly exhausted by a sense of tokenism. “It means a lot to me to be Irish,” he answered a journalist. “I don’t know what else to say. Should I sing a rebel song?”

Of course, this quip only made the Murphy Hive fall in love with him more.'

[tf2heritageposts]

Elizabeth Eden Harris[2] (born May 31, 1997), known professionally as Cupcakke (often stylized as cupcakKe; pronounced /ˈkʌpkeɪk/ "cupcake"),[3] is an American rapper and singer-songwriter known for her hypersexualized, brazen, and often comical persona and music.[4][5]

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Cupcakke began her career as a rapper in 2012 by releasing material online. She drew attention in 2015 when she released two music videos, "Vagina" and "Deepthroat", on YouTube that went viral; the songs were later included on her debut mixtape, Cum Cake (2016), which was included on Rolling Stone's list of the Best Rap Albums of 2016 at number 23.[6] A second mixtape, S.T.D (Shelters to Deltas), released in 2016, preceded her studio albums: Audacious (2016), Queen Elizabitch (2017), Ephorize (2018), Eden (2018), and Dauntless Manifesto (2024).

Aside from a brief retirement at the end of 2019, Cupcakke has been steadily releasing standalone singles, such as "Squidward Nose" (2019), "Discounts" (2020), "Mosh Pit" (2021), and "H2hoe" (2022).

Elizabeth Eden Harris was born on May 31, 1997,[7] in Chicago, Illinois, and was raised on King Drive, near Parkway Gardens. Harris was raised by a single mother and spent nearly four years in Chicago's homeless shelters starting at age seven.[8] In the lyrics of her song "Ace Hardware", Harris recounts her experiences struggling with depression and being raped by her father, who is a pastor.[9][10] She has referred to her father as a "deadbeat", "con artist", and "child molester."[11] She attended Dulles Elementary School[12] with other established Chicago rappers such as Lil Reese and Chief Keef. She got an early start into music and poetry at the age of ten by her involvement in her local church. It was also there that she got her start in performing, where she would perform for her local pastors by reciting poetry about her Christianity and faith.[13]

When she was 13, she met a fellow churchgoer who encouraged her to turn the poetry into rap music, and she became infatuated with the art form. She cites 50 Cent, Lil' Kim, and Da Brat as early influences to her musical style.[14][13]

Harris released her first music video, "Gold Digger" onto her official YouTube channel in August 2012. She was only 15 at the time of its release—the original video has since been deleted.[5] Over the next few years, she continued to release original music, as well as freestyles using beats from other artists through her YouTube channel, where she has amassed over 919,000 subscribers.[15]

In October 2015, the official music video for her song "Vagina" was released on YouTube via YMCFilmz. According to Cupcakke, she wrote the song because she was inspired by Khia's dirty rap song "My Neck, My Back (Lick It)" from 2002.[16] One month later, Harris released "Deepthroat" on her own channel. Within weeks, the two videos went viral on YouTube, Worldstar, and Facebook. The songs later became singles for Harris' debut mixtape, Cum Cake, which was released in February 2016. Its release was also supported by further singles such as "Juicy Coochie", "Tit for Tat", and "Pedophile". A writer for Pitchfork, which included it on "9 Rap Mixtapes You Might Have Missed This Year", called the mixtape a "well rounded introduction to a skilled writer" and said it used songs "about love, loss, and hardship with its more explicit tracks to create a full profile of the up-and-coming Chicago rapper".[17] "Pedophile" was also specifically noted for its "blunt commentary" on sexual assault.[5]

In June 2016, Harris released her second mixtape, S.T.D (Shelters to Deltas). It was preceded by the single "Best Dick Sucker". Other tracks, such as "Doggy Style" and "Motherlands", were also later released as singles. The mixtape was listed among Rolling Stone's "Best Rap Albums of 2016 So Far".[6]

In October 2016, Harris released her debut studio album, Audacious.[18] The album was preceded by the single "Picking Cotton", which was described by MTV News as "a protest song about racist cops".[13] Other tracks on the album such as "Spider-Man Dick" and "LGBT" were accompanied by music videos.[19][20] In an interview Harris stated that she made the song "LGBT" "...strictly for the gay community to know that they are loved and don't need to feel judged."[21]

In February 2017, Harris released "Cumshot", which served as the lead single to her second studio album. On March 7, English singer-songwriter Charli XCX premiered her song "Lipgloss", which featured Harris. The song was later included on XCX's mixtape, Number 1 Angel, which was released on March 10.[22]

Her second studio album, titled Queen Elizabitch, was released on March 31, 2017.[23] The Fader described it as "the type of nasty rap that made her a viral sensation, alongside all-out pop bangers like '33rd' and the confessional a cappella freestyle 'Reality, Pt. 4'."[24] Stereogum also noted that the album "sees CupcakKe engaging with the current political climate and radio trends in a way that could help her cross over to a more mainstream audience".[25][26]

On April 7, 2017, Queen Elizabitch was removed from online streaming services and digital music stores due to an illegal backing track that Harris had purchased from what she described as a "shady producer". She soon announced on Twitter that Queen Elizabitch would be re-released on April 16.[27] She then released the singles "Exit" and "Cartoons" in November 2017.[28][29]

Her third studio album, Ephorize, was released on January 5, 2018.[30] Exclaim! called it "her most polished work to date" and noted that "she still slides in plenty of deliciously dirty one-liners throughout the new record."[31] HotNewHipHop commented that "Ephorize might be one of the most introspective bodies of work she's dropped off to date."[32] Pitchfork called it Cupcakke's "best album yet, with terrific production and a barrage of raps that reveal Elizabeth Harris to be far more than her hilarious and absurdly raunchy one-liners."[33] She released music videos for the songs "Duck Duck Goose" and "Fullest".[34] The former features her "showing off an extensive collection of dildos as well as a souvenir Statue of Liberty."[35]

On November 9, 2018, Harris released her fourth studio album, Eden. She released music videos for the lead single "Quiz", and for the following singles "Hot Pockets" and "Blackjack".

On January 8, 2019, Harris was reportedly taken to a hospital in Chicago after tweeting that she was going to commit suicide.[36] In a tweet posted the next day, Harris wrote "I've been fighting with depression for the longest. Sorry that I did it public last night but I'm ok. I went to the hospital & I'm finally getting the help that I need to get through, be happy, & deliver great music. Thanks for all the prayers but please don't worry bout me."[37]

On January 11, 2019, the single "Squidward Nose" was released,[38] and on February 21, a music video for the song featuring John Early premiered.[39] On April 17, 2019, Harris released a remix of Lil Nas X's song "Old Town Road", titled "Old Town Hoe", on her YouTube channel,[40] and its music video the following day.[41]

In September 2019, Harris made several posts on social media criticizing several artists such as Camila Cabello (she accused Cabello of racism) and Shawn Mendes, followed by her retirement announcement in an Instagram Live video.[42] She stated, "This live is going to be the last video that y'all [will] see of me. I am completely done with music". She said that she would no longer be releasing music to the public and that she would be removing her music from all streaming platforms.[43] She stated that she was disturbed to see children in videos and young people at her shows singing along to her explicit songs, felt she was corrupting the youth with her raunchy songs.[44][45] Harris also told fans that she has a "very bad gambling addiction" and that she had lost $700,000 at a casino in September 2018.[45][46] Harris' Instagram and Twitter accounts were deactivated after the livestream ended.[45] Her music remained available on streaming platforms.[46]

On November 7, 2019, Harris came out of retirement after a 40-day absence on all social media platforms with a tweet; "Jesus fasted for 40 days & so did I...... Nov 16th".[47] On March 6, 2020, Harris released a new single, "Lawd Jesus".[48] Harris uploaded her first video to YouTube since her previous deletion of all videos on her channel the previous year, with the double video for singles "Grilling Niggas" and "Lawd Jesus", on May 13, 2020.[49]

On June 1, 2020, Cupcakke released the single "Lemon Pepper"[50] with half of the proceeds going towards the Minnesota Bail fund.[51] Another single, "Discounts" was released on June 26.[52] The song received critical acclaim, peaked at number 78 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart and number 80 on the UK Singles Sales Chart, becoming her first single to do so.[53][54] "Discounts" also reached number one on the US iTunes chart, which is her first song to do so. She is also the only female rapper to have a number-one song on the iTunes chart with no label.

On December 16, 2020, Harris received significant media attention after releasing "How to Rob (Remix)", a diss track. It was released on YouTube and sees Harris take aim at Megan Thee Stallion, Lizzo, and Lil' Kim, among others.[55] The song received positive reviews.

