Michael Mercurio

A Close Reading of Molly Akin's Poem "Mothering is a social construct, and I am motherless" In which I refrain from referencing either the Pink Floyd song "Mother" or the Danzig song "Mother" because neither one is germane.

I did a close reading of @mollyakin.bsky.social 's poem "Mothering is a social construct, and I am motherless" — check it out, and then register to hear her read on July 15 at 7:30pm EDT on Zoom!

Substack post: open.substack.com/pub/damncuri...

Registration link: bit.ly/WTUIJul2025

A Close Reading of David Cazden's Poem "Vertigo" No, it has nothing to do with the U2 song of the same name. It's much, much more interesting than that.

Preparing for next Tuesday's What The Universe Is: @mollyakin.bsky.social and David Cazden by doing a close reading of Dave's poem "Vertigo" over on my Substack: damncurious.substack.com/p/a-close-re...

Go check it out and then register for the reading! bit.ly/WTUIJul2025

Coming up on July 15 at 7:30pm Eastern, @mollyakin.bsky.social and David Cazden will be reading for What The Universe Is: A (Virtual) Reading Series. This means you don't have to leave the comfort of your couch to hear exceptional poems and witty conversation — register at bit.ly/WTUIJul2025!

If you've ever wanted to hear the brilliant poets Megan Pinto and Michael Dhyne read without leaving the comfort of your home, you'll be able to do exactly that on Thursday, June 12 at 7:30pm Eastern. Register at bit.ly/WTUIJun2025!

@megg-bean.bsky.social

Can't wait for this meeting of the poetic minds!

Tonight (April 17) at 7:00pm EDT July Westhale will read from their new poetry collection, 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 & we'll chat about it!

July is a wonderful poet and 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 is an innovative and exciting modern epic from @blacklawrence.bsky.social

Register at tinyurl.com/CCWWesthale for the link!

It's gonna be weird! But in a fun way, I hope.

Tuesday, April 15 at 7:30pm Eastern, @janehuffman.bsky.social and @patrickdonnelly.bsky.social will be reading for What The Universe Is: A (Virtual) Reading Series. It's free! Register at bit.ly/WTUIApr2025

Not a movie, but the comic strip Bloom County by Berke Breathed is the foundation on which much of my worldview rests. What doesn't come from Bloom County comes more or less from the novels of Daniel Manus Pinkwater.

(I guess there's a little of Disney's 1979 flop The Black Hole in there, too.)

This is the upcoming (non-poetry) book I'm most excited to read!

Have you made a call about this yet? I have.

Excerpt of free article https://sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/totem-and-taboo

From October 2024: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/totem-and-...

Whenever people ask me which celebrity shares my birthday, I always lead with Liza, because who could be better?

It's truly the worst form of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" — and that was never a good philosophy to begin with.

Why does this remind me of my favorite Raymond Chandler quote from The Lady in the Lake?

“Police business is a hell of a problem. It’s a good deal like politics. It asks for the highest type of men, and there’s nothing in it to attract the highest type of men. So we have to work with what we get.”

Hmm. If I think of it as a puzzle, will I be tempted to never solve it and just live in Keats' "negative capability" forever? (And if I do that, will it still produce a readable and enjoyable book?)

a man with a beard is smiling and the word yeah is on his shirt ALT: a man with a beard is smiling and the word yeah is on his shirt

You could just come by it the Canadian way. You know, through hockey!

Keep your eye on what's happening in the Republic of Georgia, friends.

Once I was able to separate my knowledge that this book is time-bound to 2006, I was able to step back from it and piece together the moments that needed to happen — and, in understanding that, was able to start writing them out of order. (Do I have a spreadsheet & calendar for tracking it all? YUP)

Whenever I tried to write a novel before this current one, I couldn't imagine approaching it any other way than linear/chronological - this current one is working better than its predecessors, I think, because I've been able to step out of that mindset. It's a lot more fun this way!

Saw my first red-winged blackbirds of the season this morning. I am no fan of the transition from winter to spring, but it has some lovely moments nonetheless.

My response to your Substack post is too long by far for me to shorten without losing something in translation, so I'm following your lead here:

I will say this: I figured out I might not be a forever Catholic during my 1st year at a Catholic college - the priest who taught my theology class showed up on a Wednesday with a smudge on his forehead and I asked him if he'd slipped and fallen on the way to class. (Still stand by my earlier post.)

As someone raised & enculturated & educated Catholic, I am find there to be something comforting & also countercultural about the fact that she made this statement on Ash Wednesday with the ashes still on her forehead.

a man holding an ice cream cone with the words " sticks are unbelievable " on the bottom ALT: a man holding an ice cream cone with the words " sticks are unbelievable " on the bottom

Not to sound too much like Goody, but Shoresy is unbelievable. I'm not a sports guy, but I absolutely love everything about that show.

Amen to all that! One of the most enduringly important friendships of my life was with my undergrad poetry mentor, who remained friend and chosen family for 30 years, until she died.

Issue #8 - Diane Seuss - Iterant Little Fugue (State) Far have I wandered not knowing the names of where, long have I woven this dress of human hair, hereI have pitched my tent, here and there,not knowing my name, or where, not even ...

“Everything shows. Your newish tattoo.
Your lips, that gruesome pool-cue
chalk blue.
The spinning light on top
of the ambulance is blue,
the color of a bruise.
Inside, Diane, you suffer,
and your suffering is you.”
— @dseuss.bsky.social “Bluish” @graywolfpress.bsky.social iterant.org/issue8-diane...

You know what to do. Click through and read.