carmen aiken
@caiken.bsky.social
Writer, Chicago, infrastructure weirdo. I mean well.
carmenalicia.beehiiv.com. "hotspur" from Spuyten Duvil press now available @ https://bookshop.org/p/books/hotspur-carmen-a-aiken/5967fbe460007214?ean=9781963908725&next=t or your local!
carmenalicia.beehiiv.com. "hotspur" from Spuyten Duvil press now available @ https://bookshop.org/p/books/hotspur-carmen-a-aiken/5967fbe460007214?ean=9781963908725&next=t or your local!
HOT ON THE HEELS OF THE LAST POST thank u @flaminghydra.com blessing us with the Hairpin archives because I have been reading @jesszimmerman.com's guide to eating particular feelings on the internet archive all week and it's now back home: thehairpinarchives.com/2013/11/a-gu...
A Guide to Eating Very Particular Feelings, Part III
by Jess Zimmerman
FEELING: The one where you jolt alert to find the golden street you walked down now behind you, the sunset down to an embarrassing smudge like an old lady’s lipstick, the lovely town...
thehairpinarchives.com
November 26, 2025 at 4:53 PM
HOT ON THE HEELS OF THE LAST POST thank u @flaminghydra.com blessing us with the Hairpin archives because I have been reading @jesszimmerman.com's guide to eating particular feelings on the internet archive all week and it's now back home: thehairpinarchives.com/2013/11/a-gu...
please just get your stuff off substack, i think it is truly bugging me right now and pointing out there's probably other writing i could read not on a platform subsidizing nazis
November 26, 2025 at 4:24 PM
please just get your stuff off substack, i think it is truly bugging me right now and pointing out there's probably other writing i could read not on a platform subsidizing nazis
come hang at a (BI)cy(Cle)cross event Sat at Big Marsh Park! A thing to do w/ bikes on maybe a fine fall day! sort of sporty? probably wacky! shorturl.at/D0tuD
@femnthembikechi.bsky.social @chicritmass.bsky.social @chicagobikesox.com @chiwho.bike @westtownbikes.bsky.social @atalliance.bsky.social
@femnthembikechi.bsky.social @chicritmass.bsky.social @chicagobikesox.com @chiwho.bike @westtownbikes.bsky.social @atalliance.bsky.social
Cyclocross 4 Everyone #1
The Cyclocross 4 Everyone #1 is on Saturday November 22, 2025. It includes the following events: Advanced (A): Men/Open 60 Minutes, Advanced (A): Women/Open 60 Minutes, U23 Youth 2 Laps/30 Minutes, In...
shorturl.at
November 19, 2025 at 5:51 PM
come hang at a (BI)cy(Cle)cross event Sat at Big Marsh Park! A thing to do w/ bikes on maybe a fine fall day! sort of sporty? probably wacky! shorturl.at/D0tuD
@femnthembikechi.bsky.social @chicritmass.bsky.social @chicagobikesox.com @chiwho.bike @westtownbikes.bsky.social @atalliance.bsky.social
@femnthembikechi.bsky.social @chicritmass.bsky.social @chicagobikesox.com @chiwho.bike @westtownbikes.bsky.social @atalliance.bsky.social
also i am really okay, but man, it's good writing and a whole lot of oh no
you know i've managed to not fuck up being alive for 11 years almost exactly and that data center article in the new yorker from november 3 really, really testing that with me this morning, jesus christ.
November 19, 2025 at 2:54 PM
also i am really okay, but man, it's good writing and a whole lot of oh no
you know i've managed to not fuck up being alive for 11 years almost exactly and that data center article in the new yorker from november 3 really, really testing that with me this morning, jesus christ.
November 19, 2025 at 2:20 PM
you know i've managed to not fuck up being alive for 11 years almost exactly and that data center article in the new yorker from november 3 really, really testing that with me this morning, jesus christ.
aw nuts turns out i have a lot of weird feelings about that adventure cycling article
November 10, 2025 at 5:32 PM
aw nuts turns out i have a lot of weird feelings about that adventure cycling article
Reposted by carmen aiken
Another world is possible, if we fight for it
November 5, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Another world is possible, if we fight for it
Gotta say @dansinker.com telling everyone at @tuesdayfunk.bsky.social the Zohran win was one of those most jubilant things I've felt in so long and yes, God, thank you
November 5, 2025 at 3:17 AM
Gotta say @dansinker.com telling everyone at @tuesdayfunk.bsky.social the Zohran win was one of those most jubilant things I've felt in so long and yes, God, thank you
anyway on that note: Chicago! looking for a cool bike thing? come out on nov 22 to this! we want fun and inclusion and access and raising $$ and community!
www.bikesignup.com/Race/IL/Chic...
cc @femnthembikechi.bsky.social @chiwho.bike @chicagobikesox.com lol what are other bike bsky accounts??
www.bikesignup.com/Race/IL/Chic...
cc @femnthembikechi.bsky.social @chiwho.bike @chicagobikesox.com lol what are other bike bsky accounts??