On March 1, 2021, "Deepthroat" was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which denotes five hundred thousand units based on sales and track-equivalent on-demand streams.[56] It is her first song to be certified by the RIAA.[57] In June, Rolling Stone magazine reported that Harris will be co-hosting the upcoming OutTV reality show Hot Haus with Tiffany Pollard, which will mark the rapper's TV hosting debut. Harris said of the casting decision, "As soon as I heard what this show stood for, owning your sexuality and talent, I knew I had to be involved."[58]

In 2021, her songs went viral on TikTok, mainly in the form of remixes; she later joined the platform because of it.[59]

On May 31, 2022, Harris released the single "H2Hoe".

On June 23, 2024, Harris announced her album Dauntless Manifesto, which was released on June 28, 2024.

wow

[tearsinthemist]

Want to learn something new

Want to learn something new in 2022??

Absolute beginner adult ballet series (fabulous beginning teacher)

40 piano lessons for beginners (some of the best explanations for piano I’ve ever seen)

Excellent basic crochet video series

Basic knitting (probably the best how to knit video out there)

Pre-Free Figure Skate Levels A-D guides and practice activities (each video builds up with exercises to the actual moves!)

How to draw character faces video (very funny, surprisingly instructive?)

Another drawing character faces video

Literally my favorite art pose hack

Tutorial of how to make a whole ass Stardew Valley esque farming game in Gamemaker Studios 2??

Introduction to flying small aircrafts

French/Dutch/Fishtail braiding

Playing the guitar for beginners (well paced and excellent instructor)

Playing the violin for beginners (really good practical tips mixed in)

Color theory in digital art (not of the children’s hospital variety)

Retake classes you hated but now there’s zero stakes:

Calculus 1 (full semester class)

Learn basic statistics (free textbook)

Introduction to college physics (free textbook)

Introduction to accounting (free textbook)

Learn a language:

Ancient Greek

Latin

Spanish

German

Japanese (grammar guide) (for dummies)

French

Russian (pretty good cyrillic guide!)

Jan 2, 2023

Want to learn something new in 2023??

Cooking with flavor bootcamp (used what I learned in this a LOT this year)

Beekeeping 101

Learn Interior Design from the British Academy of Interior Design (free to audit course - just choose the free option when you register)

Video on learning to read music that actually helped me??

How to use and sew with a sewing machine

How to ride a bike (listen. some of us never learned, and that's okay.)

How to cornrow-braid hair (I have it on good authority that this video is a godsend for doing your baby niece's black hair)

Making mead at home (I actually did this last summer and it was SO good)

How to garden

Basics of snowboarding (proceed with caution)

How to draw for people who (think they) suck at art (I know this website looks like a 2003 monstrosity, but the tutorials are excellent)

Pixel art for beginners so you can make the next great indie game

Go (back) to school

Introduction to Astronomy (high school course - free textbook w/ practice problems)

Principals of Economics (high school course - free textbook w/ practice problems)

Introduction to philosophy (free college course)

Computer science basics (full-semester Harvard course free online)

Learn a language

Japanese for Dummies (link fix from 2022)

Ukrainian

Portuguese (Brazil)

American Sign Language (as somebody who works with Deaf people professionally, I also strongly advise you to read up on Deaf/HoH culture and history!)

Chinese (Mandarin, Simplified)

Quenya (LOTR fantasy elf language)

Dec 26, 2023

Want to learn something new in 2024??

Beginner-oriented video on how to sail

This guy has so many videos on baking different types of bread. SO very many.

Coding in Python - one of the most flexible and adaptable high-level programming languages out there - explained through projects making video games

Learn to swim! (for adult learners. I don’t care if you live in Kansas or Mali or wherever. LEARN TO SWIM.)

Learn how quantum mechanics works. Then read some more about it

[Learn about quantum mechanics again, but in a more advanced engineering/mathematics class. Then read more about the math and physics of it]

Poetry Handbook, by Mary Oliver

Something I learned this year: how to sew a quilt (Here’s a very easy beginning pattern that looks amazing and can be done with pre-cut fabric!)

How to hit the ball in softball

Tutorial video on what is under the hood of most (gas) cars + weird engine sounds and what they mean

Full beginner mechanics technical training, if you want to go more in depth

Playlist on how car engine physics work if you want to go ultra in depth

Lecture series on architecture design through study of buildings

How (American income) taxes & tax law work (choose “audit course” at checkout for free class)

Pickleball for beginners (so you can finally join your neighbor/friend/distant cousin who is always insisting you join their team)

+ Para-Pickleball for beginners (for mobility aid users!)

School is so much more fun when there’s no tests:

American Law - Contracts

Shakespeare’s Life and Plays

Fairy Tales: Meanings, Messages, and Morals

Modern Poetry

World History [Part 1, Part 2]

Learn a language:

Arabic + Resource Guide compiled from Reddit (includes info on different dialects)

Chinese (Cantonese) (audio)

Urdu (frequently recommended course on Reddit) + Resource Guide

Yucatec Maya

[adarkrainbow]

Edmund Dulac's Fairy Tales go to War

Jstor Daily published an article with the catchy title "Edmund Dulac's Fairy Tales go to War". Of course I had to read it. The original article is here if you want to check it out, but I'll still copy-paste it below because it's crazy info. (And given it is quite long I will put two thirds of it under a cut)

Edmund Dulac’s Fairy Tales Go to War One of the best-known illustrators of the “golden age of children’s gift books,” Dulac was also a subtle purveyor of Allied propaganda during the Great War.

By: S. N. Johnson-Roehr and Jonathan Aprea ; December 16, 2022

Once upon a time, there was a young artist named Edmund Dulac, who built his early reputation on his illustrations for J. M. Dent & Company’s 1905 edition of Jane Eyre. Almost instantly, he became a leading name in the book arts, producing illustrations for the Brontë sisters and popular magazines. Annual exhibitions of his drawings and paintings at the Leicester Galleries, London, drew the attention of both the European and American art world. In 1910, critic Evelyn Marie Stuart, writing for Chicago’s The Fine Arts Journal, described his work as “rich with poetry and imagination, and strong in the possession of that decorative element which renders a picture universally pleasing.” His drawings were like "things seen in a vision or a mirage; or traced by the fancy of a child in the lichens on the wall, the water discolorations upon a ceiling, or the light shining through a broken crumpled shade; or, even like the things we try to decipher in the leaping flames and glowing embers of an open fire—many of these delightful sketches suggest to our fancy in some detail a variety of objects."

Dulac’s themes tended toward the fantastical—scenes from the Arabian Nights and Omar Khayyam’s Rubáiyát—with roots in the Pre-Raphaelites and not far removed from the work of Arthur Rackham and Kay Nielsen.

Born in France and naturalized as a British citizen in 1912, Dulac understandably awarded his loyalties to the Allies during the Great War. To support the war effort, he contributed his art and design skills to several charity books, including Princess Mary’s Gift Book and King Albert’s Gift Book, both published in 1914. If there remained any doubts as to his feelings about the Axis powers, they were surely erased when he published Edmund Dulac’s Picture-Book for the French Red Cross in 1915, with its cover proclaiming “All profits on sale given to the Croix Rouge Française, Comité de Londres.”

Even more convincing—and more inventive—was his use of fairy tales to not just further his charitable efforts but to possibly encourage the United States to join the war. Published in 1916, Edmund Dulac’s Fairy-Book was a subtle but persuasive example of wartime propaganda. Subtitled “Fairy Tales of the Allied Nations,” it included Dulac’s own adaptations of folk tales gathered from the nations fighting with Great Britain: France, Russia, Italy, Belgium, Serbia, Japan, and China.

Below, courtesy of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, are reproductions of some of the illustrations from Edmund Dulac’s Fairy-Book, accompanied by brief explanation of each story.

Snegorotchka: A Russian Fairy Tale

Snegorotchka (more commonly transliterated Snegurochka), the “The Snow Maiden,” is a recurring character in Russian folklore, playing various roles, from child to adult, in stories bounded by the winter and spring seasons. By the late nineteenth century, Snegurochka had blended fully with the traditions of Christmas, often serving as a helper to Grandfather Frost (Ded Moroz).

In Dulac’s version of a common tale, Snegurochka is a girl made from snow, brought to life to add joy to the waning years of a childless couple. An elderly man and women all but will the girl into being as they shape a tiny body of snow in the woods. Snegurochka leaps to life, filling their home and souls with warmth throughout the winter. Tragically, the little girl disappears with the heat of spring weather, leaving the parents bereft.

Another version of the Snegurochka tale formed the basis of a play by Alexander Ostrovsky, which was subsequently adapted into an opera by Rimsky-Korsakov.

The Buried Moon: An English Fairy Tale

Sometimes known as The Dead Moon, The Buried Moon highlights the dangers of living in the bog country of Northern Europe.

