Amorak Huey
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amorak.bsky.social
Amorak Huey
@amorak.bsky.social
3.8K followers 3.6K following 1.2K posts
Loyola grad’s dad. BGSU dad. Poet. BGSU prof/director of creative writing. Proud union member. Co-founding editor @riverriverbooks.bsky.social. Auburn fan. Dodgers fan. I like board games & ttrpg. He/him. It's pronounced uh-MOR-ack. https://amorakhuey.com
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amorak.bsky.social
Amorak Huey @amorak.bsky.social · 27d
Mouth comes out this week.
The cover of the book of poems Mouth, by Amorak Huey. Cover depicts a red-lipsticked mouth open in water. Praise for Mouth The voice of Mouth is confident in its moves, sometimes breath-stopping in its leaps, by turns despairing and lusty, deeply funny, and-always— restoratively human. -Sandra Beasley, author of Made to Explode: Poems Amorak Huey's Mouth is an exploration-sometimes gentle, sometimes raucous-of one of the fundamental forces of nature: desire.... If we must crave and end, and if we must do it in this particular moment of human and geologic time-and, of course, we must-how lucky we are to have Mouth as our companion. -Molly Spencer, author of Invitatory If it is possible to make a guitar amp for the soul, to hear what moon, river, barn, and paramour all desire of each other, Amorak Huey has done it in Mouth. Each line is electric, illuminating poems that extend their metaphors, believing to endure in language is to make love endure. —Steven Leyva, Author of The Opposite of Cruelty
Reposted by Amorak Huey
riverriverbooks.bsky.social
Cute little business cards / we will also have stickers of this design at AWP!
Hokusai’s The Wave business card with River River Books sitting on Editor Han’s poetry bookshelf
February 15, 2026 at 12:24 AM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
chiaradilello.bsky.social
Aha! Behold, your Friday AWP offsite plans just dropped:
bsky.app/profile/rive...
Thanks @riverriverbooks.bsky.social
riverriverbooks.bsky.social River River Books @riverriverbooks.bsky.social · 17h
We are readying for AWP (T756), and couldn’t be more excited about our Friday night offsite reading with @blairpub.bsky.social at University of Baltimore! 📚💙🎉🎉 Hope you can join us!

riverriverbooks.org/store/
RIVER RIVER BOOKS AT AWP - T756 • Author signings with J.D. Ho, Preeti Vangani, Jennifer A Sutherland, Jameela F. Dallis, Elizabeth Sylvia, Zoe Ryder White, Beth Gilstrap, and friend of the press Burgi Zenhaeusern! • Friday night reading with Blair, 7-9pm, University Baltimore • Saturday night Anti-Fascist Love Poem reading, 7-9pm, 1640 Thames Street use 1636 entrance) RIVERRIVERBOOKS.ORG Reading Poster. Text: BLAIR & RIVER RIVER BOOKS FRIDAY NIGHT READING (3/6) 7-9PM 21 W MT ROYAL AVE BALTIMORE, MD 21201 Featuring: JAMEELA F. DALLIS CELESTE DOAKS BETH GILSTRAP J.D. HO CYNTHIA MANICK ELIZABETH SYLVIA JENNIFER A SUTHERLAND ZOË RYDER WHITE PREETI VANGANI & SPECIAL GUEST sponsored by: KLEIN FAMILY CENTER OF COMMUNICATION DESIGN
February 14, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
riverriverbooks.bsky.social
We are readying for AWP (T756), and couldn’t be more excited about our Friday night offsite reading with @blairpub.bsky.social at University of Baltimore! 📚💙🎉🎉 Hope you can join us!

