Adrian Astur Alvarez
@adrianasturalvarez.bsky.social
Writer of literary fiction & poetry.
Work in JMWW, Soundings Review, Hot Metal Bridge.
Work in JMWW, Soundings Review, Hot Metal Bridge.
I keep returning to a question about closeness after isolation—what small groups give us, what they demand, and how they shape who we become.
New essay up: A Question About Closeness After Isolation
adrian-astur-alvarez.ghost.io/a-question-a...
New essay up: A Question About Closeness After Isolation
adrian-astur-alvarez.ghost.io/a-question-a...
A Question About Closeness After Isolation
After isolation, many of us returned to familiar structures in search of stability. This essay follows one question about what closeness in small groups teaches us about belonging, care, and who count...
adrian-astur-alvarez.ghost.io
January 26, 2026 at 1:05 PM
I keep returning to a question about closeness after isolation—what small groups give us, what they demand, and how they shape who we become.
New essay up: A Question About Closeness After Isolation
adrian-astur-alvarez.ghost.io/a-question-a...
New essay up: A Question About Closeness After Isolation
adrian-astur-alvarez.ghost.io/a-question-a...
Impossible to explain to non-writers how a very personal rejection letter from a top tier magazine editor is really good news.
January 22, 2026 at 7:41 AM
Impossible to explain to non-writers how a very personal rejection letter from a top tier magazine editor is really good news.
I tried my hand at a Levain copycat recipe. It's hard to go wrong with any chocolate chip cookies but I like how these turned out.
January 18, 2026 at 5:51 PM
I tried my hand at a Levain copycat recipe. It's hard to go wrong with any chocolate chip cookies but I like how these turned out.
How it's going so far in January.
January 15, 2026 at 10:24 AM
How it's going so far in January.
I keep thinking about Eephus, the way it crafted atmosphere so beautifully out of loss in the negative spaces between dialogue & plot. It's like how men tend to sit side by side when they talk, the characters aren't allowed to spell out their emotions, just have them. It's so baseball. boxd.it/KzLW
Eephus (2024)
As an imminent construction project looms over their beloved small-town baseball field, a pair of New England rec-league teams face off for the last time. Tensions flare up and ceremonial laughs are s...
boxd.it
January 9, 2026 at 8:36 AM
I keep thinking about Eephus, the way it crafted atmosphere so beautifully out of loss in the negative spaces between dialogue & plot. It's like how men tend to sit side by side when they talk, the characters aren't allowed to spell out their emotions, just have them. It's so baseball. boxd.it/KzLW
Reposted by Adrian Astur Alvarez
...and the last activity I track every year: board games. Like 2024, Streetcar Suburb dominated. I played in quite a few tournaments. Otherwise, it was the usual mix of 18xx titles and some others bc of my son, who is finally old enough to be interested.
January 4, 2026 at 12:21 AM
...and the last activity I track every year: board games. Like 2024, Streetcar Suburb dominated. I played in quite a few tournaments. Otherwise, it was the usual mix of 18xx titles and some others bc of my son, who is finally old enough to be interested.
282 films logged and 200 reviewed. I didn't hit 365 movies this year but I maintained Peter Cushing as my most watched actor so all is well. letterboxd.com/Bazinfan/yea...
Adrian Astur’s 2025 Letterboxd Summary
A short summary of Adrian Astur’s 2025 activity on Letterboxd.
letterboxd.com
January 3, 2026 at 1:21 PM
282 films logged and 200 reviewed. I didn't hit 365 movies this year but I maintained Peter Cushing as my most watched actor so all is well. letterboxd.com/Bazinfan/yea...
Time for all the end of the year stats. Do we like these? Are they useful? I don't know but here's what I read in 2025. Favs: my first Gerald Murnane, everything by Diane Seuss, American Pastoral, and Salka Valka.
January 2, 2026 at 1:30 AM
Time for all the end of the year stats. Do we like these? Are they useful? I don't know but here's what I read in 2025. Favs: my first Gerald Murnane, everything by Diane Seuss, American Pastoral, and Salka Valka.