Traveling through a bog, a personified Moon becomes entangled in magical, malevolent branches. After some struggle with “all the vile things” that love darkness (witch-things, bogle-bodies, creeping things, and the Scorpion King, to name a few), the Moon finds herself buried deep in the mud, held down with a black stone.

Of course the humans miss the Moon, lamenting her failure to appear in the sky on schedule, but who even knows where to search for her? Even the Wise Woman of the Mill can’t see any trace of her. Fortunately, just before her entombment, the Moon had managed to briefly shine her light to guide a lost and wandering human out of the treacherous marsh. Remembering this moment, the man spreads the word. Emboldened by the Wise Woman’s words of encouragement as well as the Lord’s Prayer, the local people march to the bog, fight off the Horrors of the Darkness, and rescue their beloved Moon

White Caroline and Black Caroline: A Flemish Fairy Tale

Folklorist Antoon Jozef Witteryck collected White Caroline and Black Caroline (Wit Karlientje en Zwart Karlientje) and included it in his 1899 Old Flemish Folktales (Oude Westvlaamsche volksvertelsels), an annotated version of which was republished by Hervé Stalpaert in 1946. The story can also be found in the Annales de la Société d’Emulation pour l’Étude de l’Histoire & des Antiquities de la Flandre (Bruges, 1889).

White Caroline and Black Caroline depends on the familiar figure of the evil stepmother, a woman who loves her ugly daughter (Black Caroline) more than her beautiful stepdaughter (White Caroline). Everyone and everything, from townspeople to lambs to dancing dogs, love White Caroline and equate her beauty with good. But the mother prefers her own daughter, noting “Black Caroline was so ugly;—but she was good all the same!”

And indeed, Black Caroline is good. Her mother tries no fewer than three times to murder White Caroline, and each time, Black Caroline intercedes. Poison thorns in the pillow, poison in her meatball dinner, an “accidentally” falling millstone—none manage to kill White Caroline, thanks to Black Caroline’s quick thinking.

The abrupt entrance of White Woman, queen of all the water and the woods, brings the murder attempts to a close. Not surprisingly, White Woman also loves White Caroline and promises to give her whatever she wishes—beautiful grapes, a dress of silk, a nice sailboat. Luckily, White Caroline is also good: she wishes to have Black Caroline with her. More than that, she wishes they could look alike. The White Woman has an idea:

“Little white feathers appeared on their shoulders and spread until they were entirely covered; and there they stood together, two beautiful white swans! And ever after they swam up and down on the peaceful water and no one could tell one from the other.”

The Seven Conquerors of the Queen of the Mississippi: A Belgian Fairy Tale

While there may be an actual fairy tale underpinning The Seven Conquerors of the Queen of the Mississippi, the story’s title reveals Dulac’s probable agenda. It takes no large leap of the imagination to read the “seven conquerors” as Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Serbia, Japan, and China, all seeking an alliance with the Queen of the Mississippi—the United States—on the fields of Belgium.

The story is straightforward and structurally repetitive—each conqueror swears an oath of loyalty, and their individual strengths combine to win the Queen and kill the King (hello, Kaiser Wilhelm II).

Dulac, or some unnamed collaborator, has penned a verse that cuts through the first half of the tale with a modern rhythm and vocabulary.

“Will you travel with me, my pippy?” “Oh! Whither away? To Botany Bay?” “But no; to the far Mississippi, Where a Queen—tooral-ooral-i-ay— Is waiting for what I’m to say.” “I am yours! And the bounty?” “Either here or in Botany Bay!”

‘Will you travel with me, my pippy?” “Oh! Whither away? To Rome or Pompeii?” “But no; to the far Mississippi: There’s a Queen of great beauty that way, And there’s no one but Cupid to pay.” “I am yours! And the bounty?” “Name your price: it shall be as you say.” And so on. Travel with me, my pippy!

The Serpent Prince: An Italian Fairy Tale

The Italian poet Giambattista Basile collected The Serpent Prince (sometimes translated as The Enchanted Snake) in the seventeenth century, including it in The Pentamerone: Lo cunto de li cunti (The Tale of Tales). Folklorist Andrew Lang drew upon Basile’s version for The Green Fairy Book (1892).

Dulac has created his own prefatory material for the familiar story, opening with the popular nursery rhyme:

The old woman who lived in a shoe, Who had so many children she didn’t know what to do,

allegedly “lived about the same time in another part of the country” even though The Serpent Prince was collected in Naples.

As the story goes, a forester’s wife, Sapatella, finds a tiny serpent in her firewood. Childless, Sapatella is startled but amenable when the serpent offers himself up for adoption (“she was a kind-hearted woman and very, very lonely”).

The serpent grows—as children do—and soon demands a wife. And not just any wife! The serpent must marry the king’s daughter. Surprisingly, the king agrees to meet this demand. Or does he? He will give his daughter in marriage only if the adopted son-serpent can turn all the fruit in the royal orchards to gold.

It’s not clear why anyone is surprised that a talking serpent can wield the magic necessary to turn fruit into gold. Nor is it clear why the king would think the serpent would fail at any additional challenge placed before him. Turn the walls into diamonds and rubies? No problem. Turn the entire palace into gold? Absolutely (“not gold plate either: it was all solid gold of the purest kind.”). The king is forced to cede the battlefield. The princess will marry the serpent.

Of course, the serpent is really an enchanted prince, and here you would think the story would end: the affianced are wed, their kingdoms allied. But thanks to an additional foolish act by the king, the prince is again enchanted (and worse), and only the princess can save him. But will she be able to outwit the wily fox standing between her and her beloved?

The Hind of The Wood: A French Fairy Tale

Dulac offers a faithful retelling of The Hind in the Wood (La Biche au bois, also translated as The White Doe or The Enchanted Hind), written by Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Countess d’Aulnoy. A talented and creative storyteller, Countess d’Aulnoy gave us the very words “fairy tale” in 1697, when she published her first collection under the title Les Contes des fees (Tales of the Fairies).

Though the titular hind is the star of the story, the scene opens with an unhappy, childless queen encountering a talking crayfish. Though “hearing a big Crayfish talk—and talk so nicely too—was a great surprise to her,” the queen listens carefully to the crustacean.

The reward for her attentiveness is a kingdom transformed. Beneath her feet appears “a carpet of violets, and, in the giant cedars above, thousands of little birds, each one a different colour, [singing] their songs; and the meaning of their melody was this: that cradle, woven by fairy fingers, was not there for nothing.” Soon she will be a mother!

A troupe of fairies gather around the suddenly expecting queen and ask that she welcome them on the day of birthing so they can give special gifts to the babe, who will be named Désirée. And on that special day, the queen indeed remembers to bid them come to the palace. Sadly, she neglects to invite the talking crayfish (who is really the Fairy of the Fountain) to the celebration.

Curses. But only small ones, in the scheme of things. The Fairy of the Fountain warns the royal parents to keep Princess Désirée from seeing daylight until she turns fifteen. That’s all.

Alas, the Warrior Prince lies on his death bed. Just a portrait of Désirée is enough to make him fall in love and abandon his plans to marry Black Princess. Yet he cannot see her—she will not be fifteen for a few more months. To save the Warrior Prince, Désirée agrees to travel with her two ladies-in-waiting by darkened carriage to his kingdom.

Unfortunately, one of those ladies-in-waiting, Long-Epine, is a traitor. She slits the cover of the carriage, exposing Désirée to daylight. Just a drop of sunlight turns the princess into a dazzling white hind. She instantly runs off into the forest. And that is the curse: by day, a doe; by night, a lonely princess.

The Warrior Prince wanders this very forest and soon spots the white deer. Annoyed that the animal tries to keeps its distance from him, he looses an arrow and pierces her flank. He’s sorry! Especially when he finds out the hind is his beloved, enchanted.

She isn’t enchanted for much longer, however. The Prince, even knowing all, loves her. And that is enough to break the spell

Ivan and the Chestnut Horse: A Russian Fairy Tale

Variations of Ivan and the Chestnut Horse are abundant in Russian folklore. Sometimes Ivan rides a chestnut horse, sometimes a dun. A common version of the story, known as Sivko-Burko, was collected by A. N. Afanas’ev in the mid-nineteenth century. Included in Jack V. Haney’s comprehensive The Complete Folktales of A. N. Afanas’ev (Tale #179, Vol. II), this version gives Ivan a magic black steed.

Ivan and his brothers have just committed themselves holding daily prayers over the grave of their recently departed father when they hear that Princess Helena the Fair has decided to wed. To win her favor, her suitor must leap on horseback to the top of the shrine on which she sits, kissing her as he flies through the air.

Ivan, the youngest of the siblings, offers to take on the burden of graveside prayer for a week so his brothers can curl their hair and train their horses for the challenge. One week stretches to two, and then to three. The brothers ignore their filial duties to dye their mustaches. So much attention is paid to their appearance that they even neglect to feed their horses.