riverriverbooks.org/store/
RIVER RIVER BOOKS AT AWP - T756 • Author signings with J.D. Ho, Preeti Vangani, Jennifer A Sutherland, Jameela F. Dallis, Elizabeth Sylvia, Zoe Ryder White, Beth Gilstrap, and friend of the press Burgi Zenhaeusern! • Friday night reading with Blair, 7-9pm, University Baltimore • Saturday night Anti-Fascist Love Poem reading, 7-9pm, 1640 Thames Street use 1636 entrance) RIVERRIVERBOOKS.ORG Reading Poster. Text: BLAIR & RIVER RIVER BOOKS FRIDAY NIGHT READING (3/6) 7-9PM 21 W MT ROYAL AVE BALTIMORE, MD 21201 Featuring: JAMEELA F. DALLIS CELESTE DOAKS BETH GILSTRAP J.D. HO CYNTHIA MANICK ELIZABETH SYLVIA JENNIFER A SUTHERLAND ZOË RYDER WHITE PREETI VANGANI & SPECIAL GUEST sponsored by: KLEIN FAMILY CENTER OF COMMUNICATION DESIGN
February 14, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
grousehollow.bsky.social
“We should learn to speak in a language that rich people who don’t dream can’t comprehend.”
mikexnichols.bsky.social Mike X. Nichols @mikexnichols.bsky.social · 1d
i often think about this review
Letterboxd screenshot Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) Watched by Branson Reese 28 Apr 2022 Abrams isn't a man so much as he's an avatar of cultural entropy. If you make something popular enough eventually you will die or sell it off and and a person in thick rimmed glasses whose main artistic vision is that he loves to have meetings will take it and sandblast it until it's nothing. I hate to see this happen here but maybe it's good that this happened. Maybe every franchise should collapse into a version of itself that makes shareholders nod and shake each others' hands. We should learn to speak in a language that rich people who don't dream can't comprehend.
February 14, 2026 at 3:20 AM
amorak.bsky.social
I seek and desire Sappho translated from the ancient Greek by Bliss Carman I seek and desire, Even as the wind That travels the plain And stirs in the bloom Of the apple-tree. I wander through life, With the searching mind That is never at rest, Till I reach the shade Of my lover’s door.
February 14, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
sarahmillswrites.bsky.social
I miss you,/and worse, I want to say it the way another poet would.

-Chloe Honum, from The Lantern Room
SELF-PORTRAIT WITH PRAYING MANTIS At Scull Creek in Fayetteville, Arkansas Moments after the sky declares the rain absent, it begins falling roughly through the leaves. I miss you, and worse, I want to say it the way another poet would. The creek is green-gold, the water moving around stones and slabs of concrete. I walk loudly through it, feel it wrap around my ankles. Last night, at a motel in Sallisaw, I watched a row of pale blue doors lean into sunset, like words in an aching sentence. My shame is that I didn't believe you, not fully. Beneath the rippling surface, there's stillness, clear and cold, where tiny glinting fish form patterns only to dissolve them.
February 14, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
lukesteuber.com
You can’t offload emotional labor. Believe me, I’ve tried
My friend recently attended a funeral, and midway through the eulogy, he became convinced that it had been written by AI. There was the telltale proliferation of abstract nouns, a surfeit of assertions that the deceased was "not just X—he was Y" coupled with a lack of concrete anecdotes, and more appearances of the word collaborate than you would expect from a rec-league hockey teammate. It was both too good, in terms of being grammatically correct, and not good enough, in terms of being particular. My friend had no definitive proof that he was listening to AI, but his position—and I agree with him—is that when you know, you know. His sense was that he had just heard a computer save a man from thinking about his dead friend.
February 11, 2026 at 8:50 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
bettysueblue.bsky.social
Five questions with your truly
riverriverbooks.bsky.social River River Books @riverriverbooks.bsky.social · 5d
“I followed these images into story, into my own devastation, and into noticing the small moments of beauty I clung to for dear life.”

Beth Gilstrap / @bettysueblue.bsky.social
Five Questions with Author Beth Gilstrap
On liminal spaces, making connections, decay, and rebirth
riverriverbooks.beehiiv.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
delilahsdawson.bsky.social
Heaven help me if I ever meet someone in person who claims to be an AI author. I have a glass face. I cannot pretend. I will do my trademark cackle and then just snicker uncontrollably for a while. Do you let the plagiarism robot kiss your lover? Look at sunsets for you? Why are you even alive?
February 9, 2026 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
riverriverbooks.bsky.social
“I followed these images into story, into my own devastation, and into noticing the small moments of beauty I clung to for dear life.”

