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Reposted by Silas Lapham

Jeff Roush @jeffroushwriting.bsky.social · 1d

This Banned Books Week Thursday, we’ll take a look at Strange Fruit. This book was published in 1944 and almost immediately banned in Boston and Detroit, on the basis of “obscenity.” That charge, ostensibly, was based on one profanity and a few lines of sexual content. (1/3)

Cover of Strange Fruit, a novel by Lillian Smith. The cover shows a black woman and a white Nan together, divided by flames from a small town.

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Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 19h

Even though on Starz, kinda why I can’t wait for the new Spartacus season.

Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 19h

Thank you for sharing this. I was director of the Lillian E Smith Center and did these libguides.

Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 19h

Yes! This also got Smith an FBI file. I’d say people need to read her memoir, Killers of the Dream, at this moment. Plus, if helps understand some of the things in SF.

interminablerambling.medium.com/the-importan...

The Importance of Lillian Smith’s “Killers of the Dream” 75 Years Later in 2024

The Importance of Lillian Smith’s “Killers of the Dream” 75 Years Later in 2024 This year marks the 75th anniversary of the initial publication of Lillian Smith’s Killers of the Dream, and as …

interminablerambling.medium.com

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Reposted by Silas Lapham

Heartland Signal @heartlandsignal.bsky.social · 23h

BREAKING: Masked Border Patrol agents aggressively arrested WGN video producer Debbie Brockman in Lincoln Square Friday morning, supposedly for "obstructing justice." (Video via Josh Thomas on Facebook)

Follow @heartlandsignal for more.

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Reposted by Silas Lapham

Maggie Tokuda-Hall @maggietokudahall.bsky.social · 1d

Today my daughter's preschool is holding a farewell assembly for one of her classmates whose mother has no choice but to self deport. The school is hoping it will be joyful in tone, so we might make this less upsetting for this 3 year old.

There's just no words for the uselessness of this cruelty.

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Reposted by Silas Lapham

Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · 1d

It really feels like they’re trolling our autocrat.

Reuters @reuters.com · 1d

'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said as it announced Maria Corina Machado as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize

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Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 1d

I’d also recommend anything by Anna Seghers about World War II, including Transit, The Seventh Cross, and Ten Dead Girls’ Last Trip, which includes the story “A Man Becomes a Nazi.”

interminablerambling.medium.com/the-role-of-...

The Role of Education in Idoctrination in Anna Seghers’ “A Man B

We know the power of education. We know of its power to expand one’s worldview and to teach students how to become members of a collective…

interminablerambling.medium.com

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Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 1d

That’s the one I haven’t read. I’ve read Katalin Street and taught it. I did The Fawn, and I did Abigail this summer. Of those, I’d say Katalin Street, but I really liked the others too. Wrote this when I taught it last year.

interminablerambling.medium.com/memory-of-th...

Memory of the Past in Magda Szabó’s “Katalin Street”

Last year, I read Magda Szabó’s Kaitlin Street, and after finishing it, I knew that I wanted to teach because of the ways that the novel…

interminablerambling.medium.com

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Reposted by Silas Lapham

George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 1d

What do you call a political system where those in power refuse to seat a duly elected member of the opposition party? Not a democracy that’s for certain.

Screenshot of a tweet from Rep. Greg Stanton (@RepGregStanton) on X. The tweet says House Republicans are shutting down the House to avoid swearing in Adelita Grijalva, calling it undemocratic and unacceptable. The image shows a mostly empty House chamber with several representatives, including Stanton, standing near the podium.

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Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 1d

This is great news! I never thought I’d have a monthly pull list, but five years ago it stated, and well, it’s one of the best things I’ve done. Plus, every issue of Poison Ivy in my box. 😂

Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 1d

I think I got some dirt in my eye.

a woman wearing a red shirt and earrings wipes her eyes with her hand ..

Alt: a woman wearing a red shirt and earrings wipes her eyes with her hand ..

media.tenor.com

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Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 1d

I’m not crying at a baseball game right now. I’m not . . . Aw he’ll . . . I am crying 😭

WeRateDogs @weratedogs.com · 1d

This is Manolo. His family invited strangers to spend time with him on his last day. His mom said, "This was such a perfect way to celebrate the life of a dog who truly loved spending time with people and their dogs. Run free and fast forever, Manolo. I will never stop missing you." 14/10 for all

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Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 1d

I need to read this book! Been doing a lot of Magda Szabó past couple of years.

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Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 1d

Yep! Mentioned it to someone the other day and they were like what?

Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 1d

This is what I wrote last year about writing and what I tell students.

medium.com/engage/six-w...

Six Words to Be a Better Writer

Memoir

medium.com

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Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 1d

I tell students all the time, to write better you have to write and read, treat it like training for a sport or playing an instrument. Plus, as you say, most of it is thinking about before writing. My ideas come when walking teachings or something else, and I start writing in my head.

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Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 1d

Just curious, have you seen @matjohnson.bsky.social Pym? It’s an academic novel, but so good with Poe’s as a point of reference.

Reposted by Silas Lapham

Gabrielle A. Perry, MPH @geauxgabrielle.bsky.social · 2d

I cannot BELIEVE enduring all that she is enduring that she ADMITTED SHE VOTED FOR THIS. Live on the CALL, brother. My God.

Working Families Party 🐺 @workingfamilies.org · 2d

SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON CALLED OUT ON AIR:

'my kids could die if you don't stop playing games with our healthcare'

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Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 1d

I read Borg and Crossan’s “The Last Week” over Easter, & now I’m reading “The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Vision Behind Church’s Conservative Icon.” This is the Paul & Christ that I never encountered growing up evangelical. @bradleyonishi.bsky.social

To make the same point differently, people like Jesus and Paul were not executed for saying, "Love one another." They were killed because their understanding of love meant more than being compassionate toward individuals, although it did include that. It also meant standing against the domination systems that ruled their world, and collaborating with the Spirit in the creation of a new way of life that stood in contrast to the normalcy of the wisdom of this world. Love and justice go together. Justice without love can be brutal, and love without justice can be banal. Love is the heart of justice, and justice is the social form of love.

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Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 2d

When you listen to @iwriteok.bsky.social @whysophiewhy.bsky.social mention Piedmont College in the episode on Richard Jewell and you wanna ask . . . you do know about the badass white queer woman who went there too in the early 1900s, right?

interminablerambling.medium.com/the-importan...

The Importance of Lillian Smith’s “Killers of the Dream” 75 Years Later in 2024

The Importance of Lillian Smith’s “Killers of the Dream” 75 Years Later in 2024 This year marks the 75th anniversary of the initial publication of Lillian Smith’s Killers of the Dream, and as …

interminablerambling.medium.com

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Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 2d

a man with curly hair and glasses is sitting on the stairs and saying sweet .

Alt: a man with curly hair and glasses is sitting on the stairs and saying sweet .

media.tenor.com

Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 2d

Just need me some Sleater Kinney, Team Dresch, and more!

Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 2d

And the man who wrote one of their favorites “This Land Is Your Land” also had “Tear These Fascists Down,” but that history never happened, right?

Woody Guthrie with a guitar that reads “This machine kills fascists”

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Silas Lapham @silaslapham.bsky.social · 2d

It was so good!

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