Aaron Wolfson
@awolfson.bsky.social
Writing memoir, poetry, essays, performance stuff, etc., in Chicago.
I also do software.
If you wanna keep up with me: newsletter.aaronjacobwolfson.com
I also do software.
If you wanna keep up with me: newsletter.aaronjacobwolfson.com
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
Hal hadn’t survived three Thanksgivings by being stupid.
November 21, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Hal hadn’t survived three Thanksgivings by being stupid.
Wanna cry?
![Comic. Panels up to the 10-year point are grayed out. New panels since the Ten Years comic, which chronicles the first ten years of PERSON 1's journey with cancer: (1) [two people in bed] PERSON 1 (woman): One more chapter? PERSON 2 (man): Don’t we both have to get up early? PERSON 1: Nnnnnggggh PERSON 2: Sure, good point. (2) [many people wearing masks, walking while looking at graphs on their phones] (3) [birds landing on people] PERSON 2 in beanie and scarf: Hah! They like *my* seeds best. PERSON 1 in scarf holding phone with a bird sitting on it: Wait, how do I take a picture of this one? (4) [two people rowing boats with tree landscape] (5) [Person 1 carries overflowing stack of things to Person 2 in bed] PERSON 1: I brought you honey lemon tea, more pillows, a cinnamon roll, Tylenol, another blanket, a– PERSON 2: It was just Appendicitis, I’m really– PERSON 1: *It is my turn to take care of you and I am going to do it right!* (6) [Two people in car] (7) [still in car) PERSON 1: Oh my god. PERSON 2: Oh my god. (8) [car driving] PERSON 1: Pull over! PERSON 2: I am! (9) [both people get out of car] (10) [Large colored panel of aurora borealis over water with both people looking on] (11) [Person 1 sits against tree while Person 2 lies on the ground] PERSON 1: Fifteen years. No sign of the cancer. (12) I *am* having some weird symptoms. Joint pain. Fatigue. I think I’m losing my close-up vision. PERSON 2: Yeah. Me too. (13) PERSON 2: I think we’re getting old. (14) PERSON 1: I guess that’s okay. PERSON 2: It’s all I wanted.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreihwhjblp5lyiwp63ouar7ocfea7evmckytoeo7rkfuoo4gw5rnrra@jpeg)
November 27, 2025 at 7:36 AM
Wanna cry?
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
ELPHABA
and
GLINDA
will return
SUMMER 2027
in SINNERS 2
and
GLINDA
will return
SUMMER 2027
in SINNERS 2
November 26, 2025 at 2:56 PM
ELPHABA
and
GLINDA
will return
SUMMER 2027
in SINNERS 2
and
GLINDA
will return
SUMMER 2027
in SINNERS 2
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 25, 2025 at 11:07 PM
I once asked a bookseller at a large indie store how many people would have to buy a book for it to get the attention of the store buyer and cause an additional order and they said: Three.
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
The border is a rusted hinge that does not bend.
The border is the blood clot in the river’s vein.
The border is a handshake that becomes a squeezing contest.
-Alberto Ríos
from “The Border: A Double Sonnet” (2015)
#everynightapoem
The border is the blood clot in the river’s vein.
The border is a handshake that becomes a squeezing contest.
-Alberto Ríos
from “The Border: A Double Sonnet” (2015)
#everynightapoem
November 25, 2025 at 9:29 PM
The border is a rusted hinge that does not bend.
The border is the blood clot in the river’s vein.
The border is a handshake that becomes a squeezing contest.
-Alberto Ríos
from “The Border: A Double Sonnet” (2015)
#everynightapoem
The border is the blood clot in the river’s vein.
The border is a handshake that becomes a squeezing contest.
-Alberto Ríos
from “The Border: A Double Sonnet” (2015)
#everynightapoem
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
Happy pub. day to Maggie Nelson's THE SLICKS, a keen, ardent celebration of unbridled female ambition in the work of Taylor Swift and Sylvia Plath.
Get your copy!
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
Get your copy!
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
November 25, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Happy pub. day to Maggie Nelson's THE SLICKS, a keen, ardent celebration of unbridled female ambition in the work of Taylor Swift and Sylvia Plath.
Get your copy!
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
Get your copy!
bookshop.org/p/books/the-...
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
“The speaker of today’s poem imagines loved ones coming to their funeral—and they have some directives, and some requests," host @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in today's episode of The Slowdown, number 1402.
Read "Gloria Mundi" by Michael Kleber-Diggs: https://bit.ly/3Xb2ezJ
Read "Gloria Mundi" by Michael Kleber-Diggs: https://bit.ly/3Xb2ezJ
November 24, 2025 at 5:33 PM
“The speaker of today’s poem imagines loved ones coming to their funeral—and they have some directives, and some requests," host @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social shares in today's episode of The Slowdown, number 1402.
