Brian Halley
@brianbhalley.bsky.social
Executive Editor at University of Massachusetts Press, based at UMass Boston. Views here don’t reflect them. Feminist, progressive, 🏳️🌈, into books, dogs, ocean, print culture, lit studies, environmental studies/climate justice, and more.
Pinned
Brian Halley
@brianbhalley.bsky.social
· Nov 16
Homepage - University of Massachusetts Press
Welcome to the online home of University of Massachusetts Press. We publish scholarship, literature, and books for general readers that reflect the quality and diversity of intellectual life on our ca...
www.umasspress.com
I’m fortunate to work with brilliant authors & colleagues at @umasspress.bsky.social and it’s worth checking out website. I’ll be posting on range incl my areas (print culture, env studies, lgbtq+ and gender studies, African American studies, Native studies, New England, etc) & probs w/ #publishing.
Reposted by Brian Halley
The president
-Is occupying a major city with armed paramilitiaries
-Is blackmailing treaty allies to hand over their sovereign territory
-Is trying to set himself up as chairman for life of a UN rival with $1B fees for permanent membership
-Is talking about canceling elections
-Is occupying a major city with armed paramilitiaries
-Is blackmailing treaty allies to hand over their sovereign territory
-Is trying to set himself up as chairman for life of a UN rival with $1B fees for permanent membership
-Is talking about canceling elections
January 18, 2026 at 5:45 PM
The president
-Is occupying a major city with armed paramilitiaries
-Is blackmailing treaty allies to hand over their sovereign territory
-Is trying to set himself up as chairman for life of a UN rival with $1B fees for permanent membership
-Is talking about canceling elections
-Is occupying a major city with armed paramilitiaries
-Is blackmailing treaty allies to hand over their sovereign territory
-Is trying to set himself up as chairman for life of a UN rival with $1B fees for permanent membership
-Is talking about canceling elections
@alexanderchee.bsky.social brilliantly explains the queer power of #heatedrivalry, h/t @smcpickles.bsky.social
I Would Start A War In Your Arms
A Heated Rivalry Notebook
querent.substack.com
January 17, 2026 at 9:08 PM
@alexanderchee.bsky.social brilliantly explains the queer power of #heatedrivalry, h/t @smcpickles.bsky.social
NYTimes, in your daily email, why take cheap shots at academics and students? What an odd and outdated binary. Some profs and students can write clearly and with wit, too. Check out some university press books as proof!
January 16, 2026 at 3:26 PM
NYTimes, in your daily email, why take cheap shots at academics and students? What an odd and outdated binary. Some profs and students can write clearly and with wit, too. Check out some university press books as proof!
Whenever I hear another public service panicking about deficits - the MBTA here in Boston (subway), public universities (I’m not just an employee of one, I’m an alum of another) - I think of all the corporations and very wealthy jumping thru hoops to avoid taxes. Our suffering is their cleverness.
January 16, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Whenever I hear another public service panicking about deficits - the MBTA here in Boston (subway), public universities (I’m not just an employee of one, I’m an alum of another) - I think of all the corporations and very wealthy jumping thru hoops to avoid taxes. Our suffering is their cleverness.
The Trump administration has harmed millions of people, those living with HIV/AIDS and more around the world, thru funding cuts. Now they're letting so many die right here with budget cuts, and it's cruel and deeply mean-spirited. Reminder: we are a very very wealthy nation. Unconscionable.
Trump administration sends letter wiping out addiction, mental health grants
The Trump administration sent hundreds of letters Tuesday terminating federal grants supporting mental health and drug addiction services. The cuts could total as much as $2 billion.
www.npr.org
January 14, 2026 at 9:13 PM
The Trump administration has harmed millions of people, those living with HIV/AIDS and more around the world, thru funding cuts. Now they're letting so many die right here with budget cuts, and it's cruel and deeply mean-spirited. Reminder: we are a very very wealthy nation. Unconscionable.
Reposted by Brian Halley
Freedom of speech 💚!!
January 14, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Freedom of speech 💚!!
Reposted by Brian Halley
This is where I live. If you're not in the Twin Cities area (or if you are) and you're wondering what you can do, give money to this GoFundMe. Food distribution is rocking here, and finding money for rent is way more difficult. Jason is my council member. This is vetted.
The Powderhorn Park neighborhood has been the biggest target of immigration enforcement in Minnesota. It’s home to a large immigrant community who is now struggling to pay rent. Kidnappings are on the rise because people cannot stay home. Please help us out. Link is in my bio.
gofund.me/350c67697
gofund.me/350c67697
Donate to Support Powderhorn Families with Urgent Rent Relief, organized by Powderhorn Neighbors
We are a small group of Powderhorn neighbors, and we have cre… Powderhorn Neighbors needs your support for Support Powderhorn Families with Urgent Rent Relief
gofund.me
January 14, 2026 at 6:05 PM
This is where I live. If you're not in the Twin Cities area (or if you are) and you're wondering what you can do, give money to this GoFundMe. Food distribution is rocking here, and finding money for rent is way more difficult. Jason is my council member. This is vetted.