And yet, when the day of the leaping contest arrives, the older brothers dash away on their mounts, leaving Ivan alone to pray and weep over his father’s grave.

It was thus that two out of three brothers miss their father’s resurrection. Shaking himself free of the damp earth, the father offers to help his youngest son. He begins to call out in a loud voice—one time, two times, three times. Ivan discovers his father is summoning a beautiful chestnut horse!

Yes, this is the enchanted steed that will take Ivan to the shrine of Helena the Fair, where—after two failed attempts—it rises to the leap, allowing Ivan to press his lips to those of the princess “in a long sweet kiss, for the chestnut horse seemed to linger in the air at the top of its leap while that kiss endured.”

After summoning the steed, Ivan’s father immediately vanishes. No matter, because Ivan is soon welcomed to supper with the father of his bride, Princess Helena the Fair.

The Blue Bird: A French Fairy Tale

The Blue Bird (l’Oiseau Bleu) is another tale that comes to us by Countess d’Aulnoy. Though there are many variants of the story found across Europe, scholar Jacques Barchilon notes that d’Aulnoy’s version is remarkably robust, appearing in a French Canadian collection, “word for word the version of Mme d’Aulnoy’s with all details,” as late as 1960. Andrew Lang also included it in The Green Fairy Tale Book.

Our story opens with a rich but miserable king. He’s inconsolable, having only recently become a widower. Hoping to comfort him, his courtiers present him with a woman dressed in mourning clothes and possibly crying even louder and longer than the king himself.

Finding solace in their similar sorrows, they decide to wed. Each brings into the marriage a daughter from their first marriage. The king’s daughter: “one of the eight wonders of the world,” the young and lovely Florine. The new queen’s daughter: “neither beautiful nor gracious,” the young Truitonne, with a face like a trout and hair “so full of grease that it was impossible to touch it.”

The queen loves Truitonne much more than she loves Florine, which wouldn’t matter if the king didn’t love the queen so much that he cedes to her every wish. For instance, he allows her to dress Truitonne in jewels and Florine in rags when Prince Charming appears at court. Despite the heavy-handed costuming, however, Prince Charming only has eyes—and love—for Florine.

The queen schemes. The queen plots. She enlists maid, frogs (“for mind you, frogs know all the routes of the universe”), and fairy godmothers. And yet the Prince will not be deflected from his plans to be with Florine. Finally, exasperated with his stubbornness, Truitonne’s fairy godmother turns the prince into a blue bird—for seven years!

It’s not too bad, at first. In bird form, the prince finds it easier to woo Florine—until the queen discovers that he flies to her window every night. Wielding her dark magic, Truitonne’s fairy godmother sends the blue bird to his nest to die.

Fortunately, every bad fairy seems to be balanced by a good fairy. This bright character finds the dying blue bird in his nest and heals him. It doesn’t seem to help much—the queen is determined that Truitonne will marry the prince even if only by trickery and deception.

The queen’s shenanigans never seem to end—this is a long fairy tale—but eventually the universe, or at the least the good fairy, finds a way to bring Prince Charming and Florine together.

The Friar and the Boy: An English Fairy Tale

The Friar and the Boy, also known as Jack and his Stepdame, reaches back to the poetry of medieval England. In volume three of Remains of the Early Popular Poetry of England (1866), William Carew Hazlitt records a c. 1585 London imprint of the chapbook verse that underpins the modern version of this tale.

The story begins with Jack, a young lad wronged by his stepmother. She starves him, she yells at him, she altogether doesn’t care for him.

One day, sent to the fields to watch the sheep, Jack encounters a hungry old man. Jack’s lunch isn’t much, as his stepmother is loathe to feed him decent food, but he gives it to the stranger. In return, the old man gives Jack three wishes.

Wish one: a bow and arrow, charmed such that the target will never be missed. Wish two: a pipe, its magic strong enough to make anyone dance who hears its tune. Wish three: an enchantment that will turn his stepmother’s harsh words into laughter.

Jack instantly puts his granted wishes to work. When his stepmother begins to scold him, her words turn to laughter. She laughs herself sick. When the Friar is sent to chastise Jack for his impudence, he ends up dancing through the brambles to Jack’s piping. Soon Jack has the entire village dancing to his tunes!

Alas, his poor old father begs for a rest. Jack loves his father, so he ceases to play. Not surprisingly, the Friar takes advantage of the pause to have Jack called before the Judge, “be-wigged and severe.”

The Friar makes his case: “the prisoner here has a pipe, and, when he plays upon it, all who hear must dance themselves to death, whether they like it or not.”

Intrigued, the Judge asks to hear this so-called Dance of Death. Jack is happy to oblige and takes up his pipe to play. Soon everyone in court is on their feet, dancing madly to the tunes. Even the judge joins in, “holding up his robes and footing it merrily.” He’s a believer, but he soon asks the boy to stop.

Jack agrees, but only if everyone promises to treat him properly.

“I think,” says the Judge, “if you will put your pipe away, they will consent to an amicable arrangement.”

Court is adjourned.

The End.

[yokyopeli]

Ace Week 2023 Day 7:

No one is watching my videos so here's some a-spectrum representation re: Finnish.

Aka Finnish literature with a-spec characters; literature and poetry translated to Finnish/by Finns; a film and a webseries.

Väki trilogy(2018-2020) Elina Rouhiainen: Bollywood, aro not ace, genderqueer, brown (Punjabi). Sense manipulation.

Tapa(a) books(2022-2023) J.S. Meresmaa: Nora, agender and asexual 130+ year old vampire. Sims enthusiast.

Mähän tiesin ettei täällä ole mitään (2022) Kuura Juntunen: Leeni, asexual girlfriend to nonbinary Helle.

Lukitut (2020) Salla Simukka: Vega, aro. Johannes & Meea, demisexuals. (Have not read yet)

Freestyle (2023) Dess Terentjeva: Kai, aroace dancer.

Kaapin Nurkista (2022) Eve Lumerto: multiple, mainly Jaro Elomaa & Alina Linnanen

Jenna Clare, Water Runs Red, Finnish American, asexual, poet and youtuber.

Amanda Lovelace, asexual poet. The Princess Saves Herself in This One

Alice Oseman, aroace artist. Solitaire.

Elizabeth Hopkinson, asexual, edits asexual fairytales and myths into collections. Miracle of Marjatta in Asexual Myths and Tales

Tytöt tytöt tytöt/ Girl Picture (2022). Reetta Rönkkö is possibly asexual. Directed by Alli Haapasalo

Ace & Demi webseries (2023-). Alyssa/Ace is aroace and Demitria/Demi is demirose. Laura Eklund Nhaga also wrote related audiobooks in Finnish and English.

[divinesymmetry]

Pride Month list part 2: book edition

I read a lot (and I mean a lot) of queer books, especially during my YA phase ages 15-17, but here are a few that have particularly stood out to me, and why you should read them:

Maurice by E.M. Forster (published posthumously in 1971): everything you'd want from an early 20th century romance, except it's gay, and arguably the best piece of 20th century queer literature

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (2019): absolutely heartwrenching, will have you gasping for air in between sobs, and it's written by a poet so you KNOW the prose is amazing

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart (2022): set in 1990s Glasgow, will absolutely rip your heart out and tear it to shreds

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo (2021): 1950s lesbian coming of age during the red scare, need I say more?

Don't Cry for Me by Daniel Black (2022): written in the form of letters, from a Black father to his gay son

Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski (2020): for some reason, no one seems to have read this, and they absolutely should have. will, once again, leave you in sobs (I am beginning to suspect I might cry easily)

My Government Means to Kill Me by Rasheed Newson (2022): another underhyped one, about race and sexuality during the AIDS crisis

Un Garçon d'Italie by Philippe Besson (2003): one of the narrators is literally a rotting corpse, that should be intriguing enough

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood (1964), Confusion by Stefan Zweig (1927), Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown (1973) and Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (1956) because, if you're like me, you're desparate to find queer literature from before the 1990s

Angels in America by Tony Kushner (1993), much quicker to read than to watch though, unfortunately, you do not have Andrew Garfield as Prior Walter in the written version

Ace of Spades by Faridah Abiké-Iyimidé (2021) starts with a quote from Get Out and that tells you everything you need to know

Ziggy, Stardust and Me by James Brandon (2019) is surprisingly rich for YA, exploring homosexuality in the 1970s, conversion therapy and Native American identity

Crush by Richard Siken (2005) if you're more into poetry, particularly the kind that will bring you physical and emotional pain

Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel (1986) because you can't not read Alison Bechdel

The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun (2021), The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver (2022), and She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen (2021) are the perfect romcoms if you want to switch your brain off for a few hours (or emotionally recover from half of the other books on this list)

For the similar list I made about movies, click here

Happy Pride!🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

[librarycomic]

My Very Own Special Particular Private And Personal Cat by Sandol Stoddard Warburg, designed and illustrated by Remy Charlip. Enchanted Lion, 2023. (Originally published in 1963.) 9781592703852. http://www.powells.com/book/-9781592703852?partnerid=34778&p_bt

I love everything about this book: the poetry, the illustrations, the orange-yellow paper, and especially the layout, which helps the words and illustrations work together. A child talks about playing with his cat, and the cat is clearly not having a good time and finally runs off. The story really gets going in the second half, when it shifts into the cat's point of view.

