Pinned
Farah Bakaari
@bakaari.bsky.social
· Nov 18
yes, i’m a class A curmudgeon, but a basic tenant of my professional life is to act as though the pie is always larger than we are told it is. i’m always happy to choose fellowship over ambition. i’ve no anxiety about influence. may this always be the case.
Reposted by Farah Bakaari
Was not counting on being moved by any "Infinite Jest"-at-30 essays. And but then @pauline2k.bsky.social performed a tour de force of reparative reading. This is so lovely! www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/infinity-plu...
Infinity Plus One
You’d never mistake one of his sentences for anyone else’s. At a time when the worst thing you could be was a poser, Wallace was obviously and overtly himself.
www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org
February 13, 2026 at 11:32 PM
Was not counting on being moved by any "Infinite Jest"-at-30 essays. And but then @pauline2k.bsky.social performed a tour de force of reparative reading. This is so lovely! www.oaklandreviewofbooks.org/infinity-plu...
Reposted by Farah Bakaari
For MTC, our contributing writer Charline Jao writes about Shih-Ching Tsou’s new film LEFT-HANDED GIRL and the melodrama of late capitalism.
Illustrations by MTC Contributing Illustrator Carolyn Jao
Illustrations by MTC Contributing Illustrator Carolyn Jao
Sold for Parts: ‘Left-Handed Girl’ and Taiwan’s Markets
These are the choices given to a young girl: you can aspire to normality by “correcting” the evil thing within you, embrace evil and do bad things, or live with the constant assertion that you are …
mid-theory.com
February 12, 2026 at 3:30 PM
For MTC, our contributing writer Charline Jao writes about Shih-Ching Tsou’s new film LEFT-HANDED GIRL and the melodrama of late capitalism.
Illustrations by MTC Contributing Illustrator Carolyn Jao
Illustrations by MTC Contributing Illustrator Carolyn Jao
today i started class with bad bunny’s halftime show because that’s where the students were at and it became an excellent fodder for our unit on narratology, also a great way to review our discussion on immanent critique and totality from a few sessions ago.
February 10, 2026 at 10:50 PM
today i started class with bad bunny’s halftime show because that’s where the students were at and it became an excellent fodder for our unit on narratology, also a great way to review our discussion on immanent critique and totality from a few sessions ago.
Reposted by Farah Bakaari
It's here! I hosted a symposium on close reading at Emory in November. Matt Seybold recorded it for his podcast, American Vandal, and the first of three episodes is out today. Catch me, @johannawinant.bsky.social, @becimay.bsky.social, @bakaari.bsky.social + more podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
Close Reading For The 21st Century Symposium (Vandal Live at Emory)
Podcast Episode · The American Vandal · S12 E4 · 1 sec
podcasts.apple.com
February 10, 2026 at 12:42 PM
It's here! I hosted a symposium on close reading at Emory in November. Matt Seybold recorded it for his podcast, American Vandal, and the first of three episodes is out today. Catch me, @johannawinant.bsky.social, @becimay.bsky.social, @bakaari.bsky.social + more podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
Reposted by Farah Bakaari
having watched the benito bowl half time show several times now and then rewatched last years a couple more times, i’m convinced as ever that a not insignificant part of racism is just the fury that they couldn’t never be as cool as black and brown people. i mean goodness, swagger cannot be bought 😎
February 10, 2026 at 5:00 AM
having watched the benito bowl half time show several times now and then rewatched last years a couple more times, i’m convinced as ever that a not insignificant part of racism is just the fury that they couldn’t never be as cool as black and brown people. i mean goodness, swagger cannot be bought 😎
having watched the benito bowl half time show several times now and then rewatched last years a couple more times, i’m convinced as ever that a not insignificant part of racism is just the fury that they couldn’t never be as cool as black and brown people. i mean goodness, swagger cannot be bought 😎
February 10, 2026 at 5:00 AM
having watched the benito bowl half time show several times now and then rewatched last years a couple more times, i’m convinced as ever that a not insignificant part of racism is just the fury that they couldn’t never be as cool as black and brown people. i mean goodness, swagger cannot be bought 😎
today my nephew turned 20. first, how dare he make me feel so old?! second, when i saw him last he was 10 and when i wished him happy birthday, he said, “when will we see you again? we miss you!” and i’ve to carry around that startled lump of sedimented sadness into all that i have to do today.
February 9, 2026 at 10:14 PM
today my nephew turned 20. first, how dare he make me feel so old?! second, when i saw him last he was 10 and when i wished him happy birthday, he said, “when will we see you again? we miss you!” and i’ve to carry around that startled lump of sedimented sadness into all that i have to do today.
it’s truth universally acknowledged that one cannot have two good consecutive writing days. sigh.