Reposted by Brian Halley
ICE rammed into a car at 34th and Park And then began to question the immigration status of U.S. Citizen Latino’s they crashed into.
They also deployed chemical irritants into the eyes of the press. Abolish ICE now.
They also deployed chemical irritants into the eyes of the press. Abolish ICE now.
January 12, 2026 at 7:07 PM
ICE rammed into a car at 34th and Park And then began to question the immigration status of U.S. Citizen Latino’s they crashed into.
They also deployed chemical irritants into the eyes of the press. Abolish ICE now.
They also deployed chemical irritants into the eyes of the press. Abolish ICE now.
Reposted by Brian Halley
ICE killed a member of our community today. ICE showed up at my kid’s daycare today. ICE is bragging about the number of families they’ve torn apart in a matter of days, and promising that their campaign of terror isn’t done.
January 7, 2026 at 10:51 PM
ICE killed a member of our community today. ICE showed up at my kid’s daycare today. ICE is bragging about the number of families they’ve torn apart in a matter of days, and promising that their campaign of terror isn’t done.
Reposted by Brian Halley
If you're headed to #MLA26 and want to have project (even in early stages) considered at @umasspress.bsky.social, set up a meeting with me at this link. See you there! @modernlanguage.bsky.social
MLA meetings with UMass's Brian Halley - Brian Halley
Please book a time to chat with me about your book project, even if it is early days. I look forward to it.
calendly.com
January 6, 2026 at 3:26 PM
If you're headed to #MLA26 and want to have project (even in early stages) considered at @umasspress.bsky.social, set up a meeting with me at this link. See you there! @modernlanguage.bsky.social
Eric Schlosser with an important (if troubling) update on fast food, for @theguardian.com
Hard to digest: we still live in Fast Food Nation | Eric Schlosser
The long read: Twenty-five years after I revealed the practices of the industrial food giants, the profits – and dangers – of mass producing meat and milk have only grown
www.theguardian.com
January 6, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Eric Schlosser with an important (if troubling) update on fast food, for @theguardian.com
If you’ve loved #HeatedRivalry for the gay romance, wait until you read about the decades-long love affair between a Maine painter and Harvard prof, full of secrecy, torment, and simple domestic bliss. Cover is only known photo of them together. ❤️ @umasspress.bsky.social
A Union Like Ours
After a chance meeting aboard the ocean liner Paris in 1924, Harvard University scholar and activist F. O. Matthiessen and artist Russell Cheney fell in love...
www.umasspress.com
January 3, 2026 at 8:09 PM
If you’ve loved #HeatedRivalry for the gay romance, wait until you read about the decades-long love affair between a Maine painter and Harvard prof, full of secrecy, torment, and simple domestic bliss. Cover is only known photo of them together. ❤️ @umasspress.bsky.social
Resolutions (no order):
- summarize each book read, to remember
- organize/write/pub (loosely defined) research on late 20th c Boston independent publishing
- volunteer, maybe @ a hospital
- be strategic @ gym rather than just wandering, doing stuff
- figure out how I can best fight dictatorship
- summarize each book read, to remember
- organize/write/pub (loosely defined) research on late 20th c Boston independent publishing
- volunteer, maybe @ a hospital
- be strategic @ gym rather than just wandering, doing stuff
- figure out how I can best fight dictatorship
January 3, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Resolutions (no order):
- summarize each book read, to remember
- organize/write/pub (loosely defined) research on late 20th c Boston independent publishing
- volunteer, maybe @ a hospital
- be strategic @ gym rather than just wandering, doing stuff
- figure out how I can best fight dictatorship
- summarize each book read, to remember
- organize/write/pub (loosely defined) research on late 20th c Boston independent publishing
- volunteer, maybe @ a hospital
- be strategic @ gym rather than just wandering, doing stuff
- figure out how I can best fight dictatorship
Reposted by Brian Halley
Trump says we need to go after drug cartels.
Meanwhile, he disbanded a DOJ task force that took them on.
And he pardoned a former Honduran president convicted of drug trafficking.
Trump doesn't care about drugs — he wants to be able to declare war on anyone he labels an enemy.
It's a power grab.
Meanwhile, he disbanded a DOJ task force that took them on.
And he pardoned a former Honduran president convicted of drug trafficking.
Trump doesn't care about drugs — he wants to be able to declare war on anyone he labels an enemy.
It's a power grab.
January 3, 2026 at 3:43 PM
Trump says we need to go after drug cartels.
Meanwhile, he disbanded a DOJ task force that took them on.
And he pardoned a former Honduran president convicted of drug trafficking.
Trump doesn't care about drugs — he wants to be able to declare war on anyone he labels an enemy.
It's a power grab.
Meanwhile, he disbanded a DOJ task force that took them on.
And he pardoned a former Honduran president convicted of drug trafficking.
Trump doesn't care about drugs — he wants to be able to declare war on anyone he labels an enemy.
It's a power grab.
Reposted by Brian Halley
Donald Trump has multiple indictments in the United States for crimes against the US government. And also pardoned top drug dealers.
