David Matthews
@matthewsdavid.bsky.social
Poet, runner, unaffiliated intellectual. Lean left, often feel like a faction of one. Substack: David Matthews Portable Bohemia https://davidmatthewsportablebohemia.substack.com/
The experience of revisiting poems from other times in my life is a reminder of the profound mystery of it all. I recognize poems as mine at the same time they seem as if they could have been written by another.
Tumble of Calliope Snow (a poem)
Politics is a duty, poetry is a need. —Alexandros Panagoulis
open.substack.com
January 28, 2026 at 11:55 PM
The experience of revisiting poems from other times in my life is a reminder of the profound mystery of it all. I recognize poems as mine at the same time they seem as if they could have been written by another.
Taking heart from Buddhist monks walking for peace against the backdrop of troubling developments in Minneapolis and other grim news of the day, closing with a mystery set in Harlem in the 1920s for diversion because we need that sometimes and a wonderful PBS documentary about Hannah Arendt.
Portable Bohemia Newsletter Jan 15, 2026
Greetings from the Far Left Coast. We live in a dark time. We must not let that define us.
On October 26 nineteen monks and Aloka the Peace Dog set off from a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Fort Worth...
open.substack.com
January 15, 2026 at 6:02 PM
Taking heart from Buddhist monks walking for peace against the backdrop of troubling developments in Minneapolis and other grim news of the day, closing with a mystery set in Harlem in the 1920s for diversion because we need that sometimes and a wonderful PBS documentary about Hannah Arendt.
Commentary on Trump's receipt of the Israel Prize, Putin's spurious claim of a drone attack on his residence, peace negotiation travesty, appropriation of works by Norman Rockwell and other writers and artists to promote anti-immigrant narratives, deportations, and boat strikes, and more!
Portable Bohemia Newsletter Jan 1, 2026
New Year’s greetings from the Far Left Coast! As usual my celebration was subdued, a happy hour Black Butte Porter, a little wine after dinner while reading Tristana by Benito Pérez Galdós, and in bed...
open.substack.com
January 1, 2026 at 7:14 PM
Commentary on Trump's receipt of the Israel Prize, Putin's spurious claim of a drone attack on his residence, peace negotiation travesty, appropriation of works by Norman Rockwell and other writers and artists to promote anti-immigrant narratives, deportations, and boat strikes, and more!
Reflections on some reading I have been doing, The Invention of Prehistory by Stefanos Geroulanos, recipient of Phi Beta Kappa's 2025 Ralph Waldo Emerson Award, selected writings of the remarkable explorer, scientist, and scholar Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), and Jane Austen's Persuasion.
Portable Bohemia Newsletter Dec 15, 2025
Greetings from the Far Left Coast where it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!
open.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Reflections on some reading I have been doing, The Invention of Prehistory by Stefanos Geroulanos, recipient of Phi Beta Kappa's 2025 Ralph Waldo Emerson Award, selected writings of the remarkable explorer, scientist, and scholar Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), and Jane Austen's Persuasion.
One evening earlier this week I thought I found an opening into a brief Thanksgiving essay. It seemed promising after a second glass of wine, less so the following morning in the sober light of day. While looking for a way to express gratitude…
Thanks
One evening earlier this week I thought I found an opening into a brief Thanksgiving essay. It seemed promising after a second glass of wine, less so the following morning in the sober light of day. W...
davidmatthewsportablebohemia.substack.com
November 27, 2025 at 10:33 PM
One evening earlier this week I thought I found an opening into a brief Thanksgiving essay. It seemed promising after a second glass of wine, less so the following morning in the sober light of day. While looking for a way to express gratitude…
My poem "Apparitions Defiant" appears in the November issue of Quill & Parchment. Thanks to my friend editor-in-chief Sharmagne Leland-St John-Sylbert and editor Michael Escoubas.
Quill & Parchment: November 2025 ~ Vol 293
quillandparchment.com
November 1, 2025 at 2:51 PM
My poem "Apparitions Defiant" appears in the November issue of Quill & Parchment. Thanks to my friend editor-in-chief Sharmagne Leland-St John-Sylbert and editor Michael Escoubas.
JD Vance has a point when he says kids do stupid things. “They tell edgy, offensive jokes…And I really don’t want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke…is cause to ruin their lives.”
True to his nature Vance makes a mockery of the principle by applying it selectively…
True to his nature Vance makes a mockery of the principle by applying it selectively…
Speech and Consequences
JD Vance has a point when he says kids do stupid things.
open.substack.com
October 25, 2025 at 11:57 PM
JD Vance has a point when he says kids do stupid things. “They tell edgy, offensive jokes…And I really don’t want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke…is cause to ruin their lives.”
True to his nature Vance makes a mockery of the principle by applying it selectively…
True to his nature Vance makes a mockery of the principle by applying it selectively…
The Portable Bohemia newsletter for October 15 with brief reviews of The University in Ruins and Mitz: The Marmoset of Bloomsbury, thoughts about the welcome ceasefire and premature happy talk about peace in the Middle East, upcoming No Kings demonstrations, and more!
Portable Bohemia Newsletter Oct 15, 2025
Greetings from the Far Left Coast where I sometimes put aside mysteries read for diversion and take up more substantive fare.
open.substack.com
October 15, 2025 at 4:52 PM
The Portable Bohemia newsletter for October 15 with brief reviews of The University in Ruins and Mitz: The Marmoset of Bloomsbury, thoughts about the welcome ceasefire and premature happy talk about peace in the Middle East, upcoming No Kings demonstrations, and more!
The Portable Bohemia newsletter for October 1 with a report from Portland, thoughts about the shutdown, the spectacle yesterday in Quanitico, Virginia, the Abundance agenda, another study of domestic terrorism, and more!
Portable Bohemia Newsletter Oct 1, 2025
Greetings from the Far Left Coast where we await the occupation of Portland with grim humor, defiance, and coffee.
open.substack.com
October 1, 2025 at 3:28 PM
The Portable Bohemia newsletter for October 1 with a report from Portland, thoughts about the shutdown, the spectacle yesterday in Quanitico, Virginia, the Abundance agenda, another study of domestic terrorism, and more!