Alexander Wells
@ajbwells.bsky.social
Freelance critic/essayist from Aus with bylines at Guardian, Drift, Baffler, European Review of Books, Meanjin, etc. Ex-Berliner Books editor
https://sites.google.com/view/ajbwells
https://sites.google.com/view/ajbwells
Pinned
Alexander Wells
@ajbwells.bsky.social
· Nov 14
Shock and Ore
Poems, readings, poetry news and the entire 110-year archive of POETRY magazine.
www.poetryfoundation.org
"His body keeps the score—a kind of music written down"
I wrote for Poetry magazine on the brilliant radioactive literature of East German poet, novelist, essayist, & underground man Lutz Seiler >>>
www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/162...
I wrote for Poetry magazine on the brilliant radioactive literature of East German poet, novelist, essayist, & underground man Lutz Seiler >>>
www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/162...
Reposted by Alexander Wells
I cannot tell you how much doubt was consistently directed at the Gaza Health Ministry’s casualty numbers and how much pressure was put on news organizations to couch those numbers as unreliable.
Biden himself said they were fabricated!
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Biden himself said they were fabricated!
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
IDF accepts Gaza Health Ministry death toll of over 71,000 Palestinians killed in the war
Although Many International Experts Have Accepted the Health Ministry's Data as Reliable, and Even Conservative Relative to the True Death Toll, Israel Had Refused to Accept the Health Ministry's Coun...
www.haaretz.com
January 29, 2026 at 3:29 PM
I cannot tell you how much doubt was consistently directed at the Gaza Health Ministry’s casualty numbers and how much pressure was put on news organizations to couch those numbers as unreliable.
Biden himself said they were fabricated!
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Biden himself said they were fabricated!
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Reposted by Alexander Wells
War Hitler links? Nein, das war er nicht. Es ist eine rechte Rechts-Links-Umkehr. Schade, dass FAZ diesen bespielt, schon durch den Titel. Als sei das eine ernst zu nehmende Frage! Und schade, dass Götz Aly hier mitspielt. Interessant das FAZ mit einer polit. Stiftung kooperiert.
January 29, 2026 at 8:03 PM
War Hitler links? Nein, das war er nicht. Es ist eine rechte Rechts-Links-Umkehr. Schade, dass FAZ diesen bespielt, schon durch den Titel. Als sei das eine ernst zu nehmende Frage! Und schade, dass Götz Aly hier mitspielt. Interessant das FAZ mit einer polit. Stiftung kooperiert.
european teams have huge leverage over the spectacle's present & future viability. why not make a statement—in this already unjust enough world game—that we won't go to a party that our mates from senegal (&c.) can't go to? also odd not to mention the apartheid sports boycotts, which did have impact
On boycotts. And World Cups. And who would be punished by a World Cup boycott. (Hint: It isn't the people you want it to punish.)
Column @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Column @theguardian.com
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
A World Cup boycott would be a big statement but unlikely to accomplish much
International sporting events don’t often see teams refuse to participate for a cause – but when it’s happened, it hasn’t been effective
www.theguardian.com
January 29, 2026 at 7:40 PM
european teams have huge leverage over the spectacle's present & future viability. why not make a statement—in this already unjust enough world game—that we won't go to a party that our mates from senegal (&c.) can't go to? also odd not to mention the apartheid sports boycotts, which did have impact
Reposted by Alexander Wells
Remigration bedeutet ein deutsches #ICE und damit enorme Gewalt gegen Millionen von Menschen, die in den Augen der AfD keine Deutschen sind. Daraus macht die AfD keinen Hehl mehr. Hat sie nie, denn wie will man die anberaumten 25 Millionen Menschen, anders loswerden, als mit staatlicher Gewalt?
Vorbild Trump: AfD fordert ICE auch für Deutschland
Die AfD Bayern will eine Sonderpolizei für Abschiebungen nach dem Vorbild von ICE. Der Verein Better Police sieht eine „Gefahr für Menschenrechte“.
taz.de
January 27, 2026 at 9:14 AM
Remigration bedeutet ein deutsches #ICE und damit enorme Gewalt gegen Millionen von Menschen, die in den Augen der AfD keine Deutschen sind. Daraus macht die AfD keinen Hehl mehr. Hat sie nie, denn wie will man die anberaumten 25 Millionen Menschen, anders loswerden, als mit staatlicher Gewalt?