Eating sushi in Spain is wild. This roll came with Rice Krispies for some reason.
December 27, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Eating sushi in Spain is wild. This roll came with Rice Krispies for some reason.
The world lost a kind man yesterday. My step-father's struggle with cancer has resolved. He went peacefully, surrounded by loved ones. I've never known a more generous and loving soul than his. He touched a lot of lives with his council and his music.
December 19, 2025 at 6:23 AM
The world lost a kind man yesterday. My step-father's struggle with cancer has resolved. He went peacefully, surrounded by loved ones. I've never known a more generous and loving soul than his. He touched a lot of lives with his council and his music.
It's interesting how often upmarket fiction lets emotional authority accumulate through restraint. As much as we like to say writing is a solitary act, all evidence is to the contrary: from the journey to publishing to the actual reading, so much depends on intimate participation.
December 16, 2025 at 8:49 AM
It's interesting how often upmarket fiction lets emotional authority accumulate through restraint. As much as we like to say writing is a solitary act, all evidence is to the contrary: from the journey to publishing to the actual reading, so much depends on intimate participation.
How it's going so far in December
December 15, 2025 at 11:11 AM
How it's going so far in December
Lately I’m drawn to novels where the authority of the voice is established before the story explains itself. Salka Valka does this so well the social realism practically sneaks up on you. It’s making me rethink how much explanation my own work actually needs.
December 15, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Lately I’m drawn to novels where the authority of the voice is established before the story explains itself. Salka Valka does this so well the social realism practically sneaks up on you. It’s making me rethink how much explanation my own work actually needs.
No notes
December 9, 2025 at 10:17 PM
No notes
This passage from Salka Valka by Halladór Laxness (trans. Philip Roughton).
December 5, 2025 at 5:05 PM
This passage from Salka Valka by Halladór Laxness (trans. Philip Roughton).
Our cat Scotia Jones died last night. She lived at least 20 years and we had her for 18 of those. Born in East LA, we took her with us to Seattle, Woodinville, and Spain. She wasn't a very nice cat but she had a comfortable life and the chance to be annoyed by so many things. So long, old friend.
December 3, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Our cat Scotia Jones died last night. She lived at least 20 years and we had her for 18 of those. Born in East LA, we took her with us to Seattle, Woodinville, and Spain. She wasn't a very nice cat but she had a comfortable life and the chance to be annoyed by so many things. So long, old friend.
"It doesn't count as beating a dead horse if the horse is still alive; we gotta kill that horse first"
Essential viewing from the always brilliant Drew Gooden.
youtu.be/W8Z3MfNpJpE?...
Essential viewing from the always brilliant Drew Gooden.
youtu.be/W8Z3MfNpJpE?...
Greed is Destroying the World
YouTube video by Drew Gooden
youtu.be
December 2, 2025 at 10:22 AM
"It doesn't count as beating a dead horse if the horse is still alive; we gotta kill that horse first"
Essential viewing from the always brilliant Drew Gooden.
youtu.be/W8Z3MfNpJpE?...
Essential viewing from the always brilliant Drew Gooden.
youtu.be/W8Z3MfNpJpE?...
How it went in November.
December 1, 2025 at 9:03 AM
How it went in November.
How it's going so far in November
November 16, 2025 at 11:31 AM
How it's going so far in November
"Hey mom, it's Kai. I got the part! No, I play football. No, just football. I'm football."
November 14, 2025 at 6:55 PM
"Hey mom, it's Kai. I got the part! No, I play football. No, just football. I'm football."
Living in Spain is like...
November 13, 2025 at 6:44 AM
Living in Spain is like...
Perfect day:
60% - read books;
20% - write books;
40% - drink tea
60% - read books;
20% - write books;
40% - drink tea
November 10, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Perfect day:
60% - read books;
20% - write books;
40% - drink tea
60% - read books;
20% - write books;
40% - drink tea