Beth Gilstrap / @bettysueblue.bsky.social
Five Questions with Author Beth Gilstrap
On liminal spaces, making connections, decay, and rebirth
riverriverbooks.beehiiv.com
February 9, 2026 at 7:22 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
shamlet.bsky.social
One of the best takeaways from my presence on this platform is poets and small presses that connect me to exceptional writing -- and, times being what they are, that sustain a positive connection to America and Americans. Thank you for your work -- I will be buying the whole lot 📚
February 8, 2026 at 6:01 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
tlecaque.bsky.social
You're not producing a novel with AI. You're using an algorithm powered by other people's stolen novels to lie and pretend you're a writer. Being a writer requires WRITING, you pathetic fucks.
February 8, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
ambersparks.bsky.social
I cannot say this enough: there is NO middle ground when it comes to writing and AI. Anyone who uses AI to write and admits it should be loudly shamed, hideously embarrassed, paraded through the streets of shun until they flee writing forever
mbkplus.bsky.social Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 6d
The whole article is repulsive but this passage is at the core of it. She has no interest in writing books, she wants to win some kind of competition that nobody entered
February 8, 2026 at 4:11 PM
amorak.bsky.social
We have seven books coming out this month: five poetry titles and two in our new Plainwater Nonfiction Series.

What we do is small. It’s not scalable. It’s not replicable by a generative LLM. It’s born out of love for our authors and joy in the work.

Your orders and support sustain us. 🙏💙🌊
riverriverbooks.bsky.social River River Books @riverriverbooks.bsky.social · Jan 11
Visit our bookshop today and preorder our spring poetry titles today—we have FIVE forthcoming by @preetivangani.bsky.social , @esylviapoet.bsky.social, @jasutherland.bsky.social, @zoeryderwhite.bsky.social, and Elane Kim! 💙📚🎉

👉 riverriverbooks.org/store/
Where poetry moves graphic featuring our six spring poetry titles: House of Myth and Necessity by Jennifer A Sutherland Scythe by Elizabeth Sylvia Fifty Mothers by Preeti Vangani The Visible Field by Zoe Ryder White Antibody by Elane Kim Riverriverbooks.org
February 8, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
grousehollow.bsky.social
I want to say this about J.D.’s book as well, as a lover of books broadly about place and nature, etc, as many of you are—this one will surprise you and stay with you, both for its substance and style.
riverriverbooks.bsky.social River River Books @riverriverbooks.bsky.social · 7d
GOOD MORNING, COVER REVEAL! Our final spring cover is here! Nonfiction & so striking. Welcome to Backyard Alchemy, on life with other creatures in a time of salvage by J.D. Ho, design by @alban-fischer.bsky.social. @nematode.bsky.social 📚💙🎉

You can preorder here: riverriverbooks.org/store/-Preor...
Book cover: black background with a rusty fish can, the kind with a key on the top you roll back, opened. Title font and author name in gradient white font. A light striking the can and font.
February 8, 2026 at 12:38 AM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
rmac.bsky.social
This just shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how to do news. Data helps, but data doesn’t tell a reporter to spend a years-long investigation into child labor or an editor to place staff in a country on the brink of war. What exactly does Bezos think WaPo’s “journalistic mission” is?
maxtani.bsky.social max tani @maxtani.bsky.social · 7d
Jeff Bezos' statement, his first since last week's layoffs: "The Post has an essential journalistic mission and an extraordinary opportunity. Each and every day our readers give us a roadmap to success. The data tells us what is valuable and where to focus."
February 8, 2026 at 12:39 AM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
courtneymilan.com
I'm going to win.
The way Ms. Hart sees it, romance writers must either embrace artificial intelligence, or get left behind. "If I can generate a book in a day, and you need six months to write a book, who's going to win the race?" she said.
February 8, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
vcmyers.bsky.social
love the writer, love the press, can't wait for this beautiful book...
riverriverbooks.bsky.social River River Books @riverriverbooks.bsky.social · 7d
GOOD MORNING, COVER REVEAL! Our final spring cover is here! Nonfiction & so striking. Welcome to Backyard Alchemy, on life with other creatures in a time of salvage by J.D. Ho, design by @alban-fischer.bsky.social. @nematode.bsky.social 📚💙🎉