Cyclocross 4 Everyone #1
The Cyclocross 4 Everyone #1 is on Saturday November 22, 2025. It includes the following events: Advanced (A): Men/Open 60 Minutes, Advanced (A): Women/Open 60 Minutes, U23 Youth 2 Laps/30 Minutes, In...
www.bikesignup.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:40 PM
anyway on that note: Chicago! looking for a cool bike thing? come out on nov 22 to this! we want fun and inclusion and access and raising $$ and community!
www.bikesignup.com/Race/IL/Chic...
cc @femnthembikechi.bsky.social @chiwho.bike @chicagobikesox.com lol what are other bike bsky accounts??
www.bikesignup.com/Race/IL/Chic...
cc @femnthembikechi.bsky.social @chiwho.bike @chicagobikesox.com lol what are other bike bsky accounts??
back on my bike bullshit (happily) is that the Tucson alleybat this weekend was so good for my bike soul that i feel like has had to go into hibernation and once again i daydream about fun unsanctioned events that make money and create joy
November 4, 2025 at 4:17 PM
back on my bike bullshit (happily) is that the Tucson alleybat this weekend was so good for my bike soul that i feel like has had to go into hibernation and once again i daydream about fun unsanctioned events that make money and create joy
This is tomorrow and as always I think it should be p p good
www.tuesdayfunk.org/tuesday-funk...
@tuesdayfunk.bsky.social
www.tuesdayfunk.org/tuesday-funk...
@tuesdayfunk.bsky.social
Tuesday Funk #164: Nov. 4, 2025
Chicago's favorite eclectic reading series is here to help warm your heart for fall! Join us in the upstairs bar at Hopleaf on Tuesday, Nov. 4 for readings by Nicole Adabunu, Carmen Aiken, Tanya Korni...
www.tuesdayfunk.org
November 3, 2025 at 8:44 PM
This is tomorrow and as always I think it should be p p good
www.tuesdayfunk.org/tuesday-funk...
@tuesdayfunk.bsky.social
www.tuesdayfunk.org/tuesday-funk...
@tuesdayfunk.bsky.social
also you too can buy these shirts and wear them around and be pro not being a cruel asshole and also salt
October 26, 2025 at 8:51 PM
also you too can buy these shirts and wear them around and be pro not being a cruel asshole and also salt
Sunny here and here we are and maybe a Sunday read from @samthielman.com and me from @lukeoneil47.bsky.social and Hell World (subscribe!!)
www.welcometohellworld.com/our-survival...
www.welcometohellworld.com/our-survival...
Our survival is their failure
I knew eventually right-wing shock troops were coming here
www.welcometohellworld.com
October 26, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Sunny here and here we are and maybe a Sunday read from @samthielman.com and me from @lukeoneil47.bsky.social and Hell World (subscribe!!)
www.welcometohellworld.com/our-survival...
www.welcometohellworld.com/our-survival...
you can also read or subscribe to the newsletter it appeared in, aka mine, but you don't have to! but you could. it is extremely sporadic. and free. and not a substack.
carmenalicia.beehiiv.com/p/what-is-go...
carmenalicia.beehiiv.com/p/what-is-go...
October 24, 2025 at 2:41 PM
you can also read or subscribe to the newsletter it appeared in, aka mine, but you don't have to! but you could. it is extremely sporadic. and free. and not a substack.
carmenalicia.beehiiv.com/p/what-is-go...
carmenalicia.beehiiv.com/p/what-is-go...
Reposted by carmen aiken
"It’s not a coup like I’ve known them. It’s the KKK rampaging through the street in disguise. It’s the SS hauling people out of their homes in the middle of the night. It is fascism, certainly. They are awful, cursed souls."
[email protected] www.welcometohellworld.com/our-survival...
[email protected] www.welcometohellworld.com/our-survival...
October 24, 2025 at 11:28 AM
"It’s not a coup like I’ve known them. It’s the KKK rampaging through the street in disguise. It’s the SS hauling people out of their homes in the middle of the night. It is fascism, certainly. They are awful, cursed souls."
[email protected] www.welcometohellworld.com/our-survival...