Reposted by Alexander Wells
WE WANT YOUR PROSE—submit now to read at our Feb 21 Lettrétage event about Christa Wolf (and her post-Wall writing e.g. One Day A Year). Send us some short prose in any language about the day, the daily, the recurring date, everyday politics. We will print a zine!
sites.google.com/view/mayroec...
sites.google.com/view/mayroec...
January 22, 2026 at 2:21 PM
WE WANT YOUR PROSE—submit now to read at our Feb 21 Lettrétage event about Christa Wolf (and her post-Wall writing e.g. One Day A Year). Send us some short prose in any language about the day, the daily, the recurring date, everyday politics. We will print a zine!
sites.google.com/view/mayroec...
sites.google.com/view/mayroec...
WE WANT YOUR PROSE—submit now to read at our Feb 21 Lettrétage event about Christa Wolf (and her post-Wall writing e.g. One Day A Year). Send us some short prose in any language about the day, the daily, the recurring date, everyday politics. We will print a zine!
sites.google.com/view/mayroec...
sites.google.com/view/mayroec...
January 22, 2026 at 2:21 PM
WE WANT YOUR PROSE—submit now to read at our Feb 21 Lettrétage event about Christa Wolf (and her post-Wall writing e.g. One Day A Year). Send us some short prose in any language about the day, the daily, the recurring date, everyday politics. We will print a zine!
sites.google.com/view/mayroec...
sites.google.com/view/mayroec...
Reposted by Alexander Wells
"Das Berliner Ensemble und sein Publikum haben in diesem Winter gemeinsam 90.000 Euro für die Kältehilfe der Berliner Stadtmission gesammelt. Es ist die höchste Spendensumme seit Beginn der Zusammenarbeit mit der Stadtmission im Jahr 2018" 🫶🏾
Berliner Ensemble sammelt 90.000 Euro für die Kältehilfe.
Berliner Ensemble sammelt 90.000 Euro für die Kältehilfe
21. Januar 2026. Das Berliner Ensemble und sein Publikum haben in diesem Winter gemeinsam 90.000 Euro für die Kältehilfe der Berliner Stadtmission gesammelt.
nachtkritik.de
January 21, 2026 at 10:23 AM
"Das Berliner Ensemble und sein Publikum haben in diesem Winter gemeinsam 90.000 Euro für die Kältehilfe der Berliner Stadtmission gesammelt. Es ist die höchste Spendensumme seit Beginn der Zusammenarbeit mit der Stadtmission im Jahr 2018" 🫶🏾
Reposted by Alexander Wells
It's out!🍾
I am delighted to announce the publication of our "Germany's History Wars. Contesting Memory and Identity Today"
It is Open Access!
👇 You can download it here for free.
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
I am delighted to announce the publication of our "Germany's History Wars. Contesting Memory and Identity Today"
It is Open Access!
👇 You can download it here for free.
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
December 19, 2025 at 10:52 AM
It's out!🍾
I am delighted to announce the publication of our "Germany's History Wars. Contesting Memory and Identity Today"
It is Open Access!
👇 You can download it here for free.
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
I am delighted to announce the publication of our "Germany's History Wars. Contesting Memory and Identity Today"
It is Open Access!
👇 You can download it here for free.
www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...
incredible stuff 🫡 @publicdomainrev.bsky.social
December 8, 2025 at 9:20 PM
incredible stuff 🫡 @publicdomainrev.bsky.social
Reposted by Alexander Wells
Looking for a pièce de résistance for a birthday party or Christmas day? The February 1911 edition of American Homes and Gardens has you covered with Quaint Dessert Dishes like Welshwoman with Cat, banana pigs, and of course the booby bird:
“Quaint Dessert Dishes” in *American Homes and Gardens* (1911)
Bizarre sweet treats that resemble human and animal forms.
publicdomainreview.org
December 2, 2025 at 11:31 AM
Looking for a pièce de résistance for a birthday party or Christmas day? The February 1911 edition of American Homes and Gardens has you covered with Quaint Dessert Dishes like Welshwoman with Cat, banana pigs, and of course the booby bird:
I reviewed Gabriele Tergit's THE EFFINGERS, a mighty and brilliant and extremely readable book out now in English thanks to a cracking translation by Sophie Duvernoy >>> www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
The Effingers by Gabriele Tergit review – a vivid portrait of Berlin before the Nazis
Written in 1951 and now translated into English for the first time, this family saga by the acclaimed German author recaptures a golden age for Jewish life
www.theguardian.com
December 8, 2025 at 1:01 PM
I reviewed Gabriele Tergit's THE EFFINGERS, a mighty and brilliant and extremely readable book out now in English thanks to a cracking translation by Sophie Duvernoy >>> www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...