February 7, 2026 at 10:52 PM
it’s truth universally acknowledged that one cannot have two good consecutive writing days. sigh.
Reposted by Farah Bakaari
For the Saturday crowd.
For MTC, a reading group reflects on Tsai's WALKER, the literature & legacy of the flâneur, and why thinking needs straying.
"After metaphysics, the monk becomes the aesthete; the empty space left behind by the death of God is filled up by art, literature, and, of course, Tsai Ming-Liang’s cinema."
"After metaphysics, the monk becomes the aesthete; the empty space left behind by the death of God is filled up by art, literature, and, of course, Tsai Ming-Liang’s cinema."
Astray: A Reading Journal
The following conversation emerges from the authors’ reading group’s discussion of Tsai Ming-Liang’s film, Walker (2012). Tsai Ming-Liang is a Malaysian-Taiwanese director, part of Taiw…
mid-theory.com
February 7, 2026 at 9:15 PM
For the Saturday crowd.
Reposted by Farah Bakaari
For MTC, a reading group reflects on Tsai's WALKER, the literature & legacy of the flâneur, and why thinking needs straying.
"After metaphysics, the monk becomes the aesthete; the empty space left behind by the death of God is filled up by art, literature, and, of course, Tsai Ming-Liang’s cinema."
"After metaphysics, the monk becomes the aesthete; the empty space left behind by the death of God is filled up by art, literature, and, of course, Tsai Ming-Liang’s cinema."
Astray: A Reading Journal
The following conversation emerges from the authors’ reading group’s discussion of Tsai Ming-Liang’s film, Walker (2012). Tsai Ming-Liang is a Malaysian-Taiwanese director, part of Taiw…
mid-theory.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:00 PM
For MTC, a reading group reflects on Tsai's WALKER, the literature & legacy of the flâneur, and why thinking needs straying.
"After metaphysics, the monk becomes the aesthete; the empty space left behind by the death of God is filled up by art, literature, and, of course, Tsai Ming-Liang’s cinema."
"After metaphysics, the monk becomes the aesthete; the empty space left behind by the death of God is filled up by art, literature, and, of course, Tsai Ming-Liang’s cinema."
Reposted by Farah Bakaari
Finally had time to sit w @bakaari.bsky.social's article, "Affectability, temporality, and postcolonial subjectification in Ayi Kwei Armah’s The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born," and it's so good. The description of the postcolonial politics of teaching people how to feel about time is *chef's kiss*
February 3, 2026 at 11:14 PM
Finally had time to sit w @bakaari.bsky.social's article, "Affectability, temporality, and postcolonial subjectification in Ayi Kwei Armah’s The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born," and it's so good. The description of the postcolonial politics of teaching people how to feel about time is *chef's kiss*
Reposted by Farah Bakaari
A publication ostensibly publishing in 2026 might conceivably prioritize actual threats in 2026.
February 2, 2026 at 2:58 PM
A publication ostensibly publishing in 2026 might conceivably prioritize actual threats in 2026.
Reposted by Farah Bakaari
Book clubs! This essay was so interesting—and I can’t wait to read the book. More convos about reading and what it means for all of us.
Maggie Boyd reviews Katarzyna Bartoszyńska’s 'Reading Together' and reflects on the democratic, indulgent good of the book club! "Reading Together testifies to the contemplative mode that both books and book clubs can spark," Boyd writes.
Reading With the Room: A Review of Katarzyna Bartoszyńska’s ‘Reading Together’
Reading Together testifies to the contemplative mode that both books and book clubs can spark. Katarzyna Bartoszyńska’s Reading Together is a book about book clubs and, quite fittingly, reads like…
mid-theory.com
January 31, 2026 at 1:57 AM
Book clubs! This essay was so interesting—and I can’t wait to read the book. More convos about reading and what it means for all of us.