Read "Gloria Mundi" by Michael Kleber-Diggs: https://bit.ly/3Xb2ezJ
Read "Gloria Mundi" by Michael Kleber-Diggs: https://bit.ly/3Xb2ezJ
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
If you like an author's work, the best thing you can do is buy it. The second best thing you can do is ask your local library to buy it. Or, do both!
A reminder that the median book deal for a debut author in the UK is £7000, paid over 12-18 months. (from 2022 Society of Authors report). Some of your favourite writers are struggling. societyofauthors.org/2022/12/06/a....
A profession struggling to sustain itself - The Society of Authors
ALCS report on author incomes shows 60% drop in median incomes since 2006
societyofauthors.org
November 24, 2025 at 5:39 PM
If you like an author's work, the best thing you can do is buy it. The second best thing you can do is ask your local library to buy it. Or, do both!
"What the hell is happening?
"I blew up the building!"
"Why?!"
"Because you made a phone call, Charlie Brown!"
"I blew up the building!"
"Why?!"
"Because you made a phone call, Charlie Brown!"
There are more things in heaven and earth, Charlie Brown, than are dreamt of in your philosophy
We Thought You Was a Toad, Charlie Brown
November 24, 2025 at 5:57 PM
"What the hell is happening?
"I blew up the building!"
"Why?!"
"Because you made a phone call, Charlie Brown!"
"I blew up the building!"
"Why?!"
"Because you made a phone call, Charlie Brown!"
Found this in the little free library. Look out, everybody.
November 24, 2025 at 4:33 AM
Migrate it to the @thestorygraph.com. You can have that one for free!
one million dollars to anyone who can unfuck my goodreads page
November 24, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Migrate it to the @thestorygraph.com. You can have that one for free!
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
Part 218 of 200 in historically interesting things to inspire your ttrpg dnd
Ceramic hedgehog dated to the Neolithic period found at the Hamin archaeological site near Shebotu Town in Inner Mongolia, China
Ceramic hedgehog dated to the Neolithic period found at the Hamin archaeological site near Shebotu Town in Inner Mongolia, China
November 22, 2025 at 3:14 AM
Part 218 of 200 in historically interesting things to inspire your ttrpg dnd
Ceramic hedgehog dated to the Neolithic period found at the Hamin archaeological site near Shebotu Town in Inner Mongolia, China
Ceramic hedgehog dated to the Neolithic period found at the Hamin archaeological site near Shebotu Town in Inner Mongolia, China
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
This class sounds incredible.
Have you heard?! The force of nature that is @meganstielstra.bsky.social is teaching a four-session online class starting Jan 8. This class will give writers everything they need to know to write powerful personal essays that center the human experience.
buff.ly/kjE6IyR
#writers
buff.ly/kjE6IyR
#writers
Urgency and the Personal Essay: Four Lessons on What to Say, How to Say it, Revision, and Submitting with Megan Stielstra - StoryStudio Chicago
"I’ve written a hundred course descriptions in my career, but over the past few months these paragraphs feel new and charged and vital. What does it mean to write in this time? To write of this time?…
buff.ly
November 16, 2025 at 8:11 PM
This class sounds incredible.
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
Hey if you accidentally read that thing about Olivia Nuzzi and would like a mental cleanse, why not read about Journey’s Separate Ways and the need to scream sometimes when you’re sad?
"when I, with my supposed iron stomach for sadness, try to think of the saddest song I've ever heard, my mind goes to that CD that Sam gave Jennifer, and the one song I couldn’t believe was on it."
Chris Ritter on Journey's "Separate Ways":
marchxness.com/the-essays#/...
Chris Ritter on Journey's "Separate Ways":
marchxness.com/the-essays#/...
Essays — March Sadness 90s Edition
marchxness.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Hey if you accidentally read that thing about Olivia Nuzzi and would like a mental cleanse, why not read about Journey’s Separate Ways and the need to scream sometimes when you’re sad?
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
San Francisco in 35mm (Minolta x700, Gold 200, scanned and processed by me, I don't know what I'm doing)
November 16, 2025 at 5:59 PM
San Francisco in 35mm (Minolta x700, Gold 200, scanned and processed by me, I don't know what I'm doing)
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
From this minister's op-ed: "People wanting to experience God are more likely to meet the Divine trying to shut down the Broadview, Illinois, ICE facility than we ever were in church...God does not live in our houses of worship, but...with those who are bearing the brunt of cruelty in this moment."
Oh wow @reuters.com got the photo here:
November 14, 2025 at 9:38 PM
From this minister's op-ed: "People wanting to experience God are more likely to meet the Divine trying to shut down the Broadview, Illinois, ICE facility than we ever were in church...God does not live in our houses of worship, but...with those who are bearing the brunt of cruelty in this moment."
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
We're thrilled to announce the Pegasus Poetry Book Prize, recognizing a US poet aged 40 or older for their first or second poetry collection. In addition to publication by Graywolf, the awardee will receive $10,000 from the Poetry Foundation.
www.poetryfoundation.org/awards/poetr...
www.poetryfoundation.org/awards/poetr...