Vance pushes back and says this was not illegal, arguing "Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism. You don't get to avoid justice for drug trafficking in the United States because you live in a palace in Caracas."
January 3, 2026 at 3:51 PM
Donald Trump has multiple indictments in the United States for crimes against the US government. And also pardoned top drug dealers.
Reposted by Brian Halley
“This is a seismic, long-awaited correction of the scientific record,” said Dr. Philip J. Landrigan… “It pulls the veil off decades of industry efforts to create a false narrative that glyphosate is safe…People have developed cancers, and people have died because of this scientific fraud.”
A Study Is Retracted, Renewing Concerns About the Weedkiller Roundup
www.nytimes.com
January 3, 2026 at 2:11 AM
“This is a seismic, long-awaited correction of the scientific record,” said Dr. Philip J. Landrigan… “It pulls the veil off decades of industry efforts to create a false narrative that glyphosate is safe…People have developed cancers, and people have died because of this scientific fraud.”
Reposted by Brian Halley
This is why they want us talking about day care scams.
December 30, 2025 at 9:53 PM
This is why they want us talking about day care scams.
Reposted by Brian Halley
again Tony Dokoupil is not that smart and not that good and I firmly believe has his job because his hair carried him 90% of the way there and the last 10% is that the expression of his stupid pleased his new boss, who is seeking to please the oligarchs and whose stupid aligns with his.
The Appalling Attack on Ta-Nehisi Coates Is a Massive Media Failing
It is not antisemitic to defend Palestinian human rights. And it’s past time for more American Jews to say so to correct a media that’s lost the thread.
newrepublic.com
January 3, 2026 at 12:19 AM
again Tony Dokoupil is not that smart and not that good and I firmly believe has his job because his hair carried him 90% of the way there and the last 10% is that the expression of his stupid pleased his new boss, who is seeking to please the oligarchs and whose stupid aligns with his.
“According to one study, on an August day in 1918, 23 horse-drawn vehicles and 559 motor vehicles came onto the Cape. On a single Sunday less than 20 years later, 55,000 cars were counted crossing the bridges that were built over the Cape Cod Canal in the early 1930s by Roosevelt’s New Deal.”
When the Trains Ran in Truro - The Provincetown Independent
TRURO — If you lived on the Outer Cape a century ago and you needed to get from South Truro to Provincetown, the most convenient way was by train. The […]
provincetownindependent.org
January 1, 2026 at 4:46 PM
“According to one study, on an August day in 1918, 23 horse-drawn vehicles and 559 motor vehicles came onto the Cape. On a single Sunday less than 20 years later, 55,000 cars were counted crossing the bridges that were built over the Cape Cod Canal in the early 1930s by Roosevelt’s New Deal.”
The @nytimes.com story on how little DOGE did is so depressing, bc their actual cuts were cruel and led to deaths and misery around the world, via cuts to international aid. I hope the media and activists keep reminding us of this as we in the US enjoy our comforts.
December 28, 2025 at 2:45 PM
The @nytimes.com story on how little DOGE did is so depressing, bc their actual cuts were cruel and led to deaths and misery around the world, via cuts to international aid. I hope the media and activists keep reminding us of this as we in the US enjoy our comforts.
Truly chilling.
“Like Prime, but with human beings.”
December 24, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Truly chilling.
Said goodbye to this perfect pup exactly one year ago today. Almost 14 years with him. Still miss him everyday if I’m being honest.
December 23, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Said goodbye to this perfect pup exactly one year ago today. Almost 14 years with him. Still miss him everyday if I’m being honest.
Just an fyi, my colleague at @umasspress.bsky.social has acquired a couple of Shaker books recently so check out our small but powerful - and current! - Shaker list!
Celibate, communal — and once seen as a real threat to society.
“The Testament of Ann Lee”, starring Amanda Seyfried, hits theaters on Christmas Day and explores how the Shakers shocked 18th-century America, and still shape our music and culture today. buff.ly/06EcS2j
“The Testament of Ann Lee”, starring Amanda Seyfried, hits theaters on Christmas Day and explores how the Shakers shocked 18th-century America, and still shape our music and culture today. buff.ly/06EcS2j
The celibate, dancing Shakers were once seen as a threat to society – 250 years later, they’re part of the sound of America
‘The Testament of Ann Lee,’ Mona Fastvold’s 2025 film, depicts part of the long history of Shaker worship.
theconversation.com
December 23, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Just an fyi, my colleague at @umasspress.bsky.social has acquired a couple of Shaker books recently so check out our small but powerful - and current! - Shaker list!
If I wanted to try to write about Boston publishing history (more recent, like last 50 years or so, not 19th c) in some kind of serial way, what is best platform? Substack seems lowkey evil. Happy to get opinions on this. Thanks! #publishing #bookhistory #Boston #books
December 22, 2025 at 4:44 PM
If I wanted to try to write about Boston publishing history (more recent, like last 50 years or so, not 19th c) in some kind of serial way, what is best platform? Substack seems lowkey evil. Happy to get opinions on this. Thanks! #publishing #bookhistory #Boston #books