Alexander Wells
@ajbwells.bsky.social
Freelance critic/essayist from Aus with bylines at Guardian, Drift, Baffler, European Review of Books, Meanjin, etc. Books editor at The Berliner mag.
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...
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...
Latest column for The Berliner mag aka who has my bloody book??? 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
June 10, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Latest column for The Berliner mag aka who has my bloody book??? www.the-berliner.com/books/whos-g...
the only good social media is comments section for disco music on youtube
June 6, 2025 at 4:20 PM
the only good social media is comments section for disco music on youtube
Unrechtstaat BRD
Dobrindt ignoriert geltendes Recht/Gerichtsurteil. Trumpismus made in Germany. www.tagesschau.de/inland/innen...
Trotz Gerichtsentscheidung: Dobrindt hält an Zurückweisungen fest
Bundesinnenminister Dobrindt hält trotz einer Gerichtsentscheidung an Zurückweisungen von Asylsuchenden an den Grenzen fest. Das Gericht habe eine Einzelfallentscheidung getroffen und verlange nur nac...
www.tagesschau.de
June 3, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Unrechtstaat BRD
Reposted by Alexander Wells
Some pics from the launch of Poor Ghost! on Weds. Thanks to everyone who came out and to @lettretage.de for hosting, @curiousfoxbooks.bsky.social for selling books, and @ajbwells.bsky.social for being his very charming self and asking great questions.
May 25, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Some pics from the launch of Poor Ghost! on Weds. Thanks to everyone who came out and to @lettretage.de for hosting, @curiousfoxbooks.bsky.social for selling books, and @ajbwells.bsky.social for being his very charming self and asking great questions.
Reposted by Alexander Wells
quick reminder that this symposium-festival of wonderful Australian and Aoteoroa/New Zealand authors will be on next Saturday in Berlin!! just check out that line-up 👀👀.......
stadtsprachen.de/de/event/par...
stadtsprachen.de/de/event/par...
PARATAXE SYMPOSIUM XVI = Antipoden: Down under in Berlin – die australischen & neuseeländischen Autor*innen Berlins
Programmentwurf: 13:30 Uhr: AuftaktMit Alexander Wells und Martin Jankowski 14:00 – 15:30 Uhr: Panel 1 (in deutscher Sprache)NEIGHBOURS. Begegnungen, Übersetzungen, Anregungen.Keynote: Prof. Anja Schw...
stadtsprachen.de
May 17, 2025 at 10:03 AM
quick reminder that this symposium-festival of wonderful Australian and Aoteoroa/New Zealand authors will be on next Saturday in Berlin!! just check out that line-up 👀👀.......
stadtsprachen.de/de/event/par...
stadtsprachen.de/de/event/par...
Reposted by Alexander Wells
My debut novel, Poor Ghost! is out today with @sceptrebooks.bsky.social
It’s about class, mourning, love, fathers, Manchester, and lots of other stuff.
I’m proud of it and I hope you’ll enjoy it too.
It’s about class, mourning, love, fathers, Manchester, and lots of other stuff.
I’m proud of it and I hope you’ll enjoy it too.
May 22, 2025 at 1:05 PM
My debut novel, Poor Ghost! is out today with @sceptrebooks.bsky.social
It’s about class, mourning, love, fathers, Manchester, and lots of other stuff.
I’m proud of it and I hope you’ll enjoy it too.
It’s about class, mourning, love, fathers, Manchester, and lots of other stuff.
I’m proud of it and I hope you’ll enjoy it too.
funny when you're in an archaeology museum and the wall text soberly informs you that a certain weird object "was likely used for rituals, potentially of a sacred or religious nature". it's ok mate just admit you don't know !!!
May 22, 2025 at 12:29 PM
funny when you're in an archaeology museum and the wall text soberly informs you that a certain weird object "was likely used for rituals, potentially of a sacred or religious nature". it's ok mate just admit you don't know !!!
Reposted by Alexander Wells
Looking forward to crossing multiple time zones to join this starry program of writers, next week, in Berlin.
quick reminder that this symposium-festival of wonderful Australian and Aoteoroa/New Zealand authors will be on next Saturday in Berlin!! just check out that line-up 👀👀.......
stadtsprachen.de/de/event/par...
stadtsprachen.de/de/event/par...
