Todd Dillard
@toddedillard.bsky.social
“Ways We Vanish” from Okay Donkey, “Ragnarök at the Father Daughter Dance” from Variant, finalist for the Donald Hall AWP Prize, poems in Threepenny, Southern Review, APR, HAD, etc.
Pinned
my issue of Threepenny is here! here’s my poem “Present Tense,” I would love for you to give it a read!
“I know this so loudly I don’t
hear, at first, my father’s silence.”
“I know this so loudly I don’t
hear, at first, my father’s silence.”
Reposted by Todd Dillard
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
toddler handed this to me and I inhaled it like I was at bed bath and beyond buying candles
November 25, 2025 at 11:54 PM
toddler handed this to me and I inhaled it like I was at bed bath and beyond buying candles
my first blog post ever was a joke titled “kind of OK Computer” and I have never forgotten how like three Radiohead fans somehow found my 0 follower blog and told me I was wrong and bad
she’s right and people are gonna spend the next 48 hours proving her even more right
November 25, 2025 at 10:03 PM
my first blog post ever was a joke titled “kind of OK Computer” and I have never forgotten how like three Radiohead fans somehow found my 0 follower blog and told me I was wrong and bad
one of the most American moments of my life was watching someone plunge a syringe into a Thanksgiving turkey and say "this here is ranch flavor" before frying it
November 25, 2025 at 3:03 PM
one of the most American moments of my life was watching someone plunge a syringe into a Thanksgiving turkey and say "this here is ranch flavor" before frying it
the peculiar American sadness of knowing in a few days several house fires will ignite because home chefs will not properly thaw out their turkeys before deep frying them
November 25, 2025 at 3:01 PM
the peculiar American sadness of knowing in a few days several house fires will ignite because home chefs will not properly thaw out their turkeys before deep frying them
Reposted by Todd Dillard
The final poem in Charles Simic's Scribbled in the Dark (2017)
November 24, 2025 at 8:55 PM
The final poem in Charles Simic's Scribbled in the Dark (2017)
Reposted by Todd Dillard
"I crave more. I want to be alive
so I must want to suffer a little."
so I must want to suffer a little."
when I say you can write about anything I specifically mean you can write about a night ruined by eating a whole, raw beet
November 24, 2025 at 4:03 PM
"I crave more. I want to be alive
so I must want to suffer a little."
so I must want to suffer a little."
when I say you can write about anything I specifically mean you can write about a night ruined by eating a whole, raw beet
November 24, 2025 at 3:53 PM
when I say you can write about anything I specifically mean you can write about a night ruined by eating a whole, raw beet
instead of “weekend” my toddler says “family day” and his first question every morning is “is today a family day” and I dunno why but it is so sweet to me
November 23, 2025 at 12:51 PM
instead of “weekend” my toddler says “family day” and his first question every morning is “is today a family day” and I dunno why but it is so sweet to me
the poem’s “Listen” after it survives fourteen drafts
November 22, 2025 at 4:14 PM
the poem’s “Listen” after it survives fourteen drafts
honestly, the scam emails that use my name as the emailer are the ones I am the most likely to fall for because I believe in myself
November 22, 2025 at 1:28 PM
honestly, the scam emails that use my name as the emailer are the ones I am the most likely to fall for because I believe in myself
thinking about conceits again and how landing one really lets the piece do whatever the hell it wants, like it's been a quarter of a century and I still remember the short story someone read at an open mic about the Kool-Aid Man getting dumped and only saying "oh" and "yeah"
November 21, 2025 at 3:23 PM
thinking about conceits again and how landing one really lets the piece do whatever the hell it wants, like it's been a quarter of a century and I still remember the short story someone read at an open mic about the Kool-Aid Man getting dumped and only saying "oh" and "yeah"
love to get those proofs where my name is like. right there. by Sharon Olds.
November 20, 2025 at 5:26 PM
love to get those proofs where my name is like. right there. by Sharon Olds.
Reposted by Todd Dillard
I truly wish our culture didn't move so fast because a good many lines that should become permanent are gone by lunch. "ha ha b*&$%es, I got a new scooter" should be a hall of fame entry into the lexicon.