Also: I loved the reproduction of Remy Charlip's signature on the "This book belongs to __" page.

Gravity Is Bringing Me Down by Wendelin Van Draanen, illustrated by Cornelia Li. Alfred A. Knopf, 2024. 9780593375921. https://www.powells.com/book/-9780593375921?partnerid=34778&p_bt

Gravity is in a bad mood, and it's making Leda's school day pretty rough. (Don't worry, she makes up with gravity later in the book.) The story is great, and a fun way to introduce kids to science, but Li's illustrations make the book amazing; the way she draws the sun is my favorite thing in the book.

Love in the Library by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, illustrated by Yas Imamura. Candlewick, 2022. Includes an author's note at the end. 9781536204308. https://www.powells.com/book/-9781536204308?partnerid=34778&p_bt

The story of George and Tama Tokuda, the author's maternal grandparents, who fell in love in the Minidoka incarceration camp in Idaho. (Tama worked in the library during their incarceration; George came in all the time and checked out more books than anyone could possibly read.) This is the best picture book on the internment of Japanese Americans I've read, and the most beautifully

[sporadicarbitergardener]

1928-2014

By Dr. Kelly A. Spring | 2017; Updated December 2021 by Mariana Brandman, NWHM Predoctoral Fellow in Women’s History, 2020-2022

Poet, dancer, singer, activist, and scholar Maya Angelou was a world-famous author. She was best known for her unique and pioneering autobiographical writing style.

On April 4, 1928, Marguerite Ann Johnson, known to the world as Maya Angelou, was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Due to her parents’ tumultuous marriage and subsequent divorce, Angelou went to live with her paternal grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas at an early age. Her older brother, Bailey, gave Angelou her nickname “Maya.”

Returning to her mother’s care briefly at the age of seven, Angelou was raped by her mother’s boyfriend. He was later jailed and then killed when released from jail. Believing that her confession of the trauma had a hand in the man’s death, Angelou became mute for six years. During her mutism and into her teens, she again lived with her grandmother in Arkansas.

Angelou’s interest in the written word and the English language was evident from an early age. Throughout her childhood, she wrote essays, poetry, and kept a journal. When she returned to Arkansas, she took an interest in poetry and memorized works by Shakespeare and Poe.

Prior to the start of World War II, Angelou moved back in with her mother, who at this time was living in Oakland, California. She attended George Washington High School and took dance and drama courses at the California Labor School.

When war broke out, Angelou applied to join the Women’s Army Corps. However, her application was rejected because of her involvement in the California Labor School, which was said to have Communist ties. Determined to gain employment, despite being only 15 years old, she decided to apply for the position of a streetcar conductor. Many men had left their jobs to join the services, enabling women to fill them. However, Angelou was barred from applying at first because of her race. But she was undeterred. Every day for three weeks, she requested a job application, but was denied. Finally, the company relented and handed her an application. Because she was under the legal working age, she wrote that she was 19. She was accepted for the position and became the first African American woman to work as a streetcar conductor in San Francisco. Angelou was employed for a semester but then decided to return to school. She graduated from Mission High School in the summer of 1944 and soon after gave birth to her only child, Clyde Bailey (Guy) Johnson.

After graduation, Angelou undertook a series of odd jobs to support herself and her son. In 1949, she married Tosh Angelos, an electrician in the US Navy. She adopted a form of his surname and kept it throughout her life, though the marriage ended in divorce in 1952.

Angelou was also noted for her talents as a singer and dancer, particularly in the calypso and cabaret styles. In the 1950s, she performed professionally in the US, Europe, and northern Africa, and sold albums of her recordings.

In 1950, African American writers in New York City formed the Harlem Writers Guild to nurture and support the publication of Black authors. Angelou joined the Guild in 1959. She also became active in the Civil Rights Movement and served as the northern coordinator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a prominent African American advocacy organization

In 1969, Angelou published I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, an autobiography of her early life. Her tale of personal strength amid childhood trauma and racism resonated with readers and was nominated for the National Book Award. Many schools sought to ban the book for its frank depiction of sexual abuse, but it is credited with helping other abuse survivors tell their stories. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings has been translated into numerous languages and has sold over a million copies worldwide. Angelou eventually published six more autobiographies, culminating in 2013’s Mom & Me & Mom.  

She wrote numerous poetry volumes, such as the Pulitzer Prize-nominated Just Give me a Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie (1971), as well as several essay collections. She also recorded spoken albums of her poetry, including “On the Pulse of the Morning,” for which she won a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album. The poem was originally written for and delivered at President Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993. She also won a Grammy in 1995, and again in 2002, for her spoken albums of poetry.

Angelou carried out a wide variety of activities on stage and screen as a writer, actor, director, and producer. In 1972, she became the first African American woman to have her screen play turned into a film with the production of Georgia, Georgia. Angelou earned a Tony nomination in 1973 for her supporting role in Jerome Kitty’s play Look Away, and portrayed Kunta Kinte’s grandmother in the television miniseries Roots in 1977.

She was recognized by many organizations both nationally and internationally for her contributions to literature. In 1981, Wake Forest University offered Angelou the Reynolds Professorship of American Studies. President Clinton awarded Angelou the National Medal of Arts in 2000. In 2012, she was a member of the inaugural class inducted into the Wake Forest University Writers Hall of Fame. The following year, she received the National Book Foundation’s Literarian Award for outstanding service to the American literary community. Angelou also gave many commencement speeches and was awarded more than 30 honorary degrees in her lifetime.

Angelou died on May 28, 2014. Several memorials were held in her honor, including ones at Wake Forest University and Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. To honor her legacy, the US Postal Service issued a stamp with her likeness on it in 2015. (The US Postal Service mistakenly included a quote on the stamp that has long been associated with Angelou but was actually first written by Joan Walsh Anglund.) 

In 2010, President Barack Obama awarded Angelou the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor. It was a fitting recognition for Angelou’s remarkable and inspiring career in the arts.

This woman was a woman of rape, abuse , and even a victim of racism. She stayed writing in her life as life went on and she did not ask other people to suffer either was well she was a woman of many gift. A big wake up for womens rights and also a good reflection on what is wrong with today's society. People use religion, marriage, laws and even age to determine what is and isn't rape and that is the sick culture all women have to endure. It is never a woman's fault. It happened to me recently and now I am diving back into my music arts. Even research as well . Getting different domains for different topics as well while putting my story out there . It is scary to put it out there because there are so many different things that make writing scary/

[myinspirationjournalquotes]

After my best friend died I became jealous of the fireflies and kept smashing them agaisnt my forehead.

From "Against Death" by Noor Hindi

[finishinglinepress]

FLP CHAPBOOK OF THE DAY: Dropping Sunrises in a Jar by Melinda Thomsen

On SALE now! Pre-order Price Guarantee:

https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/dropping-sunrises-in-a-jar-by-melinda-thomsen/

Each poem in Dropping Sunrises in a Jar began as a way to understand why #birds appear so happy at sunrise. Written from notes spanning over twenty years, Dropping Sunrises in a Jar glimpses nature’s inner workings of joy. In free verse and form poems, sunrises from across the globe are depicted in a variety of awakening colors and sounds. #Poems recount the morning opera from locations like a sleeping car on a train going to Beijing to construction crane noise in Prague, the cooing of doves in North Carolina, and canyon towhees in Arizona. By organizing the poems into three sections: I’ll tell you how the Sun rose, A Ribbon at a time, and The Steeples swam in Amethyst, the readers ultimately find themselves gently released back into their world with signs of hope. #nature #poems #birds #chapbook #FLP

Melinda Thomsen’s Armature from Hermit Feathers Press (2021) was a finalist for the 2022 Eric Hoffer da Vinci Eye award and an honorable mention in the 2019 Lena Shull Poetry Contest from NC Poetry Society. Her books Field Rations (2011) and Naming Rights (2007) are also from Finishing Line Press, and her latest poems can be found in Salamander Magazine, Artemis Journal, THEMA, The Ekphrastic Review, Poetry Miscellany, The New York Quarterly, and Poetry Quarterly, among others. A 2023 Randall Jarrell Poetry Contest Honorable Mention, 2019 Pushcart Nominee from The Comstock Review, and a Semi-Finalist in the 2004 “Discovery” / The Nation poetry contest, she’s an advisory editor for Tar River Poetry and current Vice President of Programming for the North Carolina Poetry Society. A graduate of Mount Holyoke College, she received her MA in English from The City College, CUNY, and MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is the Writing Center Coordinator for the John Paul II Catholic School and lives in North Carolina with her husband Hunt, two cats, and one chicken.

