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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Jul 14

I did a close reading of @mollyakin.bsky.social 's poem "Mothering is a social construct, and I am motherless" — check it out, and then register to hear her read on July 15 at 7:30pm EDT on Zoom!

Substack post: open.substack.com/pub/damncuri...

Registration link: bit.ly/WTUIJul2025

A Close Reading of Molly Akin's Poem "Mothering is a social construct, and I am motherless"

In which I refrain from referencing either the Pink Floyd song "Mother" or the Danzig song "Mother" because neither one is germane.

open.substack.com

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Jul 9

Preparing for next Tuesday's What The Universe Is: @mollyakin.bsky.social and David Cazden by doing a close reading of Dave's poem "Vertigo" over on my Substack: damncurious.substack.com/p/a-close-re...

Go check it out and then register for the reading! bit.ly/WTUIJul2025

A Close Reading of David Cazden's Poem "Vertigo"

No, it has nothing to do with the U2 song of the same name. It's much, much more interesting than that.

damncurious.substack.com

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Jul 5

Coming up on July 15 at 7:30pm Eastern, @mollyakin.bsky.social and David Cazden will be reading for What The Universe Is: A (Virtual) Reading Series. This means you don't have to leave the comfort of your couch to hear exceptional poems and witty conversation — register at bit.ly/WTUIJul2025!

Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Jun 8

If you've ever wanted to hear the brilliant poets Megan Pinto and Michael Dhyne read without leaving the comfort of your home, you'll be able to do exactly that on Thursday, June 12 at 7:30pm Eastern. Register at bit.ly/WTUIJun2025!

@megg-bean.bsky.social

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · May 14

Can't wait for this meeting of the poetic minds!

Molly Akin @mollyakin.bsky.social · May 11

masspoetryfest2025.sched.com/event/23GPb/... Looking forward to being in Salem, MA later this month for "The Informal Formal: A Craft Reading" with @poetmercurio.bsky.social, Tatiana Johnson-Boria, and Desiree C. Bailey. Should be a fun exploration of how we each reckon with form.

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Apr 26

a man in a suit and tie is sitting at a desk .

ALT: a man in a suit and tie is sitting at a desk .

media.tenor.com

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Apr 17

Tonight (April 17) at 7:00pm EDT July Westhale will read from their new poetry collection, 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 & we'll chat about it!

July is a wonderful poet and 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 is an innovative and exciting modern epic from @blacklawrence.bsky.social

Register at tinyurl.com/CCWWesthale for the link!

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Apr 15

It's gonna be weird! But in a fun way, I hope.

Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Apr 15

Tuesday, April 15 at 7:30pm Eastern, @janehuffman.bsky.social and @patrickdonnelly.bsky.social will be reading for What The Universe Is: A (Virtual) Reading Series. It's free! Register at bit.ly/WTUIApr2025

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Apr 15

Not a movie, but the comic strip Bloom County by Berke Breathed is the foundation on which much of my worldview rests. What doesn't come from Bloom County comes more or less from the novels of Daniel Manus Pinkwater.

(I guess there's a little of Disney's 1979 flop The Black Hole in there, too.)

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Mar 31

This is the upcoming (non-poetry) book I'm most excited to read!

Sarah Kendzior @sarahkendzior.bsky.social · Mar 31

From THE LAST AMERICAN ROAD TRIP:

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Mar 13

Have you made a call about this yet? I have.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · Mar 13

CALLS ARE WORKING - it has bought us precious time, but we NEED to keep the pressure up.

Tomorrow is the cloture vote.

KEEP CALLING: (202) 224-3121 ☎️☎️☎️

Tell your Dem Senator to vote NO on Cloture and NO on the Republican spending bill.

Do NOT assume your Senator will be good on this. Trust me.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · Mar 12

🚨 Everyone needs to call their Dem Senator right now. They are starting to cave.

Tell them:
1. Vote NO on Cloture
AND
2. Vote NO on the Republican spending bill.

Don’t let them pivot to reconciliation. GOP doesn’t need Dem votes on that and they know it.

TODAY is the showdown.
🤳🏽: (202) 224-3121

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Reposted by Michael Mercurio

Sarah Kendzior @sarahkendzior.bsky.social · Mar 13

From October 2024: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/totem-and-...

Excerpt of free article https://sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/totem-and-taboo

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Mar 12

Whenever people ask me which celebrity shares my birthday, I always lead with Liza, because who could be better?

D. A. Powell @dapowell.bsky.social · Mar 12

Happy Liza Minnelli Birthday Day 🎉💖😎🪩

a woman in a pink shirt holds a green kermit the frog

ALT: a woman in a pink shirt holds a green kermit the frog

media.tenor.com

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Mar 12

It's truly the worst form of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" — and that was never a good philosophy to begin with.

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Mar 11

Why does this remind me of my favorite Raymond Chandler quote from The Lady in the Lake?

“Police business is a hell of a problem. It’s a good deal like politics. It asks for the highest type of men, and there’s nothing in it to attract the highest type of men. So we have to work with what we get.”

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Mar 11

Hmm. If I think of it as a puzzle, will I be tempted to never solve it and just live in Keats' "negative capability" forever? (And if I do that, will it still produce a readable and enjoyable book?)

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Mar 11

You could just come by it the Canadian way. You know, through hockey!

a man with a beard is smiling and the word yeah is on his shirt

ALT: a man with a beard is smiling and the word yeah is on his shirt

media.tenor.com

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Mar 11

Keep your eye on what's happening in the Republic of Georgia, friends.

Marika Mikiashvili 🇬🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 @marikamikiashvili.bsky.social · Mar 11

It’s the morning of Day 104. Theater University students and actors - some of the most targeted people by the regime - held the first overnight protest. They are, for now, leaving the place, and will be back in the evening.
“Solidsrity! Freedom! Until the end!”
#GeorgiaProtests

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Mar 11

Once I was able to separate my knowledge that this book is time-bound to 2006, I was able to step back from it and piece together the moments that needed to happen — and, in understanding that, was able to start writing them out of order. (Do I have a spreadsheet & calendar for tracking it all? YUP)

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Mar 10

Whenever I tried to write a novel before this current one, I couldn't imagine approaching it any other way than linear/chronological - this current one is working better than its predecessors, I think, because I've been able to step out of that mindset. It's a lot more fun this way!

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Mar 10

Saw my first red-winged blackbirds of the season this morning. I am no fan of the transition from winter to spring, but it has some lovely moments nonetheless.

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Mar 6

My response to your Substack post is too long by far for me to shorten without losing something in translation, so I'm following your lead here:

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Michael Mercurio @poetmercurio.bsky.social · Mar 5

I will say this: I figured out I might not be a forever Catholic during my 1st year at a Catholic college - the priest who taught my theology class showed up on a Wednesday with a smudge on his forehead and I asked him if he'd slipped and fallen on the way to class. (Still stand by my earlier post.)

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