i try very very hard not to yuck on people’s yum, but you guys heated rivarly is not that deep. it is silly, cute, fun, a social phenomenon but you must stop with the think pieces okay. you’re allowed to enjoy perfectly sculpted glutes without an elaborate politico-aesthetic justification
January 30, 2026 at 6:28 PM
i try very very hard not to yuck on people’s yum, but you guys heated rivarly is not that deep. it is silly, cute, fun, a social phenomenon but you must stop with the think pieces okay. you’re allowed to enjoy perfectly sculpted glutes without an elaborate politico-aesthetic justification
Reposted by Farah Bakaari
Today we have such a cool practice-focused piece out! The talented folks of Los Angeles Performance Practice let us peek behind the curtain and eavesdrop into one of their post- mortem conversations. It's also an experiment in coauthorship, with the Co-Directors of LAPP speaking as one voice! 🎭
Peek Behind the Curtain: A CASUAL Theatre Post-Mortem
I wonder what happened in the dressing room(s)? Did they all share one? What did we miss? In theatre, a “post-mortem” is the practice of evaluating a show once it has closed. It is a time for the c…
mid-theory.com
January 30, 2026 at 4:28 PM
Today we have such a cool practice-focused piece out! The talented folks of Los Angeles Performance Practice let us peek behind the curtain and eavesdrop into one of their post- mortem conversations. It's also an experiment in coauthorship, with the Co-Directors of LAPP speaking as one voice! 🎭
so a quick question for california people: is the sun just gonna shine all the damn time? this doesn’t sit well with me.
January 28, 2026 at 9:26 PM
so a quick question for california people: is the sun just gonna shine all the damn time? this doesn’t sit well with me.
when you come home in a furious mood and there are too many contenders for a culprit, what do you do? make lentils and listen to florence is one answer.
January 27, 2026 at 2:56 AM
when you come home in a furious mood and there are too many contenders for a culprit, what do you do? make lentils and listen to florence is one answer.
i am writing an essay for a more general audience and i looked at the draft and worried it was perhaps too academic. i the removed “always already,” and was like okay it’s good for public consumption now
January 26, 2026 at 9:01 PM
i am writing an essay for a more general audience and i looked at the draft and worried it was perhaps too academic. i the removed “always already,” and was like okay it’s good for public consumption now
sometimes i am a slow writer because i don’t know what i am doing or where i am going. other times i am a slow writer because i know exactly what i need to do and therefore extremely bored of carrying it out. either way, it sucks.
January 26, 2026 at 12:12 AM
sometimes i am a slow writer because i don’t know what i am doing or where i am going. other times i am a slow writer because i know exactly what i need to do and therefore extremely bored of carrying it out. either way, it sucks.
i’m jealous of your snow please report it with lots of photos.
January 25, 2026 at 3:52 PM
i’m jealous of your snow please report it with lots of photos.
Reposted by Farah Bakaari
So grateful for this engaged and thoughtful review of my book!
Maggie Boyd reviews Katarzyna Bartoszyńska’s 'Reading Together' and reflects on the democratic, indulgent good of the book club! "Reading Together testifies to the contemplative mode that both books and book clubs can spark," Boyd writes.
Reading With the Room: A Review of Katarzyna Bartoszyńska’s ‘Reading Together’
Reading Together testifies to the contemplative mode that both books and book clubs can spark. Katarzyna Bartoszyńska’s Reading Together is a book about book clubs and, quite fittingly, reads like…
mid-theory.com
January 22, 2026 at 10:31 PM
So grateful for this engaged and thoughtful review of my book!
as part of “easing into” the seminar on criticism we read auerbach’s essay on odysseus’ scar alongside first 10 pages of sinykin & winant’s close reading book. it’s not an easy essay but the students were up for the challenge and for exploring the worlds opened up by an attention to a single detail!
January 23, 2026 at 12:56 AM
as part of “easing into” the seminar on criticism we read auerbach’s essay on odysseus’ scar alongside first 10 pages of sinykin & winant’s close reading book. it’s not an easy essay but the students were up for the challenge and for exploring the worlds opened up by an attention to a single detail!
we have been here before, both in this and in other lands. we know how it ends if we stand for it.
Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026
January 23, 2026 at 12:34 AM
we have been here before, both in this and in other lands. we know how it ends if we stand for it.
Reposted by Farah Bakaari
Maggie Boyd reviews Katarzyna Bartoszyńska’s 'Reading Together' and reflects on the democratic, indulgent good of the book club! "Reading Together testifies to the contemplative mode that both books and book clubs can spark," Boyd writes.
Reading With the Room: A Review of Katarzyna Bartoszyńska’s ‘Reading Together’
Reading Together testifies to the contemplative mode that both books and book clubs can spark. Katarzyna Bartoszyńska’s Reading Together is a book about book clubs and, quite fittingly, reads like…
mid-theory.com
January 22, 2026 at 4:15 PM
Maggie Boyd reviews Katarzyna Bartoszyńska’s 'Reading Together' and reflects on the democratic, indulgent good of the book club! "Reading Together testifies to the contemplative mode that both books and book clubs can spark," Boyd writes.