PRAISE FOR Dropping Sunrises in a Jar by Melinda Thomsen

I love that poet-philosopher Melinda Thomsen has turned her wise but uncynical eye and voice towards the tragedy of climate change. Thomsen writes, “I wake to the sky’s daily burning/in these—my sunset—years to collect sunrises…like candles gathered from my forgiving earth… But this burning keeps flushing out the birds…” Thomsen writes extensively of birds, those things with feathers, to give us what I love best in eco poetry, hope-punk. But, sad and knowing as her poems often are, Thomsen can’t help but bring her child-like wonder to the world, and for that I am grateful.

–ELIZABETH J. COLEMAN, editor of Here: Poems for the Planet, Copper Canyon Press, 2019

In Dropping Sunrises in a Jar, Thomsen skillfully highlights and juxtaposes the cyclical nature and beauty of sunrises and the corresponding splendor and chaos of local fauna, flora, as well as man made technologies. From mynas in Maui, bridges in New York City, construction in Prague, to warblers in Maine, Thomsen’s celebration of origins and beginnings cleverly serves as an homage to rebirth, routine, and hope.

–JOSE HERNANDEZ DIAZ, author of The Fire Eater, Bad Mexican, Bad American, and The Parachutist

Please share/please repost #flpauthor #preorder #AwesomeCoverArt #poetry #chapbook #read #poems

[brookston]

Holidays 10.7

Holidays

Ageism Awareness Day

Armed Forces Day (Egypt)

Bathtub Day

Battle of Lepanto Day

Bay Day (San Francisco Bay Area)

BOL Foundation Day (Laos)

Expulsion of Fascist Settlers Day (Libya)

Four O’Clock Flower Day (French Republic)

Ghatasthapana (Nepal)

If At First You Don't Succeed Day

International Day of Peaceful Communication

International Newspaper Carrier Day

International Trigeminal Neuralgia Awareness Day

Italian Evacuation Day (Libya)

Lepanto Day (Greece)

Love Your Bookshop Day (Australia)

Nagasaki Kunchi begins (Japan)

National Beat Poetry Day

National Castle Day (Portugal)

National Dark Poetry Day

National Flower Day

National Forgiveness & Happiness Day

National Inner Beauty Day

National Jonathan Day

National LED Light Day

National Mariners Day (Peru)

National Personal Safety Day

National Propane Day

Poodle Day

Teachers’ Day (Laos)

Team Margot Stem Cell and Bone Marrow Registration Day

Territory Day (Christmas Island)

Try To Start An Argument Over Which Is The Best Muppet Day

Victoria, Our Lady of Victories’ Day

World Cotton Day

World Day for Decent Work

World Metropolitan Day

World Zombie Day

You Matter To Me Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Bacon-Wrapped Scallops Day

Festival of Food

International Chicken and Waffles Day

International Scottish Gin Day

National Chocolate Covered Pretzels Day

National Frappé Day

National Mussel Day (Scotland)

Ripe Pumpkin Day

Ziua Vinului (Wine Day 1 of 2; Moldova)

1st Saturday in October

Bed & Breakfast Inn Mascot Day [1st Saturday]

Cadet Day (Nova Scotia) [1st Saturday]

Cephalopod Awareness Day [1st Saturday]

Dachshund Day [1st Saturday]

Datil Pepper Day (Florida) [1st Saturday]

Digital Scrapbooking Day [1st Saturday]

Inter-American Water Day [1st Saturday]

International Frugal Fun Day [1st Saturday]

Lumberjack Day (Calaveras County, California) [1st Saturday]

Madonna del Lume Celebration (a.k.a. Blessing of the Fleet; San Francisco, California) [1st Saturday]

National Blind Sports Day [1st Saturday]

National Bookshop Day [1st Saturday]

National Bowhunting Day

National Family Fire Drill Day [1st Saturday]

National Healthcare Entrepreneurs Day [1st Saturday]

National Ostomy Awareness Day [1st Saturday]

National Play Outside Day [1st Saturday of Every Month]

Satyr's Day (Silenus, Greek God of Beer Buddies and Drinking Companions) [1st Saturday of Each Month]

Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day [1st Saturday]

Tarantula Festival and Barbecue (Morgan Hill, California) [1st Saturday]

World Card Making Day [1st Saturday]

World Hoop Day [1st Saturday]

Yakima Fresh Hop Ale Festival (Washington) [1st Saturday]

Independence Days

Angyalistan (Declared; 2000) [unrecognized]

Latitudia (Declared; 2013) [unrecognized]

Nedland (Declared; 2014) [unrecognized]

South Bages (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

Feast Days

Ereshkigal’s Day (Pagan)

Feast of Ma’at (Ancient Egypt)

Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary (Roman Catholic)

Justina of Padua (Christian; Saint)

Henry Muhlenberg (Lutheran Church, Episcopal Church of the USA)

Jean-Paul Riopelle (Artology)

Justina of Padua (Original Date; Christian; Saint)

Long John Tutter (Muppetism)

Marcellus and Apuleius (Christian; Martyrs)

Mark, Pope (Christian; Saint)

Navaratri begins (Hinduism) [thru 10.15]

Nones of October (Ancient Rome)

Odin Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Osgyth (a.k.a. Osith; Christian; Saint)

Our Lady of the Rosary (Christian; Saint)

Mozart (Positivist; Saint)

Pallas Athena (Old Roman Goddess of Triumph)

Quob Day (Pastafarian)

Rosalba Carriera (Artology)

Sergius and Bacchus (Christian; Martyrs)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Fortunate Day (Pagan) [41 of 53]

Lucky Day (Philippines) [54 of 71]

Shakku (赤口 Japan) [Bad luck all day, except at noon.]

Umu Limnu (Evil Day; Babylonian Calendar; 46 of 60)

Premieres

Amsterdam (Film; 2022)

Arthur (Animated TV Series; 1996)

Bandstand (later American Bandstand; TV Series; 1952)

Bedknobs and Broomsticks (Film; 1971)

A Bug’s Land (Disneyland Attraction; 2002)

Canary Row (WB MM Cartoon; 1950)

Cats (Broadway Musical; 1982)

Charmed (TV Series; 1998)

The Code of the Woosters, by P.G. Wodehouse (Novel; 1938) [Jeeves #7]

Don’t Stand So Close To Me ’86, by The Police (Song; 1986)

Everything Will Ne Alright in the End, by Weezer (Album; 2014)

The Flash (TV Series; 2014)

The French Connection (Film; 1971)

The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein (Children’s Book; 1964)

Good Night, and Good Luck (Film; 2005)

Hawaiian Eye (TV Series; 1959)

Hey Arnold (Animated TV Series; 1996)

Howl, by Alan Ginsberg (Poem; 1955)

Imagine: John Lennon (Documentary Film; 1988)

Iron Man, by Black Sabbath (Song; 1971)

Journey by Moonlight, by Antal Szerb (Novel; 1937)

Little Deuce Coupe, by The Beach Boys (Album; 1963)

The Little Lion Hunter (WB MM Cartoon; 1939)

Lyle, Lyle Crocodile (Film; 2022)

Naughty Neighbors (WB LT Cartoon; 1939)

Never Say Never Again (Film; 1983) [James Bond non-series]

Oh, God! (Film; 1977)

Over the Rainbow, recorded by Judy Garland (Song; 1938)

Pillow Talk (Film; 1959)

Pleasures of the Flesh (Album; 1987)

Punchline (Film; 1988)

Save Me the Waltz, by Zelda Fitzgerald (Novel; 1932)

The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner (Novel; 1929)

Spotify (Music Streaming Service; 2008)

Stardust, recorded by Artie Shaw (Song; 1940)

The Tin Drum, by Günter Grass (Novel; 1959)

Tom and Jerry: Santa’s Little Helpers (WB Animated Film; 2014)

Touchdown Mickey (Disney Cartoon; 1932)

Voyage of Time (Animated Documentary Film; 2016)

Waiting…. (Film; 2004)

We Are the Champions/We Will Rock You, by Queen (Song; 1977)

We Shall Overcome, by Pete Seeger copyrighted (Song; 1963)

Today’s Name Days

Jörg, Justina, Markus, Rosa Maria (Austria)

Marija, Ruža (Croatia)

Justýna (Czech Republic)

Amalie (Denmark)

Asso, Ats, Atso, Hasso (Estonia)

