The little ledge before the big drop.

This summer, my friends and I canceled 1.6 million dollars of medical debt for 1,700 Philadelphia residents. This weekend we ceremonially BURNED that debt at the abandoned pier behind Walmart

theguardian.com/politics/2023/…

Sanaa Seif | #FreeAlaa youtu.be/2vnkEJttV7A?si… via YouTube

Alaa has been awarded PEN Canada's One Humanity Prize. This is a major prize given to an imprisoned writer "whose whose work transcends the boundaries of national divides." The award will be presented on Saturday at the Toronto International Festival of Authors.

Reminder: Alaa is a U.K. citizen in Egyptian prison over a Facebook post and Rishi Sunak has done nothing. #FreeAlaa

As Shabbat begins and Gaza is cut off from the world, NYC Jews are in Grand Central, organized by Jewish Voice for Peace NYC, united in our call for a #CeaseFireNOW!

You watch the MSM and this is a series of video game drone strikes. You watch Al Jazeera and you see millions demonstrating around the world. The dissonance is shattering.

Um.

Here is the updated tour schedule for my book. Hope to see you in one of these great cities. More to come. Details and ticket info here: barbaramcquade.com ⁦Seven Stories Press⁩

Annie Ernaux: “I love the soft burbling of streams and the cherry trees in blossom. But I agree with Plato when he makes Socrates say that he has nothing to learn from trees, only from men in the city.”

August 8, 1974, just after 9pm. NYT staff watching Nixon's resignation.

Jim Ledbetter was generous & thoughtful while I stumbled through working on his first book, Made Possible By, one of the best accounts of the end of public media. And, in brief chats spread over years, Jim introduced me to K. Marx, NY Tribune reporter. He will be missed.

Ahem.

The best trees. Dauphin Island, AL shell mounds.

Also good trees. Also Dauphin Island.

Alaa's family needs him home. His son is 13 years old and Alaa has missed all but 18 months of his childhood. His mother, 68, has been on hunger strike for 100 days. It's time to bring him home. Free Alaa.

it just keeps getting worse. gary indiana’s library arrived in altadena earlier this week. it’s gone.

Today, I launched a 21-day hunger strike to fight for my good friend Alaa Abd el Fattah, still in prison in Cairo. Reuters was there to cover it. reuters.com/world/former-a…

PEN International continues to call for the immediate release of Alaa Abd el Fattah. Alongside English PEN President Margaret Busby and former Presidents, we urge the Prime Minister to act in support of his freedom. #FreeAlaa Free Alaa David Lammy