Maria Popova
@mariapopova.bsky.social
Creator of The Marginalian (once upon a time called Brain Pickings). Lover of books and tress. Petter of moss. Wonderer. Also: almanacofbirds.org
Pinned
Maria Popova
@mariapopova.bsky.social
· Apr 19
An Almanac of Birds: 100 Divinations for Uncertain Days
In nearly two decades of The Marginalian, nothing has stirred a more passionate response from readers than the strangest, most sidewise, most private of my labors — the bird divinations I ori…
www.themarginalian.org
In nearly two decades of The Marginalian, nothing has stirred a more passionate response from readers than the strangest, most sidewise, most private of my labors — the bird divinations I shared the morning of my fortieth birthday. They are now a book of cards:
Herman Melville's passionate, beautiful, heartbreaking love letters to Nathaniel Hawthorne (to whom he dedicated Moby-Dick) www.themarginalian.org/2019/02/13/h...
November 11, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Herman Melville's passionate, beautiful, heartbreaking love letters to Nathaniel Hawthorne (to whom he dedicated Moby-Dick) www.themarginalian.org/2019/02/13/h...
The relationship between play and purposeful work – such a wonderful and necessary antidote to the modern cult of workaholism from Benedictine monk and philosopher David Steindl-Rast www.themarginalian.org/2014/12/22/d...
Why We Lost Leisure: David Steindl-Rast on Purposeful Work, Play, and How to Find Meaning in the Magnificent Superfluities of Life
“A piece of music doesn’t come to an end when its purpose is accomplished. It has no purpose, strictly speaking. It is the playful unfolding of meaning.”
www.themarginalian.org
November 11, 2025 at 1:01 AM
The relationship between play and purposeful work – such a wonderful and necessary antidote to the modern cult of workaholism from Benedictine monk and philosopher David Steindl-Rast www.themarginalian.org/2014/12/22/d...
A delightful century-old field guide to the art of kissing www.themarginalian.org/2013/02/14/t...
A Century-Old Field Guide to the Art of Kissing
“Like a bee that settles on the fragrant pistils of a flower, and sips in the nectar for honey, so should you sip in the nectar from between the lips of your love.”
www.themarginalian.org
November 10, 2025 at 10:16 PM
A delightful century-old field guide to the art of kissing www.themarginalian.org/2013/02/14/t...
Against the Cartesian myth of work/life balance – André Gregory’s extraordinary letter to Richard Avedon about the nature of creativity www.themarginalian.org/2025/11/10/a...
November 10, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Against the Cartesian myth of work/life balance – André Gregory’s extraordinary letter to Richard Avedon about the nature of creativity www.themarginalian.org/2025/11/10/a...
Still the best thing ever put to words about the art of growing older www.themarginalian.org/2015/09/03/g...
Grace Paley on the Art of Growing Older
“The main thing is this — when you get up in the morning you must take your heart in your two hands. You must do this every morning.”
www.themarginalian.org
November 10, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Still the best thing ever put to words about the art of growing older www.themarginalian.org/2015/09/03/g...
"If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me."
The science of entropy, the art of alternative endings, and the bittersweet story behind one of the greatest poems ever written www.themarginalian.org/2022/04/07/t...
Let the more loving one be me."
The science of entropy, the art of alternative endings, and the bittersweet story behind one of the greatest poems ever written www.themarginalian.org/2022/04/07/t...
The More Loving One: The Science of Entropy and the Art of Alternative Endings
“If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving one be me.”
www.themarginalian.org
November 10, 2025 at 5:47 AM
"If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me."
The science of entropy, the art of alternative endings, and the bittersweet story behind one of the greatest poems ever written www.themarginalian.org/2022/04/07/t...
Let the more loving one be me."
The science of entropy, the art of alternative endings, and the bittersweet story behind one of the greatest poems ever written www.themarginalian.org/2022/04/07/t...
"Peter Rabbit" creator Beatrix Potter's little-known scientific studies of mushrooms (which help mycologists identify species to this day) and of lichens (the mysterious reproduction of which she discovered, revolutionizing their place in the kingdoms of life) www.themarginalian.org/2015/07/28/b...
Beatrix Potter, Mycologist: The Beloved Children’s Book Author’s Little-Known Scientific Studies and Illustrations of Mushrooms
“Imagination is the precursor to policy, the precondition to action. Imagination, like wonder, allows us to value something.”
www.themarginalian.org
November 10, 2025 at 3:24 AM
"Peter Rabbit" creator Beatrix Potter's little-known scientific studies of mushrooms (which help mycologists identify species to this day) and of lichens (the mysterious reproduction of which she discovered, revolutionizing their place in the kingdoms of life) www.themarginalian.org/2015/07/28/b...
“Living beings defy neat definition… We abide in a symbiotic world.”