November 12, 2025 at 10:00 PM
We're thrilled to announce the Pegasus Poetry Book Prize, recognizing a US poet aged 40 or older for their first or second poetry collection. In addition to publication by Graywolf, the awardee will receive $10,000 from the Poetry Foundation.
www.poetryfoundation.org/awards/poetr...
www.poetryfoundation.org/awards/poetr...
"The masks were a way to opt out..."
Perhaps a better, more ethical way they could opt out is to quit their jobs.
Perhaps a better, more ethical way they could opt out is to quit their jobs.
From the outside it might look like ICE officers wear masks to avoid accountability, but in reality they are a way to avoid accountability.
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
November 12, 2025 at 2:07 AM
"The masks were a way to opt out..."
Perhaps a better, more ethical way they could opt out is to quit their jobs.
Perhaps a better, more ethical way they could opt out is to quit their jobs.
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
i’m ready for something different than whatever the fuck this is
November 10, 2025 at 12:51 AM
i’m ready for something different than whatever the fuck this is
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
every generation loves Rumours. it’s fucking Rumours
November 9, 2025 at 2:55 AM
every generation loves Rumours. it’s fucking Rumours
"It was like a cult of gel pens and fluffy journals, and as a 14 year-old no one expects you to look past the swag and realize that someone telling you you’re empowered is absolutely not the same thing as them actually empowering you."
sarapetersen.substack.com/p/the-limite...
sarapetersen.substack.com/p/the-limite...
Jessica Simpson's Lessons For Tradwives
No one can live in a feminized identity box forever
sarapetersen.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:36 AM
"It was like a cult of gel pens and fluffy journals, and as a 14 year-old no one expects you to look past the swag and realize that someone telling you you’re empowered is absolutely not the same thing as them actually empowering you."
sarapetersen.substack.com/p/the-limite...
sarapetersen.substack.com/p/the-limite...
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
"Do we feel better about ourselves and the fact that we are not billionaires, because we can sit here making fun of them?"
@finejuli.bsky.social (Margaux Eliot)'s interview with @awolfson.bsky.social on her new book "Honeymoon Stage” (Little A) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/11/04/i...
@finejuli.bsky.social (Margaux Eliot)'s interview with @awolfson.bsky.social on her new book "Honeymoon Stage” (Little A) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/11/04/i...
“Inauthentically Authentic”: Reliving Reality TV in the Aughts with Margaux Eliot (aka Julia Fine) - Chicago Review of Books
When you discover that everyone around you is performing a role, how can you learn to trust anyone at all? In Honeymoon Stage, Margaux Eliot’s debut novel—Eliot is the nom de plume of Chicago-based th...
chireviewofbooks.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:23 PM
"Do we feel better about ourselves and the fact that we are not billionaires, because we can sit here making fun of them?"
@finejuli.bsky.social (Margaux Eliot)'s interview with @awolfson.bsky.social on her new book "Honeymoon Stage” (Little A) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/11/04/i...
@finejuli.bsky.social (Margaux Eliot)'s interview with @awolfson.bsky.social on her new book "Honeymoon Stage” (Little A) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/11/04/i...
Reposted by Aaron Wolfson
I have a book out today, so obviously my agent and I have been discussing each character's vote in the NYC election.
Anyway: it's about early 2000s reality TV and identity performance and trust, I'm proud of it, it's on sale today, and its main gal would go for Zohran
Anyway: it's about early 2000s reality TV and identity performance and trust, I'm proud of it, it's on sale today, and its main gal would go for Zohran
Honeymoon Stage
Check out Honeymoon Stage - <p><b>Brimming with wit and romance, this twisty trip back to the early 2000s follows as a former production assistant's upcoming marriage descends into the confusion, chao...
bookshop.org
November 4, 2025 at 6:10 PM
I have a book out today, so obviously my agent and I have been discussing each character's vote in the NYC election.
Anyway: it's about early 2000s reality TV and identity performance and trust, I'm proud of it, it's on sale today, and its main gal would go for Zohran
Anyway: it's about early 2000s reality TV and identity performance and trust, I'm proud of it, it's on sale today, and its main gal would go for Zohran
“I have never felt so connected to this neighborhood, where I have lived for half of my life. When I am out bike patrolling, seeing so many neighbors out doing the same, I can feel, for the first time, maybe we are all on the same team.”
“The regime wants all of us afraid. It is counting on fear immobilizing us and perhaps even turning us against each other. Instead, what we are currently seeing in Chicago is that solidarity can overcome fear and can give people the courage and tenacity to fight for each other.” --Mariame Kaba
In Chicago, We Run Toward Danger Together
"Faced with unrelenting state violence, Chicagoans have refused to be cowed," says Mariame Kaba.
organizingmythoughts.org
November 8, 2025 at 6:16 PM
“I have never felt so connected to this neighborhood, where I have lived for half of my life. When I am out bike patrolling, seeing so many neighbors out doing the same, I can feel, for the first time, maybe we are all on the same team.”