I’m howling.
November 20, 2025 at 4:05 PM
I truly wish our culture didn't move so fast because a good many lines that should become permanent are gone by lunch. "ha ha b*&$%es, I got a new scooter" should be a hall of fame entry into the lexicon.
Reposted by Todd Dillard
Friends! I am teaching a workshop in December that I am so excited about! I’ve been writing and writing about domestic fabulism forever, but I’ve never actually fashioned a workshop around it before. I think this is going to be so much fun - I hope you’ll join!
No Place Like Home: Writing Domestic Fabulism with Amber Sparks
Learn to write domestic fabulism with author Amber Sparks. Transform ordinary home and family stories with fantastical elements in this online seminar.
writingworkshops.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Friends! I am teaching a workshop in December that I am so excited about! I’ve been writing and writing about domestic fabulism forever, but I’ve never actually fashioned a workshop around it before. I think this is going to be so much fun - I hope you’ll join!
lithub’s bracket got me thinking about lit drama and I remembered this tweet which I thought was from 2019 and it’s actually from last year 😣
November 20, 2025 at 2:05 PM
lithub’s bracket got me thinking about lit drama and I remembered this tweet which I thought was from 2019 and it’s actually from last year 😣
everyone is (rightly) applauding this response but it is also funny the AI user misunderstood the point, summarized it incorrectly, misunderstood what “gatekeeping” means, and from this drew a wrong conclusion… exactly like AI
November 20, 2025 at 1:25 AM
everyone is (rightly) applauding this response but it is also funny the AI user misunderstood the point, summarized it incorrectly, misunderstood what “gatekeeping” means, and from this drew a wrong conclusion… exactly like AI
ten year old went from “what should I do with my life” to explaining why she likes blackouts, honestly great job poetry workshops for preparing me for this
November 20, 2025 at 1:18 AM
ten year old went from “what should I do with my life” to explaining why she likes blackouts, honestly great job poetry workshops for preparing me for this
remembering when my kid's class was talking about family traditions and all the kids talked about Christmas things or Hanukkah dinners and my kid said "every Friday we go to McDonald's"
November 19, 2025 at 11:18 PM
remembering when my kid's class was talking about family traditions and all the kids talked about Christmas things or Hanukkah dinners and my kid said "every Friday we go to McDonald's"
honestly could go for a poem that starts "I invented a new crab" or something
November 19, 2025 at 3:40 PM
honestly could go for a poem that starts "I invented a new crab" or something
that Lit Hub bracket is great but also I did not need to remember "is it ableist to expect writers to read"
November 19, 2025 at 3:32 PM
that Lit Hub bracket is great but also I did not need to remember "is it ableist to expect writers to read"
Reposted by Todd Dillard
TRYING to copy a specific style of writing for 450 words is one of the best ways to get better at writing. But closest to the mark isn't the goal. The magic happens where you got it "wrong," where your own voice & interests & tics, etc. couldn't help but shine through, then you keep chasing THAT.
Also copying a specific style for 450 words isn't writing, it's forgery
Typing the words "MFA-trained experts" instantly marks you as a fucking idiot
November 19, 2025 at 2:37 PM
TRYING to copy a specific style of writing for 450 words is one of the best ways to get better at writing. But closest to the mark isn't the goal. The magic happens where you got it "wrong," where your own voice & interests & tics, etc. couldn't help but shine through, then you keep chasing THAT.
as an MFA-trained expert I do NOT feel represented by this
Put writing high quality literary text on the list of things that AIs used to not be able to do but now can do
With fine-tuning, now outperforming MFA-trained expert writers at emulating award-winning authors when rated blindly by MFA-trained experts papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
With fine-tuning, now outperforming MFA-trained expert writers at emulating award-winning authors when rated blindly by MFA-trained experts papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
November 19, 2025 at 2:52 PM
as an MFA-trained expert I do NOT feel represented by this
the two responses when a poem says "Listen."
November 19, 2025 at 2:38 PM
the two responses when a poem says "Listen."