You can preorder here: riverriverbooks.org/store/-Preor...
Book cover: black background with a rusty fish can, the kind with a key on the top you roll back, opened. Title font and author name in gradient white font. A light striking the can and font.
February 7, 2026 at 5:09 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
zoeryderwhite.bsky.social
It’s here! In one of its fields of origin. So grateful to @riverriverbooks.bsky.social for giving The Visible Field a home.
February 7, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
scumbelievable.bsky.social
Every instance of "AI democratizes the arts, you're classist and ableist and a gatekeeper for trying to stop it" is a slap in the face to the literally centuries of poor, disabled people making art on the margins and a crass lie in service of a machine that strips down and regurgitates dreams
February 6, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
jgriffingraham.bsky.social
This book is transformative. Order it now.
riverriverbooks.bsky.social River River Books @riverriverbooks.bsky.social · 7d
GOOD MORNING, COVER REVEAL! Our final spring cover is here! Nonfiction & so striking. Welcome to Backyard Alchemy, on life with other creatures in a time of salvage by J.D. Ho, design by @alban-fischer.bsky.social. @nematode.bsky.social 📚💙🎉

You can preorder here: riverriverbooks.org/store/-Preor...
Book cover: black background with a rusty fish can, the kind with a key on the top you roll back, opened. Title font and author name in gradient white font. A light striking the can and font.
February 7, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
grousehollow.bsky.social
Friends, it’s so good.
riverriverbooks.bsky.social River River Books @riverriverbooks.bsky.social · 7d
GOOD MORNING, COVER REVEAL! Our final spring cover is here! Nonfiction & so striking. Welcome to Backyard Alchemy, on life with other creatures in a time of salvage by J.D. Ho, design by @alban-fischer.bsky.social. @nematode.bsky.social 📚💙🎉

You can preorder here: riverriverbooks.org/store/-Preor...
Book cover: black background with a rusty fish can, the kind with a key on the top you roll back, opened. Title font and author name in gradient white font. A light striking the can and font.
February 7, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
riverriverbooks.bsky.social
GOOD MORNING, COVER REVEAL! Our final spring cover is here! Nonfiction & so striking. Welcome to Backyard Alchemy, on life with other creatures in a time of salvage by J.D. Ho, design by @alban-fischer.bsky.social. @nematode.bsky.social 📚💙🎉

You can preorder here: riverriverbooks.org/store/-Preor...
Book cover: black background with a rusty fish can, the kind with a key on the top you roll back, opened. Title font and author name in gradient white font. A light striking the can and font.
February 7, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
katsudon.bsky.social
Every time I get a new email about the Anthropic class action settlement I just want to fucking cry because it's a reminder that I (and a ton of other writers) have been excluded from even having this tiny crumb of justice because our publishers didn't take the extra step of registering copyright.
February 7, 2026 at 1:52 PM
Reposted by Amorak Huey
hanvanderhart.bsky.social
Opened a beautiful new box of bookmarks last night! 🌙 With a quote from JD Ho’s Backyard Alchemy. You’ll be able to find both at @riverriverbooks.bsky.social’s table at AWP Baltimore next month 📚💙
A blue and green bookmark on a stack of blue books (accident!) and beside a wine glass, more books stacked behind. The bookmark has the text: "WHO COULD BLAME THE RIVER FOR ITS SMALL REBELLIONS?" J.D. HO BACKYARD ALCHEMY
February 7, 2026 at 1:37 PM