The visionary evolutionary biologist Lynn Margulis (of Gaia Hypothesis fame) on symbiosis and the unself www.themarginalian.org/2022/12/21/l...
The visionary evolutionary biologist Lynn Margulis (of Gaia Hypothesis fame) on symbiosis and the unself www.themarginalian.org/2022/12/21/l...
Symbiosis and the Unself: Evolutionary Biologist Lynn Margulis on How Interbeing Shapes Life on Earth
“Living beings defy neat definition… We abide in a symbiotic world.”
www.themarginalian.org
November 10, 2025 at 1:22 AM
“Living beings defy neat definition… We abide in a symbiotic world.”
The visionary evolutionary biologist Lynn Margulis (of Gaia Hypothesis fame) on symbiosis and the unself www.themarginalian.org/2022/12/21/l...
The visionary evolutionary biologist Lynn Margulis (of Gaia Hypothesis fame) on symbiosis and the unself www.themarginalian.org/2022/12/21/l...
“Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or your happiness to the future… The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received.”
A century-old gem of acute relevance from C.S. Lewis www.themarginalian.org/2022/10/19/c...
A century-old gem of acute relevance from C.S. Lewis www.themarginalian.org/2022/10/19/c...
C.S. Lewis on Our Task in Troubled Times
“Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or your happiness to the future… The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received.”
www.themarginalian.org
November 10, 2025 at 1:01 AM
“Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or your happiness to the future… The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received.”
A century-old gem of acute relevance from C.S. Lewis www.themarginalian.org/2022/10/19/c...
A century-old gem of acute relevance from C.S. Lewis www.themarginalian.org/2022/10/19/c...
If your day could use a burst of delight, listen to David Byrne perform "One Fine Day" with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus: www.themarginalian.org/2020/05/14/o...
One Fine Day: David Byrne Performs His Hymn of Optimism and Countercultural Anthem of Resistance and Resilience with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus
“I complete my tasks, one by one. I remove my masks, when I am done…”
www.themarginalian.org
November 9, 2025 at 10:16 PM
If your day could use a burst of delight, listen to David Byrne perform "One Fine Day" with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus: www.themarginalian.org/2020/05/14/o...
A #birddivination for your Sunday. Find it as a solo print and part of the deck of 100, along with the story and process behind them, at almanacofbirds.org
November 9, 2025 at 6:02 PM
A #birddivination for your Sunday. Find it as a solo print and part of the deck of 100, along with the story and process behind them, at almanacofbirds.org
Louise Erdrich on the deepest meaning of resistance www.themarginalian.org/2024/11/13/l...
November 9, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Louise Erdrich on the deepest meaning of resistance www.themarginalian.org/2024/11/13/l...
Last couple of weeks to enter the ceramics raffle www.themarginalian.org/2025/10/23/c...
November 9, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Last couple of weeks to enter the ceramics raffle www.themarginalian.org/2025/10/23/c...
"Very few people ever really are alive and those that are never die; no matter if they are gone. No one you love is ever dead."
Hemingway's extraordinary letter to a couple who lost their son, crowned with his only overt reflection on the meaning of life www.themarginalian.org/2024/05/21/h...
Hemingway's extraordinary letter to a couple who lost their son, crowned with his only overt reflection on the meaning of life www.themarginalian.org/2024/05/21/h...
November 9, 2025 at 2:28 PM
"Very few people ever really are alive and those that are never die; no matter if they are gone. No one you love is ever dead."
Hemingway's extraordinary letter to a couple who lost their son, crowned with his only overt reflection on the meaning of life www.themarginalian.org/2024/05/21/h...
Hemingway's extraordinary letter to a couple who lost their son, crowned with his only overt reflection on the meaning of life www.themarginalian.org/2024/05/21/h...
Bloom – a touching animated short film about depression and what it takes to recover the light of being www.themarginalian.org/2020/02/27/b...
Bloom: A Touching Animated Short Film about Depression and What It Takes to Recover the Light of Being
How the warm rays of hope and healing enter the dark inner chamber of leaden loneliness through the unexpected cracks of kindness.
www.themarginalian.org
November 9, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Bloom – a touching animated short film about depression and what it takes to recover the light of being www.themarginalian.org/2020/02/27/b...
"Attention without feeling... is only a report."
Mary Oliver on what attention really means – a gorgeous meditation nested into her gorgeous elegy for her soul-mate www.themarginalian.org/2015/01/20/m...
Mary Oliver on what attention really means – a gorgeous meditation nested into her gorgeous elegy for her soul-mate www.themarginalian.org/2015/01/20/m...
November 9, 2025 at 5:47 AM
"Attention without feeling... is only a report."
Mary Oliver on what attention really means – a gorgeous meditation nested into her gorgeous elegy for her soul-mate www.themarginalian.org/2015/01/20/m...
Mary Oliver on what attention really means – a gorgeous meditation nested into her gorgeous elegy for her soul-mate www.themarginalian.org/2015/01/20/m...
