John Randolph Bennett
@randolphbennett.bsky.social
Reading books in every spare moment. "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." -MLK
Wonderful painting!
Morning: Saint Francis leaves his book behind to rejoice in how divinity infuses natural world. A miraculous breeze blows a single tree toward him while beyond it, life goes on. Painted c1480 by Giovanni Bellini.
November 26, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Wonderful painting!
Reposted by John Randolph Bennett
This is fucking brilliant, and you should read it: lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com
November 8, 2025 at 3:24 PM
This is fucking brilliant, and you should read it: lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
What Richard said.
It would be so depressing if I only ever thought of the "final product" when writing fiction. Writing itself enhances my experience of being alive. I'm so grateful I have writing in my life. I love even the difficult moments.
I call it “joyful rigor” when I explain this effort to my students. I don’t believe in or rather, I’m not a “suffering poet.” I’m a writer who enjoys writing. The work works on me and I’m grateful for the opportunity to delve into the process at my own pace and to be changed by it.
October 21, 2025 at 5:56 PM
What Richard said.
Reposted by John Randolph Bennett
RIP Kaleb Horton
kalebhorton.ghost.io/2025-so-far/
kalebhorton.ghost.io/2025-so-far/
September 27, 2025 at 1:01 PM
RIP Kaleb Horton
kalebhorton.ghost.io/2025-so-far/
kalebhorton.ghost.io/2025-so-far/
Reposted by John Randolph Bennett
Reposted by John Randolph Bennett
I've spent a lot of time thinking about this fascinating exchange Colbert had with Dua Lipa, when she asked him about the role his faith plays in his comedy.
July 18, 2025 at 2:50 PM
I've spent a lot of time thinking about this fascinating exchange Colbert had with Dua Lipa, when she asked him about the role his faith plays in his comedy.
A good thread here on what scholarship at the college level really entails.
Another defense of "intellectual diversity" that doesn't reckon with what this would mean in the areas that most students at U.S. universities study, such as engineering, business, health sciences, computer science, data science, economics, etc.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/o...
Opinion | What Do Conservatives Offer Universities?
www.nytimes.com
July 17, 2025 at 9:19 PM
A good thread here on what scholarship at the college level really entails.
Love this poem.
July 17, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Love this poem.
Reposted by John Randolph Bennett
Use code MARIS and you’ll get 15% off my book at Bookshop.org, which is very close to the price offered at Amazon. www.vulture.com/article/best...
19 of Our Favorite Books of the Year Are Really Cheap Right Now
And so is one Kindle.
www.vulture.com
July 8, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Use code MARIS and you’ll get 15% off my book at Bookshop.org, which is very close to the price offered at Amazon. www.vulture.com/article/best...
Reposted by John Randolph Bennett
Portrait of a young woman as a sibyl. Just a wonderful painting by Orazio Gentileschi, whose day is today.
June 16, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Portrait of a young woman as a sibyl. Just a wonderful painting by Orazio Gentileschi, whose day is today.
Reposted by John Randolph Bennett
Fine stag beetle is here to investigate the figs in this study by Giovanna Garzoni. It's her day today.
May 29, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Fine stag beetle is here to investigate the figs in this study by Giovanna Garzoni. It's her day today.
Reposted by John Randolph Bennett
This should be a huge story
April 25, 2025 at 1:37 PM
This should be a huge story
"Larks" is a wonderful collection! If you're at AWP, try to get a copy!
Oh, I have two copies of Larks left—! Well. 🙏💙
I have ten copies of Larks remaining, but I expect they will be gone today!
Signing 1-2pm—come by and give me a hug, I would love that 📚❤️
Signing 1-2pm—come by and give me a hug, I would love that 📚❤️
March 28, 2025 at 7:11 PM
"Larks" is a wonderful collection! If you're at AWP, try to get a copy!
Reposted by John Randolph Bennett
This is a fantastic story.
It was such a pleasure to edit this flash by Selen Ozturk in the new issue of @splitlipthemag.bsky.social . It's a story about cancer that takes a dramatic & unexpected turn, much like real life. Just because we are impacted by one tragedy doesn't mean we are insulated from another. buff.ly/4hVLbtJ
Cancer — Split Lip Magazine
They scooped off the wrong tit. Then they scooped off the right tit, which was the really wrong one, lumpy as a fist.
splitlipthemag.com
February 15, 2025 at 6:55 PM
This is a fantastic story.
Reposted by John Randolph Bennett
For the 79% of heterosexual married women whose legal married name doesn’t match your birth certificate or passport, get ready to have your voting rights frozen.
Yes, read that again.
No, that is not hyperbole.
Act now.
Yes, read that again.
No, that is not hyperbole.
Act now.
“If a married woman hasn’t paid $130 to update her passport —assuming she has one, which only about half of Americans do— she may not be able to vote in the next election if the SAVE Act becomes law,” @wendyweiser.bsky.social tells Glamour
The SAVE Act Could Stop Millions of Women From Voting. Here’s What You Need to Know
The bill would make it harder for women, people of color, young voters, and other marginalized groups to register to vote.
www.glamour.com
February 12, 2025 at 6:42 PM
For the 79% of heterosexual married women whose legal married name doesn’t match your birth certificate or passport, get ready to have your voting rights frozen.
Yes, read that again.
No, that is not hyperbole.
Act now.
Yes, read that again.