[email protected] www.welcometohellworld.com/our-survival...
as always an honor to be in Hell World - you should subscribe. also this went up yesterday when I was doing many things that are present in this piece, and i can tell you at the end of the day waiting for the bus there's no answer but the only thing is to keep doing
Today @samthielman.com writes about an ICE raid on Canal St. in NYC and everything these pigs are trying to destroy that makes his city beautiful and @caiken.bsky.social writes about ICE raids in Chicago and everything these pigs are trying to destroy that makes their city beautiful.
Our survival is their failure
I knew eventually right-wing shock troops were coming here
www.welcometohellworld.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:29 PM
as always an honor to be in Hell World - you should subscribe. also this went up yesterday when I was doing many things that are present in this piece, and i can tell you at the end of the day waiting for the bus there's no answer but the only thing is to keep doing
ICE staging in and out of Sox Park this afternoon - probably we should not be okay with that, fanbase. all over Bridgport/McKinley/north of Canaryville.
October 23, 2025 at 6:35 PM
ICE staging in and out of Sox Park this afternoon - probably we should not be okay with that, fanbase. all over Bridgport/McKinley/north of Canaryville.
this was beautiful, important reporting and worth time
Thank you to @blockclubchi.bsky.social for republishing @almacampos.bsky.social's moving reporting on the final journey of Silverio Villegas González, who was killed by federal agents last month in Franklin Park.
blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/20/a...
blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/20/a...
A Tragic Homecoming
After nearly two decades in Chicago, Silverio Villegas González returned to Michoacán in a coffin. His death at the hands of federal agents left two families divided by borders, shattered with grief, ...
blockclubchicago.org
October 21, 2025 at 2:14 PM
this was beautiful, important reporting and worth time
blockclubchicago.org
October 17, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by carmen aiken
Let us be clear: The President of the United States is levying war against American cities and American citizens—and we cannot rely on the other branches of government to save us.
It’s up to us.
It’s up to us.
It’s Up to Us to Protect One Another
As Trump sends troops to Chicago, we will continue to investigate and report. Readers have a role to play, too.
southsideweekly.com
October 8, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Let us be clear: The President of the United States is levying war against American cities and American citizens—and we cannot rely on the other branches of government to save us.
It’s up to us.
It’s up to us.
"It needs people who are willing to drink the full poison of reality and make sense of it. It needs people who will invite others to be curious, as gently as necessary, until they can defy themselves enough to smell smoke, taste ash, and scream no."
"There just isn’t enough time. There’s only what we manage to make of it—what we build, what we protect, what we remember to carry to the car. The gas mask. The snacks. The question we forgot to ask. The name of the person taken." My latest.
The Emergency Is the Atmosphere
“It’s meant to exhaust us. It’s meant to destroy us."
organizingmythoughts.org
October 8, 2025 at 3:07 PM
"It needs people who are willing to drink the full poison of reality and make sense of it. It needs people who will invite others to be curious, as gently as necessary, until they can defy themselves enough to smell smoke, taste ash, and scream no."
also also also please support @unraveledpress.com and if you're a homie who doesn't live here please follow because their reporting IS what is happening in Chicago rn
What seems like all the remaining agents just tear gassed Kedzie again, then drove very quickly north through the gas.
About half the vehicles that drove through are captured here. The lead group went by even faster.
They could have seriously injured anyone in the street.
About half the vehicles that drove through are captured here. The lead group went by even faster.
They could have seriously injured anyone in the street.
October 4, 2025 at 8:46 PM
also also also please support @unraveledpress.com and if you're a homie who doesn't live here please follow because their reporting IS what is happening in Chicago rn
teargassed neighbors protecting their own and CPD (?!) and then literally ran the fuck off under the cover of smoke down here.
Most of ICE/CBP seem to have made an escape down an alley headed east. A large group chased their cars for a few blocks.
We encountered several people on the street who has been gassed or pepper sprayed. One man told us they fired tear gas out their car window.
We encountered several people on the street who has been gassed or pepper sprayed. One man told us they fired tear gas out their car window.
October 4, 2025 at 8:31 PM
teargassed neighbors protecting their own and CPD (?!) and then literally ran the fuck off under the cover of smoke down here.
shout out today especially to the train engineer operator on the @chicagocta.bsky.social Orange Line around 7:30 heading to the Loop and your dulcet tones and good morning to all of us. we're lucky to have people like you out there!!!
September 30, 2025 at 3:02 PM
shout out today especially to the train engineer operator on the @chicagocta.bsky.social Orange Line around 7:30 heading to the Loop and your dulcet tones and good morning to all of us. we're lucky to have people like you out there!!!