A great conversation about climate, human behavior, and a bit of hope. via @NYTimes nytimes.com/2024/05/18/mag…

Funniest thing I've seen all week: Backman, of 'A Man Called Ove,' does 4 min of standup. 'Being a writer is the best way I know how to get paid for being insane.' And the real difference between #Sweden and #Switzerland #fredrikbackman #thewritinglife
youtube.com/watch?v=NSuSyZ…

I thought getting a puppy would distract me from the distinct panicky excitement of checking the inbox to hear about submissions. Nope! Maybe I should have gotten a tiger. How do seasoned writers manage this constant, Tinder-like delirium? #thewritinglife

Very fun first day at #muse24 GrubStreet 📚✍️! Great to see old writer friends and make new ones. Barbara Matteau 🇺🇸 Asya Partan

When you're in a seminar with someone for a semester and on the second-to-last day of class, he casually mentions getting published in SmokeLong Quarterly and you get to read flash brilliance. Goodness, Scott Pomfret smokelong.com/stories/what-w…

I’m so proud of this amazing writer, and so proud to know this amazing human. Nicole’s work always reaches something deep, true, human…putting the connections that shape us into new light; contextualising universal experiences in modern, unique frames. A 100% deserved honor.

A gorgeous piece by Brian Bergstein in @globeideas about the eclipse's immediate & broader meanings. There are events that can unite us, after all - and we need to hang to them and discover more ways to connect as we just did. bostonglobe.com/2024/04/17/opi…

A great piece about the makings of great essays.

This fab final Power of Narrative panel gathered Jessica DuLong, Richard Abate, Joy Tutela & Lucy Cleland to pull back the curtain on the literary agent's world. I think this was the best, most frank, human & refreshing advice I've heard on the process. Ready to query. Almost ;)

“We can’t change the news. But sometimes we can add just a little bit of hope to the narrative,” says @[email protected] at Power of Narrative in an inspiring talk about crafting #climate stories that people want to read - and that can drive action. *Goatelopes and flying humans help.*

Have you ever seen a “president” less enthusiastically singing his national anthem? Maybe he is choking…maybe it’s the Botox…maybe he doesn’t care about the country at the heart of the song? #russiawithoutputin #russiaisnotputin

Biden called Alexey Navalny a 'champion of truth & lawfulness, ...his death as 'yet more proof of Putin’s brutality.' But the time for political leaders in the West to focus on dissidents is when they are still alive and amplifying their message can weaken...regimes that oppress them.'

It struck me that more of the world needs to see Семён Слепаков’ poem addressing Putin after Alexey Navalny’s death, so I translated it from the Russian. Apologies for anything lost in translation - hope the sentiment comes through regardless.

We couldn’t wait until this evening and set up a Alexey Navalny memorial in front of the Massachusetts State House/Boston. A vigil is scheduled for 7pm this evening. Thinking of his family, friends, and all the brave Russians who came out in (at least) tens of thousands to say goodbye.

The 'authorities' are starting to allow people to walk into the cemetery to say goodbye to Alexey Navalny. People are chanting 'Russia will be free.' So far today, the strength of numbers is proving formidable. youtube.com/watch?v=7ceVtp…

youtube.com/watch?v=7ceVtp… “This story has a happy ending. We’re just on the way to that happy ending.”
“Alexei Navalny never gave up. We must not betray him. We must not give up.”

Лёша, спасибо тебе за 26 лет абсолютного счастья. Да, даже за три последних года счастья. За любовь, за то, что всегда поддерживал, за то, что смешил даже из тюрьмы, за то что ты обо мне всегда думал.

Я не знаю, как жить без тебя, но я постараюсь так, чтобы ты там, наверху,

youtube.com/watch?v=7ceVtp… Here's the live stream of Alexey Navalny 's funeral (in Russian, but with plenty of footage that doesn't require knowing Russian). Now the police are trying to keep people from going into the cemetery, and the crowd is chanting 'Allow us to say goodbye.'