No, that is not hyperbole.
Act now.
Reposted by John Randolph Bennett
“If a married woman hasn’t paid $130 to update her passport —assuming she has one, which only about half of Americans do— she may not be able to vote in the next election if the SAVE Act becomes law,” @wendyweiser.bsky.social tells Glamour
The SAVE Act Could Stop Millions of Women From Voting. Here’s What You Need to Know
The bill would make it harder for women, people of color, young voters, and other marginalized groups to register to vote.
www.glamour.com
February 12, 2025 at 6:19 PM
“If a married woman hasn’t paid $130 to update her passport —assuming she has one, which only about half of Americans do— she may not be able to vote in the next election if the SAVE Act becomes law,” @wendyweiser.bsky.social tells Glamour
They’re thorough, I’ll give them that.
If I was a foreign power wanting to cripple US power, I'd:
1. Purge intel agencies + expose agents
2. Mess w/Treasury
3. Politicize military
4. Turn off foreign aid
5. Shutter anti-corruption + election interference teams
6. Sow discord with allies
Wait, I'm getting an update...
1. Purge intel agencies + expose agents
2. Mess w/Treasury
3. Politicize military
4. Turn off foreign aid
5. Shutter anti-corruption + election interference teams
6. Sow discord with allies
Wait, I'm getting an update...
Trump Justice Department shutters specialized FBI team combatting foreign election interference threats --> www.cnn.com/politics/liv...
February 7, 2025 at 12:12 PM
They’re thorough, I’ll give them that.
Yes. This.
“DEMOCRATS NEED TO ACT LIKE OUR DEMOCRACY IS WEEKS AWAY FROM DISINTEGRATING—BECAUSE IT IS.”
Murphy: "We need to act like a real opposition party in the middle of a constitutional and democracy crisis. That means we should not be moving forward nominees or legislation in the Senate. Ds should not be giving votes to nominee or legislation in the Senate until Rs get serious about this crisis"
February 5, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Yes. This.
Reposted by John Randolph Bennett
"The people that get through that federal job application process and get hired? They're qualified for those jobs."
Robert Shiver, former U.S. Office of Personnel Management director, explains what DEI really is, as the Trump administration begins an apparent purge of the federal workforce.
Robert Shiver, former U.S. Office of Personnel Management director, explains what DEI really is, as the Trump administration begins an apparent purge of the federal workforce.
January 25, 2025 at 1:00 AM
"The people that get through that federal job application process and get hired? They're qualified for those jobs."
Robert Shiver, former U.S. Office of Personnel Management director, explains what DEI really is, as the Trump administration begins an apparent purge of the federal workforce.
Robert Shiver, former U.S. Office of Personnel Management director, explains what DEI really is, as the Trump administration begins an apparent purge of the federal workforce.
Reposted by John Randolph Bennett
NEW POEM #195: "Live Inside the Burn [American sonnet in American sentences]" by Edie Meade (@ediemeade.bsky.social)
"For now, the sea goes on tossing in her sleep, remembering, forgetting, / hot flashes cooking silver fish in the only world they’ve ever known."
stonecirclereview.com/live-inside/
"For now, the sea goes on tossing in her sleep, remembering, forgetting, / hot flashes cooking silver fish in the only world they’ve ever known."
stonecirclereview.com/live-inside/
January 4, 2025 at 3:55 PM
NEW POEM #195: "Live Inside the Burn [American sonnet in American sentences]" by Edie Meade (@ediemeade.bsky.social)
"For now, the sea goes on tossing in her sleep, remembering, forgetting, / hot flashes cooking silver fish in the only world they’ve ever known."
stonecirclereview.com/live-inside/
"For now, the sea goes on tossing in her sleep, remembering, forgetting, / hot flashes cooking silver fish in the only world they’ve ever known."
stonecirclereview.com/live-inside/
Attended a New Year's Day event yesterday in which someone referred to Mary Oliver as a "poetess." Managed to get through the day without breaking anything.
January 2, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Attended a New Year's Day event yesterday in which someone referred to Mary Oliver as a "poetess." Managed to get through the day without breaking anything.
Wonderful poem here.
December 24, 2024 at 1:33 AM
Wonderful poem here.
Reposted by John Randolph Bennett
Historian Annette Gordon-Reed joined the New Yorker the morning after the election to talk about books that place America’s current political moment in its historical context. “You can’t say this isn’t America, because this is,” she observed. link.newyorker.com/view/5bd6704... ❤️🔥
November 13, 2024 at 3:20 PM
Historian Annette Gordon-Reed joined the New Yorker the morning after the election to talk about books that place America’s current political moment in its historical context. “You can’t say this isn’t America, because this is,” she observed. link.newyorker.com/view/5bd6704... ❤️🔥
Reposted by John Randolph Bennett
for anyone trying to extricate yourself from the clutches of Amazon: bookstores make more than a third of their money between now & New Year’s, & most bookstores ship nationwide 💌
November 11, 2024 at 10:10 PM
for anyone trying to extricate yourself from the clutches of Amazon: bookstores make more than a third of their money between now & New Year’s, & most bookstores ship nationwide 💌
Took a while to get here, but Jon Fosse's "Scenes from a Childhood" is finally in my clutches.
November 11, 2023 at 6:53 PM
Took a while to get here, but Jon Fosse's "Scenes from a Childhood" is finally in my clutches.