Birgitta, Pipsa, Pirita, Piritta, Pirjo, Pirkko (Finland)

Gustave, Serge (France)

Denise, Jörg, Justina, Marc, Rosa Maria (Germany)

Bakhos, Polychronios, Sergios (Greece)

Amália (Hungary)

Maria, Rosario (Italy)

Daumants, Denise, Druvvaldis (Latvia)

Butrimas, Eivina, Justina, Renatas (Lithuania)

Berit, Birgit, Birgitte (Norway)

Amalia, Justyna, Marek, Maria, Rościsława, Stefan, Tekla (Poland)

Serghie, Vah (Romania)

Eliška (Slovakia)

Justina, Rosario (Spain)

Birgitta, Britta (Sweden)

Serhly (Ukraine)

Minerva, Miranda, Sargent, Sergeant, Sergio (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 280 of 2024; 85 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 6 of week 40 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Gort (Ivy) [Day 5 of 28]

Chinese: Month 8 (Xin-You), Day 23 Wu-Xu()

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 22 Tishri 5784

Islamic: 22 Rabi I 1445

J Cal: 10 Shù; Threesday [10 of 30]

Julian: 24 September 2023

Moon: 39%: Waning Crescent

Positivist: 28 Shakespeare (10th Month) [Mozart]

Runic Half Month: Gyfu (Gift) [Day 11 of 15]

Season: Autumn (Day 14 of 89)

Zodiac: Libra (Day 14 of 30)

[mysymmetry]

2023 Reading List updated Jan 8 March 13 April 10 May 29 July 5

Read So Far: Play It As It Lays, Joan Didion All of This Could Be Different, Sarah Thankham Matthews Readme.txt, Chelsea Manning The Book of Grief and Hamburgers, Stuart Ross Burntcoat, Sarah Hall The Best American Essays 2022, ed. Alexander Chee Easy Beauty, Chloe Cooper Jones Very Cold People, Sarah Manguso Son of Elsewhere, Elamin Abdelmahmoud Happy Place, Emily Henry Couplets, Maggie Millner Strange Loops, Elizabeth Harmer Milk Fed, Melissa Broder

Currently Reading: Tides, Sara Freeman (lib yes - placed hold) Ace, Angela Chen (lib yes - placed hold) Ripe, Sarah Rose Etter Pathological, Sarah Fay Biography of X, Catherine Lacey The Best American Poetry 2019, ed. Bliss Montage, Ling Ma The Carrying, Ada Limon Death in Her Hands, Ottessa Moshfegh The Hurting Kind, Ada Limon A Single Rose, Muriel Barbery The Power of Geography

Want to Read: Foster or Small Things Like These - Claire Keegan (lib yes for both, recom from bookseller at Different Drummer!) The Light Room, Kate Zambreno No One is Talking About This, Patricia Lockwood Lurch, Don McKay No Archive Will Destroy You, Julietta Singh The Story of Our Lives, Ted Chiang

HALF FINISHED The Marrow Thieves, Cherie Dimaline Animal Person, Alexander MacLeod My Face in The Light, Martha Schabas Pure Colour, Sheila Heti Satched, Megan Gail Coles A Lover's Discourse, Roland Barthes The Country of Marriage, Wendell Berry

Minique, Anna Maxymiw We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies, Tsering Yangzom Lama Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

[joeys-piano]

Writer Ask Game: 4, 8, and 11

Thanks for the questions, peep!

4. When did you start writing? How?

December 2011. So I've been writing for about 12.5 years at this point. In the summer of 2017, I started writing more consistently. I believe in the summer of 2020, I had a personal challenge of completing a story from start to finish in one month so I could get used to sharing my works and how to finish things. In April 2022, I switched my posting schedule and made it a free-for-all; this gave me the opportunity to work on longer, more ambitious projects without me trying to kill myself to get so much done in one month. And well, I'm a slow writer - so this change was such a big help for my physical and mental well-being. Publicly, I've shared over 200 stories across fandoms in my writing life. There are some original poetry here and there, but all of that energy goes into fanworks because I feel more of a connection there. I started writing in December 2011 because when you're a young Asian who is not good at math and can barely draw and feel like you're a black sheep amongst the Asian kids, there's writing. Writing was the one endeavor I never heard any of the other Asians around me doing. Essentially, I pioneered this hobby in my early grade school life because I wanted to do something that I could do and know that no one else I knew did it, so that translates to being cool. (It doesn't work like that, but kid!me was convinced) I liked telling stories already, so I just had to put it down onto paper or something. And that's how I started. I basically felt like a failure Asian child for being so average, which I didn't have a name for at the time but it was something I could tell because of the people around me, so I went out to do a thing. And while the thing is hard and ugly and has tried to murder me, writing is stuck with me. It's just how it is.

8. What do you love about your writing style?

This sounds cliche, but my style is unique. I come from a literary fiction background. Or let me rephrase that: I'm inspired by the old-school classics and the pre-WWII British and American writing styles. Francis Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, and the such. And I'm inspired by the Beat Poets of the 1940s and 50s. So that cheddar cheese potluck of queer and strange things did a doozy on my writing style. The best way I can describe my writing is that it's indulgent, in that I've been force fed writing rules from the internet and stopped giving a fuck in my 20s so I could tell the stories I wanted to tell. And my writing is a love letter to the things I love about writing - it's pretty much poetry disguised as a narrative: you have the meter, you have the rhythm, you have the techniques more commonly see in poetry than prose writing, but in the format of a story with characters and arcs and tragedy. Somewhere about that isn't typically seen in the fandom scene, unless you're in a fandom that pulls on that through the canon material. And that's what my writing style is. Granted, I didn't start with this style. It was one I started developing in 2020 and have matured it like a rich wine since then, and will continue still with every story I try. I've only ever found one other fanfic writer whose style was really similar to mine. So I guess that's a bonus.

11. Character/WIP Lore! (blabber about character/ WIP of choice)

I think I'm at the skill level I want to be to fulfill a writing bucket list item that I've had since 2020 or 2021. I've been wanting to write a story that features the critiques I have about the Christian religion and more openly, write about a story of why people are gravitated towards having a faith even if it makes them do things they don't normally do and how they grapple with that and eventually, if they choose, deconstruct from those ideals. And Black Polish, my current WIP, is a culmination of personal projects in the past that had to fail before I could get here. And in its own way, it is finding closure and closing a door on something I'd rather choose for myself than be nudged into just because I was a kid at the time. It's all about finding the right fandom for the project you want to do. I'd say I struck the land mine with Trigun.

Writer Ask Thingies

[kharmii]

People of a certain ideology are always pulling 'gotcha' moments on Christians for what a small number of people believe. They always pull the 'we are on the side of science' while their institutions become hives of indoctrination where people often end up with debt they'll never be able to pay off pursuing degrees that will never make them money.

Mainstream Marxist universities aren't on the side of science. After all, they heavily push the transgender movement catering to the delusions of mentally ill people with mutilation kinks. Empty people with no personalities generally become substance abusers, but now they can become gender obsessed and inject hormones! That's the socially acceptable way to become a junkie!

Universities are hives of degeneracy. Side note: Low functioning autistic incels are always complaining about how '1% of men get 99% of women'. I finally figured out what that means. University culture tells women they shouldn't settle for marrying an average guy when they can become groupie whores for semi-retarded athletes pursuing fluff degrees. After all, they are considered the pinnacle of humanity. -And the autistic incels want in on that. If they are that goddamn stupid, they deserve to die alone. Everybody in college is dumb af. It isn't the best and brightest pursuing higher education anymore.

Finally, -because American grade schools are dumbed down and cranking out illiterates- your modern college student has never read an entire book. That's too damn mentally exhausting. From the Atlantic:

The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books

To read a book in college, it helps to have read a book in high school. By Rose Horowitch

October 1, 2024, 7:30 AM ET

Updated at 10:57 a.m. ET on October 1, 2024

Nicholas Dames has taught Literature Humanities, Columbia University’s required great-books course, since 1998. He loves the job, but it has changed. Over the past decade, students have become overwhelmed by the reading. College kids have never read everything they’re assigned, of course, but this feels different. Dames’s students now seem bewildered by the thought of finishing multiple books a semester. His colleagues have noticed the same problem. Many students no longer arrive at college—even at highly selective, elite colleges—prepared to read books.

This development puzzled Dames until one day during the fall 2022 semester, when a first-year student came to his office hours to share how challenging she had found the early assignments. Lit Hum often requires students to read a book, sometimes a very long and dense one, in just a week or two. But the student told Dames that, at her public high school, she had never been required to read an entire book. She had been assigned excerpts, poetry, and news articles, but not a single book cover to cover.

“My jaw dropped,” Dames told me. The anecdote helped explain the change he was seeing in his students: It’s not that they don’t want to do the reading. It’s that they don’t know how. Middle and high schools have stopped asking them to.