PARATAXE SYMPOSIUM XVI = Antipoden: Down under in Berlin – die australischen & neuseeländischen Autor*innen Berlins
Programmentwurf: 13:30 Uhr: AuftaktMit Alexander Wells und Martin Jankowski 14:00 – 15:30 Uhr: Panel 1 (in deutscher Sprache)NEIGHBOURS. Begegnungen, Übersetzungen, Anregungen.Keynote: Prof. Anja Schw...
stadtsprachen.de
May 17, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Looking forward to crossing multiple time zones to join this starry program of writers, next week, in Berlin.
quick reminder that this symposium-festival of wonderful Australian and Aoteoroa/New Zealand authors will be on next Saturday in Berlin!! just check out that line-up 👀👀.......
stadtsprachen.de/de/event/par...
stadtsprachen.de/de/event/par...
PARATAXE SYMPOSIUM XVI = Antipoden: Down under in Berlin – die australischen & neuseeländischen Autor*innen Berlins
Programmentwurf: 13:30 Uhr: AuftaktMit Alexander Wells und Martin Jankowski 14:00 – 15:30 Uhr: Panel 1 (in deutscher Sprache)NEIGHBOURS. Begegnungen, Übersetzungen, Anregungen.Keynote: Prof. Anja Schw...
stadtsprachen.de
May 17, 2025 at 10:03 AM
quick reminder that this symposium-festival of wonderful Australian and Aoteoroa/New Zealand authors will be on next Saturday in Berlin!! just check out that line-up 👀👀.......
stadtsprachen.de/de/event/par...
stadtsprachen.de/de/event/par...
Reposted by Alexander Wells
Thanks @ajbwells.bsky.social for my first ever interview!
Interesting @ajbwells.bsky.social interview with @gabrielflynn.bsky.social ahead of the release of his debut novel: “if you were born in the late 1980s or early 1990s, you’ve…grown up expecting a world that then disappeared right as you were coming into it.” www.the-berliner.com/books/gabrie...
Spectral analysis: Gabriel Flynn's gentrified ghouls - The Berliner
The struggling characters in the Berlin-based author's debut novel 'Poor Ghost!' are as haunted by their austere past as they are wary of Manchester's foreclosed future.
www.the-berliner.com
May 13, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Thanks @ajbwells.bsky.social for my first ever interview!
Reposted by Alexander Wells
Interesting @ajbwells.bsky.social interview with @gabrielflynn.bsky.social ahead of the release of his debut novel: “if you were born in the late 1980s or early 1990s, you’ve…grown up expecting a world that then disappeared right as you were coming into it.” www.the-berliner.com/books/gabrie...
Spectral analysis: Gabriel Flynn's gentrified ghouls - The Berliner
The struggling characters in the Berlin-based author's debut novel 'Poor Ghost!' are as haunted by their austere past as they are wary of Manchester's foreclosed future.
www.the-berliner.com
May 13, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Interesting @ajbwells.bsky.social interview with @gabrielflynn.bsky.social ahead of the release of his debut novel: “if you were born in the late 1980s or early 1990s, you’ve…grown up expecting a world that then disappeared right as you were coming into it.” www.the-berliner.com/books/gabrie...
yes. also it's despicable
This is Labour's core problem here. The right will never allow Starmer a win on immigration because the issue is central to their appeal and therey' daren't lose it. So whatever he does will never be enough.
May 12, 2025 at 10:35 AM
yes. also it's despicable
Reposted by Alexander Wells
Da mit Lars Klingbeil gerade mal wieder ein Politiker von den „normalen Leuten“ spricht, nochmal mein Text zu diesem leeren und in Konsequenz sogar gefährlichen Begriff.
Es gibt keine „normalen“ Leute, es gibt nur die Idee davon, die Menschen für sich beanspruchen und dadurch andere ausschließen
Es gibt keine „normalen“ Leute, es gibt nur die Idee davon, die Menschen für sich beanspruchen und dadurch andere ausschließen
Rhetorik im Wahlkampf: Die Unnormalen, das sind natürlich die anderen
Im Wahlkampf beschwören Politiker nun die "normalen Leute" oder die "hart arbeitende Mitte". Ziel ist, andere zu markieren. Doch Vorsicht, "Normale" sind sehr fragil.
www.zeit.de
May 11, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Da mit Lars Klingbeil gerade mal wieder ein Politiker von den „normalen Leuten“ spricht, nochmal mein Text zu diesem leeren und in Konsequenz sogar gefährlichen Begriff.
Es gibt keine „normalen“ Leute, es gibt nur die Idee davon, die Menschen für sich beanspruchen und dadurch andere ausschließen
Es gibt keine „normalen“ Leute, es gibt nur die Idee davon, die Menschen für sich beanspruchen und dadurch andere ausschließen
Reposted by Alexander Wells
May 11, 2025 at 11:46 AM