Nick Cave's lovely antidote to our existential helplessness www.themarginalian.org/2022/12/29/n...
Nick Cave on the Antidote to Our Existential Helplessness
Stepping up to the subtle gestures that can redeem a day, or a life.
www.themarginalian.org
November 9, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Nick Cave's lovely antidote to our existential helplessness www.themarginalian.org/2022/12/29/n...
“Practice kindness all day to everybody and you will realize you’re already in heaven now.”
Jack Kerouac on kindness, the self illusion, and the "Golden Eternity" – wonderful letter to his first wife turned lifelong friend www.themarginalian.org/2014/03/12/j...
Jack Kerouac on kindness, the self illusion, and the "Golden Eternity" – wonderful letter to his first wife turned lifelong friend www.themarginalian.org/2014/03/12/j...
November 9, 2025 at 1:01 AM
“Practice kindness all day to everybody and you will realize you’re already in heaven now.”
Jack Kerouac on kindness, the self illusion, and the "Golden Eternity" – wonderful letter to his first wife turned lifelong friend www.themarginalian.org/2014/03/12/j...
Jack Kerouac on kindness, the self illusion, and the "Golden Eternity" – wonderful letter to his first wife turned lifelong friend www.themarginalian.org/2014/03/12/j...
How to keep criticism from sinking your soul – Whitman, after Emerson took him down a notch, on the discipline of creative confidence www.themarginalian.org/2019/01/03/w...
How to Keep Criticism from Sinking Your Soul: Walt Whitman and the Discipline of Creative Confidence
“I do not trouble my spirit to vindicate itself or be understood.”
www.themarginalian.org
November 8, 2025 at 10:16 PM
How to keep criticism from sinking your soul – Whitman, after Emerson took him down a notch, on the discipline of creative confidence www.themarginalian.org/2019/01/03/w...
"Everyone who works with love and with intelligence finds in the very sincerity of his love for nature and art a kind of armor against the opinions of other people."
Van Gogh's moving letters to his brother www.themarginalian.org/2014/05/07/v...
Van Gogh's moving letters to his brother www.themarginalian.org/2014/05/07/v...
November 8, 2025 at 8:01 PM
"Everyone who works with love and with intelligence finds in the very sincerity of his love for nature and art a kind of armor against the opinions of other people."
Van Gogh's moving letters to his brother www.themarginalian.org/2014/05/07/v...
Van Gogh's moving letters to his brother www.themarginalian.org/2014/05/07/v...
Carl Sagan explains how stars are born, live, die, and give us life www.themarginalian.org/2014/12/17/c...
Carl Sagan Explains How Stars Are Born, Live, Die, and Give Us Life
“We are made by the atoms and the stars… our matter and our form are determined by the cosmos of which we are a part.”
www.themarginalian.org
November 8, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Carl Sagan explains how stars are born, live, die, and give us life www.themarginalian.org/2014/12/17/c...
How to handle criticism – advice from some of the greatest writers of the past century www.themarginalian.org/2016/04/07/w...
How to Handle Criticism: Advice from Some of the Greatest Writers of the Past Century
Wisdom and wit from Kurt Vonnegut, Aldous Huxley, William Styron, Truman Capote, and other literary titans.
www.themarginalian.org
November 8, 2025 at 4:28 PM
How to handle criticism – advice from some of the greatest writers of the past century www.themarginalian.org/2016/04/07/w...
How to be a stone – three poems for trusting time www.themarginalian.org/2025/06/21/s...
How to Be a Stone: Three Poems for Trusting Time
If you want to befriend time — which is how you come to befriend life — turn to stone. Climb a mountain and listen to the conversation between eons encoded in each stripe of rock. Walk …
www.themarginalian.org
November 8, 2025 at 3:04 PM
How to be a stone – three poems for trusting time www.themarginalian.org/2025/06/21/s...
A lighthouse for dark times www.themarginalian.org/2024/11/06/t...
A Lighthouse for Dark Times
This is the elemental speaking: It is during phase transition — when the temperature and pressure of a system go beyond what the system can withstand and matter changes from one state to anot…
www.themarginalian.org
November 8, 2025 at 2:28 PM
A lighthouse for dark times www.themarginalian.org/2024/11/06/t...
"7. Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric."
Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell 10 tenets of critical thinking
www.themarginalian.org/2012/05/02/a...
Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell 10 tenets of critical thinking
www.themarginalian.org/2012/05/02/a...
A Liberal Decalogue: Bertrand Russell’s Ten Commandments of Critical Thinking and Democratic Decency
‘Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.’
www.themarginalian.org
November 8, 2025 at 1:01 PM
"7. Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric."
Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell 10 tenets of critical thinking
www.themarginalian.org/2012/05/02/a...
Nobel laureate Bertrand Russell 10 tenets of critical thinking
www.themarginalian.org/2012/05/02/a...