Reposted by Alexander Wells
Was wir von Anfang an, seit Oktober 2023 sagten, beschrieben, analysierten - und dafür markiert, isoliert und diffamiert wurden - wird nun Teil eines neuen gesellschaftlichen Konsens.
Allein: Welche Verantwortung tragen diejenigen, die aus medialer und intellektueller Position geschwiegen haben?
Allein: Welche Verantwortung tragen diejenigen, die aus medialer und intellektueller Position geschwiegen haben?
„Die Berichterstattung deutscher Medien habe sich in einer Art ‚Paralleluniversum’ bewegt, meint Kermani. Dabei habe man nur auf CNN, BBC oder Al Jazeera umschalten müssen, um die ganze Brutalität der israelischen Kriegsführung in Gaza zu sehen.“ www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/lit...
Literaturhaus München: Natalie Amiri stellt ihr neues Buch über den Nahen Osten vor
„Trump ist die größte Chance“: Navid Kermani stellt das neue Buch der Journalistin Natalie Amiri über den Nahen Osten vor.
www.sueddeutsche.de
December 3, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Was wir von Anfang an, seit Oktober 2023 sagten, beschrieben, analysierten - und dafür markiert, isoliert und diffamiert wurden - wird nun Teil eines neuen gesellschaftlichen Konsens.
Allein: Welche Verantwortung tragen diejenigen, die aus medialer und intellektueller Position geschwiegen haben?
Allein: Welche Verantwortung tragen diejenigen, die aus medialer und intellektueller Position geschwiegen haben?
Reposted by Alexander Wells
Good morning with Tomas Tranströmer ciceronean us to the beginning of Winter
A Winter Night
The storm puts its mouth to the house
and blows to get a tone
A Winter Night
The storm puts its mouth to the house
and blows to get a tone
December 4, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Good morning with Tomas Tranströmer ciceronean us to the beginning of Winter
A Winter Night
The storm puts its mouth to the house
and blows to get a tone
A Winter Night
The storm puts its mouth to the house
and blows to get a tone
Reposted by Alexander Wells
Wie die Israel-Lobby-Organisation ELNET die Staatsräson zementiert: Unsere Recherche in der @taz.de über ihren außergewöhnlichen Einfluss auf die deutshe Politik, die Waffendiplomatie, die sie betreibt, & über die Siedler und Trump-Anhänger, die für diesen Verein arbeiten oder spenden.
Lobbyorganisation Elnet: Meinungsbildungsreisen nach Israel
Elnet lobbyiert für die israelische Regierung. Über hundert deutsche Abgeordnete reisten nach Israel mit dem Verein, der Verbindungen zu Siedlern und Trump-Fans hat.
taz.de
November 29, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Wie die Israel-Lobby-Organisation ELNET die Staatsräson zementiert: Unsere Recherche in der @taz.de über ihren außergewöhnlichen Einfluss auf die deutshe Politik, die Waffendiplomatie, die sie betreibt, & über die Siedler und Trump-Anhänger, die für diesen Verein arbeiten oder spenden.
Reposted by Alexander Wells
wer jetzt nich dirk rossmann krimis kauft hilft nur der afd
November 26, 2025 at 6:52 PM
wer jetzt nich dirk rossmann krimis kauft hilft nur der afd
object-oriented hauntology
“When a world dies, much dies alongside it. Ways of thinking, ways of building, ways of living so mundane no one noticed their presence or their passing.”
Idle Things | Robert Rubsam
In “Things That Disappear,” Jenny Erpenbeck grapples with ruins, revealing the virtue of unproductive places and idle things.
thebaffler.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:36 PM
object-oriented hauntology
Reposted by Alexander Wells
“There is no real reason for Antipodeans to be here, & no real reason for the Germans to take an interest in us. But sometimes it is the unreal that generates the conditions fit for literature” @ajbwells.bsky.social’s keynote in Berlin earlier this year - now online! stadtsprachen.de/de/text/home...
HOME & AWAY. - stadtsprachen
Berlin Writing between Austalgia and Expatriotism. Keynote Parataxe XVI. Let me begin by reading you a tweet by a DJ. kid in berlin, 2040: im the child of immigrants, we were very poor. in 2013 my par...
stadtsprachen.de
October 28, 2025 at 8:55 PM
“There is no real reason for Antipodeans to be here, & no real reason for the Germans to take an interest in us. But sometimes it is the unreal that generates the conditions fit for literature” @ajbwells.bsky.social’s keynote in Berlin earlier this year - now online! stadtsprachen.de/de/text/home...