In 1979, Martha Maxwell, an influential literacy scholar, wrote, “Every generation, at some point, discovers that students cannot read as well as they would like or as well as professors expect.” Dames, who studies the history of the novel, acknowledged the longevity of the complaint. “Part of me is always tempted to be very skeptical about the idea that this is something new,” he said.

And yet, “I think there is a phenomenon that we’re noticing that I’m also hesitant to ignore.” Twenty years ago, Dames’s classes had no problem engaging in sophisticated discussions of Pride and Prejudice one week and Crime and Punishment the next. Now his students tell him up front that the reading load feels impossible. It’s not just the frenetic pace; they struggle to attend to small details while keeping track of the overall plot.

No comprehensive data exist on this trend, but the majority of the 33 professors I spoke with relayed similar experiences. Many had discussed the change at faculty meetings and in conversations with fellow instructors. Anthony Grafton, a Princeton historian, said his students arrive on campus with a narrower vocabulary and less understanding of language than they used to have. There are always students who “read insightfully and easily and write beautifully,” he said, “but they are now more exceptions.” Jack Chen, a Chinese-literature professor at the University of Virginia, finds his students “shutting down” when confronted with ideas they don’t understand; they’re less able to persist through a challenging text than they used to be. Daniel Shore, the chair of Georgetown’s English department, told me that his students have trouble staying focused on even a sonnet.

Failing to complete a 14-line poem without succumbing to distraction suggests one familiar explanation for the decline in reading aptitude: smartphones. Teenagers are constantly tempted by their devices, which inhibits their preparation for the rigors of college coursework—then they get to college, and the distractions keep flowing. “It’s changed expectations about what’s worthy of attention,” Daniel Willingham, a psychologist at UVA, told me. “Being bored has become unnatural.” Reading books, even for pleasure, can’t compete with TikTok, Instagram, YouTube. In 1976, about 40 percent of high-school seniors said they had read at least six books for fun in the previous year, compared with 11.5 percent who hadn’t read any. By 2022, those percentages had flipped.

But middle- and high-school kids appear to be encountering fewer and fewer books in the classroom as well. For more than two decades, new educational initiatives such as No Child Left Behind and Common Core emphasized informational texts and standardized tests. Teachers at many schools shifted from books to short informational passages, followed by questions about the author’s main idea—mimicking the format of standardized reading-comprehension tests. Antero Garcia, a Stanford education professor, is completing his term as vice president of the National Council of Teachers of English and previously taught at a public school in Los Angeles. He told me that the new guidelines were intended to help students make clear arguments and synthesize texts. But “in doing so, we’ve sacrificed young people’s ability to grapple with long-form texts in general.”

Mike Szkolka, a teacher and an administrator who has spent almost two decades in Boston and New York schools, told me that excerpts have replaced books across grade levels. “There’s no testing skill that can be related to … Can you sit down and read Tolstoy? ” he said. And if a skill is not easily measured, instructors and district leaders have little incentive to teach it. Carol Jago, a literacy expert who crisscrosses the country helping teachers design curricula, says that educators tell her they’ve stopped teaching the novels they’ve long revered, such as My Ántonia and Great Expectations. The pandemic, which scrambled syllabi and moved coursework online, accelerated the shift away from teaching complete works.

In a recent EdWeek Research Center survey of about 300 third-to-eighth-grade educators, only 17 percent said they primarily teach whole texts. An additional 49 percent combine whole texts with anthologies and excerpts. But nearly a quarter of respondents said that books are no longer the center of their curricula. One public-high-school teacher in Illinois told me that she used to structure her classes around books but now focuses on skills, such as how to make good decisions. In a unit about leadership, students read parts of Homer’s Odyssey and supplement it with music, articles, and TED Talks. (She assured me that her students read at least two full texts each semester.) An Advanced Placement English Literature teacher in Atlanta told me that the class used to read 14 books each year. Now they’re down to six or seven.

Private schools, which produce a disproportionate share of elite college students, seem to have been slower to shift away from reading complete volumes—leading to what Dames describes as a disconcerting reading-skills gap among incoming freshmen. But private schools are not immune to the trend. At the prep school that I graduated from five years ago, I took a Jane Austen course my senior year. I read only a single Austen novel.

The issue that Dames and other professors have observed is distinct from the problem at community colleges and nonselective universities, where some students arrive with literacy and comprehension deficits that can leave them unable to complete collegiate courses. High-achieving students at exclusive schools like Columbia can decode words and sentences. But they struggle to muster the attention or ambition required to immerse themselves in a substantial text.

Faced with this predicament, many college professors feel they have no choice but to assign less reading and lower their expectations. Victoria Kahn, who has taught literature at UC Berkeley since 1997, used to assign 200 pages each week. Now she assigns less than half of that. “I don’t do the whole Iliad. I assign books of The Iliad. I hope that some of them will read the whole thing,” Kahn told me. “It’s not like I can say, ‘Okay, over the next three weeks, I expect you to read The Iliad,’ because they’re not going to do it.”

Andrew Delbanco, a longtime American-studies professor at Columbia, now teaches a seminar on short works of American prose instead of a survey course on literature. The Melville segment used to include Moby-Dick; now his students make do with Billy Budd, Benito Cereno, and “Bartleby, the Scrivener.” There are some benefits—short works allow more time to focus on “the intricacies and subtleties of language,” Delbanco told me—and he has made peace with the change. “One has to adjust to the times,” he said.

The Columbia instructors who determine the Lit Hum curriculum decided to trim the reading list for the current school year. (It had been growing in recent years, even while students struggled with the reading, as new books by nonwhite authors were added.) Like Delbanco, some see advantages to teaching fewer books. Even the best-prepared students have probably been skimming some of their Lit Hum assignments for years. Joseph Howley, the program’s chair, said he’d rather students miss out on some of the classics—Crime and Punishment is now off the list—but read the remaining texts in greater depth. And, crucially, the change will give professors more time to teach students how they expect them to read.

But it’s not clear that instructors can foster a love of reading by thinning out the syllabus. Some experts I spoke with attributed the decline of book reading to a shift in values rather than in skill sets. Students can still read books, they argue—they’re just choosing not to. Students today are far more concerned about their job prospects than they were in the past. Every year, they tell Howley that, despite enjoying what they learned in Lit Hum, they plan to instead get a degree in something more useful for their career.

The same factors that have contributed to declining enrollment in the humanities might lead students to spend less time reading in the courses they do take. A 2023 survey of Harvard seniors found that they spend almost as much time on jobs and extracurriculars as they do on academics. And thanks to years of grade inflation (in a recent report, 79 percent of Harvard grades were in the A range), college kids can get by without doing all of their assigned work.

Whether through atrophy or apathy, a generation of students is reading fewer books. They might read more as they age—older adults are the most voracious readers—but the data are not encouraging. The American Time Use Survey shows that the overall pool of people who read books for pleasure has shrunk over the past two decades. A couple of professors told me that their students see reading books as akin to listening to vinyl records—something that a small subculture may still enjoy, but that’s mostly a relic of an earlier time.

The economic survival of the publishing industry requires an audience willing and able to spend time with an extended piece of writing. But as readers of a literary magazine will surely appreciate, more than a venerable industry is at stake. Books can cultivate a sophisticated form of empathy, transporting a reader into the mind of someone who lived hundreds of years ago, or a person who lives in a radically different context from the reader’s own. “A lot of contemporary ideas of empathy are built on identification, identity politics,” Kahn, the Berkeley professor, said. “Reading is more complicated than that, so it enlarges your sympathies.”

Yet such benefits require staying with a character through their journey; they cannot be approximated by reading a five- or even 30-page excerpt. According to the neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf, so-called deep reading—sustained immersion in a text—stimulates a number of valuable mental habits, including critical thinking and self-reflection, in ways that skimming or reading in short bursts does not.

Over and over, the professors I spoke with painted a grim picture of young people’s reading habits. (The historian Adrian Johns was one dissenter, but allowed, “My experience is a bit unusual because the University of Chicago is, like, the last bastion of people who do read things.”) For years, Dames has asked his first-years about their favorite book. In the past, they cited books such as Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. Now, he says, almost half of them cite young-adult books. Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series seems to be a particular favorite.

I can imagine worse preparations for the trials, and thrills, of Lit Hum. Riordan’s series, although full of frothy action and sometimes sophomoric humor, also cleverly engages in a literary exercise as old as the Western canon: spinning new adventures for the petulant gods and compromised heroes of Greek mythology. But of course there is a reason that, despite millennia of reinterpretations, we’ve never forgotten the originals. To understand the human condition, and to appreciate humankind’s greatest achievements, you still need to read The Iliad—all of it.

y’all I CANNOT