R.D. Pohl
@rdpohl.bsky.social
250 followers 140 following 1.1K posts
Writer, critic, literary journalist, poetry editor. Trained as language philosopher. Follow at POETRY/POETICS/LANGUAGE/COMMUNITY (https://rdpohl.substack.com). Formerly with The Buffalo News, currently The Buffalo Hive, a non-profit arts & culture startup.
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rdpohl.bsky.social
@nicksturm.bsky.social
I happened to be on the board of directors of Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center in Buffalo at that time. We were pulled into the fray, lost our NEA funding for the first time.
rdpohl.bsky.social
Thinking back to the first wave of the culture wars from the late 1980's and 1990's--in particular, the NEA Four (Karen Finley, Tim Miller, John Fleck, and Holly Hughes), Mapplethorpe, Serrano, et al)--I think control of Congress more likely correlates with NEA funding patterns over time.
Reposted by R.D. Pohl
nicksturm.bsky.social
Adjusted for inflation, NEA funding was highest--$1.8 billion--over the four years of the first Reagan administration & has remained stagnate--about $750 million per presidential term--for the last 25 years.
Line graph visualizing the NEA budget by presidential administration from 1966 to 2024 adjusted for inflation
rdpohl.bsky.social
Much of Nobel Prize in Literature recipient László Krasznahorkai's work is available in English translation from New Directions Press. George Szirtes won the Best Translated Book Award (2013) for his translation of Satantango (published in 1985, in Hungarian) published by New Directions.
parisreview.bsky.social
“If you have a question about the universe, you always have a few possibilities—in particular through language. The power of the word is, for me, the only way to get closer to this hidden reality.”

We’ve unlocked our Art of Fiction interview with László Krasznahorkai.
buff.ly/5rxtimk
Reposted by R.D. Pohl
parisreview.bsky.social
“If you have a question about the universe, you always have a few possibilities—in particular through language. The power of the word is, for me, the only way to get closer to this hidden reality.”

We’ve unlocked our Art of Fiction interview with László Krasznahorkai.
buff.ly/5rxtimk
rdpohl.bsky.social
5 events this week in the Buffalo literary community including the Barrio Poetry Slam at Shea’s 710 Theatre, & a Book Launch Party & Community Science Fair in celebration of Rachelle Toarmino’s second full-length collection of poems HELL YEAH (Third Man Books).

thebuffalohive.com/buffalo-area...
Buffalo Area Poetry & Literature Calendar (week of Oct. 6 to Oct. 11) -
Five events this week in the Buffalo literary community, including the Barrio Poetry Slam at Shea’s 710 Theatre, and the Book Launch Party and Community Science Fair in celebration of […]
thebuffalohive.com
rdpohl.bsky.social
The Richard Condon plot of the novel was significantly reworked by Demme.
rdpohl.bsky.social
You should to watch the movie at some point. The 1962 original by John Frankenheimer is best . Sinatra and Angela Lansbury were great in it. Never saw the 2004 Jonathan Demme remake with Meryl Streep. Demme reset it from the Cold War/McCarthy era to a sort of a post Gulf War, post 9/11 world...
rdpohl.bsky.social
I was thinking about Walter Benjamin while reading this, but to your final point here: When the boundary between creator and creation dissolves, doesn't that put the the creator at risk for becoming a "brand"? I don't think *contemporary* poets are at great risk for this, but visual artists are.
rdpohl.bsky.social
Laura Kerr: "A growing strand of contemporary practice, both in art and in poetry, has undergone a fundamental transformation in how it exists and persists. The traditional model of creation → completion has, in many cases, given way to something more fluid, recursive, and continuous."
rdpohl.bsky.social
Thanks for posting. This is a shorter piece than I expected, but spot on in what it describes.
rdpohl.bsky.social
The new guidelines were just published by the CDC today, Jessica. On Friday, I got my COVID and flu shots here at Wegmans in less than 5 minutes. RSV shots are only for seniors over 75 in NYS. So you may have gotten yours just under the wire.
rdpohl.bsky.social
and as you know, I'm from Buffalo, where football is our civic religion and emotional regulator.
rdpohl.bsky.social
Or their political party...
rdpohl.bsky.social
For heaven's sake, Jessica. I'm probably your dad's age or close to it, but i can't imagine someone saying that to their daughter. Also, Alabama won that game by 16 points. I realize it was it was tied at halftime, so I don't think anyone should tie their identity so closely to their football team.
rdpohl.bsky.social
Journalism as a profession is in crisis, because there no longer is a social contract based on trust between the public and the media.
rdpohl.bsky.social
Public trust in the media in general has hit a new low across the political spectrum, with only 8% of Republicans and 27% of Independents reporting that they placed a"great deal or a fair amount of trust" in the mass media.
rdpohl.bsky.social
Public trust in the media in general has hit a new low across the political spectrum, with only 8% of Republicans and 27% of Independents reporting that they placed a"great deal or a fair amount of trust" in the mass media.
Reposted by R.D. Pohl
wired.com
United States immigration authorities are moving to dramatically expand their social media surveillance, with plans to hire nearly 30 contractors to sift through posts, photos, and messages to target people for deportation.
ICE Wants to Build Out a 24/7 Social Media Surveillance Team
Documents show that ICE plans to hire dozens of contractors to scan X, Facebook, TikTok, and other platforms to target people for deportation.
www.wired.com
rdpohl.bsky.social
These days we have to be prepared for anything. The limits of our incredulity are being tested. So sure, maybe ICE Agents will interrupt Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show and drag away and arrest half the participants. That seems entirely aligned with the Zeitgeist.
Trump Advisor Says ICE Agents Will Be at Super Bowl for Bad Bunny’s Halftime Show: ‘It’s So Shameful They Picked Someone Who Seems to Hate America’
Trump advisor Corey Lewandowski warns that ICE agents will be at the Super Bowl, where Bad Bunny is set as Halftime Show performer.
variety.com
rdpohl.bsky.social
Is that a trait you developed while living here in Buffalo? 😂