Reposted by Alexander Wells
... and then an investigation into the weird, precocious, maybe sui generis dioramas of the early-nineteenth-century Surinamese artist Gerrit Schouten.
publicdomainreview.org/collection/g...
publicdomainreview.org/collection/g...
October 17, 2025 at 11:16 AM
... and then an investigation into the weird, precocious, maybe sui generis dioramas of the early-nineteenth-century Surinamese artist Gerrit Schouten.
publicdomainreview.org/collection/g...
publicdomainreview.org/collection/g...
Reposted by Alexander Wells
I have two new pieces up at @publicdomainrev.bsky.social this week: first, about the human-animal hybrids of Louis XIV's court painter Charles le Brun...
publicdomainreview.org/collection/l...
publicdomainreview.org/collection/l...
October 17, 2025 at 11:16 AM
I have two new pieces up at @publicdomainrev.bsky.social this week: first, about the human-animal hybrids of Louis XIV's court painter Charles le Brun...
publicdomainreview.org/collection/l...
publicdomainreview.org/collection/l...
tomorrow >>>
Berliners! Next Wednesday (15/10) at @curiousfoxbooks.bsky.social: hear @brookfiles.bsky.social talking about his new Magnus Hirschfeld bio, The Einstein of Sex, and me re my translation of Hirschfeld’s Berlin’s Third Sex, moderated by @ajbwells.bsky.social www.curiousfoxbooks.com/events
October 14, 2025 at 5:04 PM
tomorrow >>>
Alexander Wells, Fight or Flight — Sidecar
On László Krasznahorkai.
newleftreview.org
October 9, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Reposted by Alexander Wells
Berliners! Next Wednesday (15/10) at @curiousfoxbooks.bsky.social: hear @brookfiles.bsky.social talking about his new Magnus Hirschfeld bio, The Einstein of Sex, and me re my translation of Hirschfeld’s Berlin’s Third Sex, moderated by @ajbwells.bsky.social www.curiousfoxbooks.com/events
October 8, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Berliners! Next Wednesday (15/10) at @curiousfoxbooks.bsky.social: hear @brookfiles.bsky.social talking about his new Magnus Hirschfeld bio, The Einstein of Sex, and me re my translation of Hirschfeld’s Berlin’s Third Sex, moderated by @ajbwells.bsky.social www.curiousfoxbooks.com/events
Reposted by Alexander Wells
Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, says UN inquiry
Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, says UN inquiry
Commission’s 72-page legal analysis cites examples including scale of killings, aid blockages and forced displacement
*
Middle East crisis – live updates
A UN commission of inquiry concluded on Tuesday that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza and that top Israeli officials including the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, had incited these acts.
It cited examples of the scale of the killings, aid blockages, forced displacement and the destruction of a fertility clinic to back up its genocide finding, adding its voice to rights groups and others that have reached the same conclusion. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
September 16, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, says UN inquiry
Reposted by Alexander Wells
Rally to save Meanjin magazine
Thursday 11 Sept 9am
715 Swanston St Carlton
A number of Australian writers, editors and academics will speak in support of this vital cultural institution
Thursday 11 Sept 9am
715 Swanston St Carlton
A number of Australian writers, editors and academics will speak in support of this vital cultural institution
September 9, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Rally to save Meanjin magazine
Thursday 11 Sept 9am
715 Swanston St Carlton
A number of Australian writers, editors and academics will speak in support of this vital cultural institution
Thursday 11 Sept 9am
715 Swanston St Carlton
A number of Australian writers, editors and academics will speak in support of this vital cultural institution
Reposted by Alexander Wells
"I once met someone who takes a photo of the borrower with the book in their hands, so they know exactly what’s where..." @ajbwells.bsky.social on book borrowing/lending www.the-berliner.com/books/whos-g...
"Who's got my Czech Dreambook?" On the joys and perils of lending books - The Berliner
Why can't I stop giving books away? An investigation into the joys and murky ethics of loaning one’s library to fellow readers.
www.the-berliner.com
July 28, 2025 at 3:51 PM
"I once met someone who takes a photo of the borrower with the book in their hands, so they know exactly what’s where..." @ajbwells.bsky.social on book borrowing/lending www.the-berliner.com/books/whos-g...