Ryan McIlvain
@rmcilvain.bsky.social
Writer, teacher, husband, father, gardener -- other identities mostly provisional.
Author of Elders, The Radicals, more TK.
Author of Elders, The Radicals, more TK.
Pinned
Ryan McIlvain
@rmcilvain.bsky.social
· Feb 21
I'm told it's less hellish here?
Again the sinking realization that my adopted state is now a laboratory for this kind of white nationalist Trumpian horseshit
January 30, 2026 at 8:56 PM
Again the sinking realization that my adopted state is now a laboratory for this kind of white nationalist Trumpian horseshit
Cold times in Tampa Bay, with the wind blowing the tide out halfway to who knows where this morning. At least the cat’s in a snuggly mood lately
January 20, 2026 at 7:01 PM
Cold times in Tampa Bay, with the wind blowing the tide out halfway to who knows where this morning. At least the cat’s in a snuggly mood lately
Who could have imagined scams and general shadiness in the wake of deregulation?
January 20, 2026 at 12:40 AM
Who could have imagined scams and general shadiness in the wake of deregulation?
Daisy after I’ve stolen her favorite chair. “Not impressed . . .”
January 13, 2026 at 8:15 PM
Daisy after I’ve stolen her favorite chair. “Not impressed . . .”
Makeshift end table?
January 9, 2026 at 3:42 PM
Makeshift end table?
Daisy is more and more essential in these times — and isn’t ready for the winter holidays to end, apparently
January 9, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Daisy is more and more essential in these times — and isn’t ready for the winter holidays to end, apparently
Daisy is more and more essential in these times — and isn’t ready for the winter holidays to end, apparently
January 9, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Daisy is more and more essential in these times — and isn’t ready for the winter holidays to end, apparently
Concentric circles after a long flight home
January 6, 2026 at 2:09 AM
Concentric circles after a long flight home
We’re not just the bullies of the world, we’re bullies who do massive violence just to pass the fucking time
January 3, 2026 at 10:40 PM
We’re not just the bullies of the world, we’re bullies who do massive violence just to pass the fucking time
Congrats to my friend Paul! What better way to ring in the new year than read brilliant analysis of a less than brilliant political moment
December 25, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Congrats to my friend Paul! What better way to ring in the new year than read brilliant analysis of a less than brilliant political moment
How nice to be back in the cold! At the Bloedel Reserve here, ahead of a Winter Solstice walk by lamplight
December 22, 2025 at 1:45 PM
How nice to be back in the cold! At the Bloedel Reserve here, ahead of a Winter Solstice walk by lamplight
Warily noting the Turning Point USA ads in my YouTube feed lately. Of course I go in to block those fuckers, but do they know something I don’t? I’ve got runner’s yoga in my watch history, extended soccer highlights, and what — does that mean I’m primed for fascism?
December 11, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Warily noting the Turning Point USA ads in my YouTube feed lately. Of course I go in to block those fuckers, but do they know something I don’t? I’ve got runner’s yoga in my watch history, extended soccer highlights, and what — does that mean I’m primed for fascism?
True Christianity and undefiled means telling your diocese to fuck off sometimes
Massachusetts Church Keeps Anti-ICE Nativity Scene, Defying Diocese Leaders
www.nytimes.com
December 10, 2025 at 2:02 AM
True Christianity and undefiled means telling your diocese to fuck off sometimes
This trophy is perfect, actually: it’s as if Trump’s hellish minions have come up from the deep to grab the prize. And there’s Infantino who made it for him
December 5, 2025 at 7:03 PM
This trophy is perfect, actually: it’s as if Trump’s hellish minions have come up from the deep to grab the prize. And there’s Infantino who made it for him
Reposted by Ryan McIlvain
Please add "puppy killers" to your proposed travel ban.
WE DON'T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.
WE DON'T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.
December 2, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Please add "puppy killers" to your proposed travel ban.
WE DON'T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.
WE DON'T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.
Winter light on a bowl of oranges. It’s the best we can do in terms of Florida hygge
December 1, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Winter light on a bowl of oranges. It’s the best we can do in terms of Florida hygge
Jamie meets Sweetie, the two-hundred-pound house-trained pig my sister’s brought into their hearth and hearts. A sweetie indeed
November 25, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Jamie meets Sweetie, the two-hundred-pound house-trained pig my sister’s brought into their hearth and hearts. A sweetie indeed
A tableful of donated groceries at my son’s Tampa middle school — bags, boxes of them . . .
And thinking that if we can elect #Mamdani and a growing cohort of socialist Democrats, donate a bunch of food to help people in need, in Tampa Fucking Florida, then goddamnit the revolution is happening!
And thinking that if we can elect #Mamdani and a growing cohort of socialist Democrats, donate a bunch of food to help people in need, in Tampa Fucking Florida, then goddamnit the revolution is happening!
November 5, 2025 at 9:25 PM
A tableful of donated groceries at my son’s Tampa middle school — bags, boxes of them . . .
And thinking that if we can elect #Mamdani and a growing cohort of socialist Democrats, donate a bunch of food to help people in need, in Tampa Fucking Florida, then goddamnit the revolution is happening!
And thinking that if we can elect #Mamdani and a growing cohort of socialist Democrats, donate a bunch of food to help people in need, in Tampa Fucking Florida, then goddamnit the revolution is happening!
Daisy in quiet light
October 31, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Daisy in quiet light
A brief, brief essay of mine (five-minute read!) in the latest issue of Image. I've loved this magazine for years and very proud to be a part of it.
The Leaf Rake - Image Journal
Why did Jesus make the nights here so beautiful, soft to the touch? And did I really have a substitute explanation to offer my son?
imagejournal.org
October 24, 2025 at 2:20 PM
A brief, brief essay of mine (five-minute read!) in the latest issue of Image. I've loved this magazine for years and very proud to be a part of it.
Trying to say something constructive about a deeply destructive time, with the help of two remarkable poets.
The Deep Engine of Witness | Los Angeles Review of Books
Ryan McIlvain finds the truth worth telling in Rickey Laurentiis’s “Death of the First Idea” and Geoff Bouvier’s “Us from Nothing: A Poetic History.”
lareviewofbooks.org
October 4, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Trying to say something constructive about a deeply destructive time, with the help of two remarkable poets.
Good god
Starbucks is closing stores and cutting 900 jobs in a restructuring move.
1,100 jobs were slashed earlier this year.
Reminder that Starbucks’ CEO made 6,666x more than the company's median employee in 2024.
This was the widest CEO-to-Worker pay gap in the entire S&P 500.
1,100 jobs were slashed earlier this year.
Reminder that Starbucks’ CEO made 6,666x more than the company's median employee in 2024.
This was the widest CEO-to-Worker pay gap in the entire S&P 500.
September 26, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Good god
Fucking love this guy
Mamdani blasts World Cup ticket pricing model
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is calling on FIFA to make it cheaper for New Yorkers to attend the World Cup.
www.espn.com
September 11, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Fucking love this guy
Reposted by Ryan McIlvain
“awful people don’t deserve to be killed, but they don’t deserve to be praised, either” is apparently a thought too complex for the pundit mind
September 11, 2025 at 1:47 PM
“awful people don’t deserve to be killed, but they don’t deserve to be praised, either” is apparently a thought too complex for the pundit mind