Marina Benjamin
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marinabenjamin.bsky.social
Marina Benjamin
@marinabenjamin.bsky.social
750 followers 400 following 360 posts
Writer. Editor at Aeon. Midlife trilogy (Middlepause, Insomnia, A Little Give) &c. Essays in Granta, Aeon, Paris Review. New work cooking. Rep Rebecca Carter
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marinabenjamin.bsky.social
We anthropomorphise AI all the time. So why haven't we twigged how narcissistic it is?
psyche.co/ideas/why-ai...
Why AI’s hallucinations are like the illusions of narcissism | Psyche Ideas
Unable to handle uncertainty, AI mimics the narcissistic compulsion to fill voids with plausible but false narratives
psyche.co
November 5, 2025 at 8:26 PM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
Georgia O'Keeffe claimed New Mexico as her own. And painted it as thought is was empty. It wasn't. Native populations have always lived there. This is a lovely piece of revisionism from an indigenous writer.
aeon.co/essays/some-...
Some people refer to New Mexico as ‘O’Keeffe Country’. I don’t | Aeon Essays
Through her paintings, Georgia O’Keefe laid claim to New Mexico’s desert landscape. But it was never hers for the taking
aeon.co
October 28, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Reposted by Marina Benjamin
andrewkostrub.bsky.social
Updating my LEGO White House
October 23, 2025 at 2:51 AM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
You do hsve to wonder sometimes if the world can roll back from Trump when he's gone.
nytimes.com The New York Times @nytimes.com · 19d
Breaking News: The U.S. will allow oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the largest remaining tracts of pristine wilderness in the country. nyti.ms/3WhrQui
An aerial view of a snow-covered, frozen landscape. A headline reads: "Trump Opens Pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to Oil Drilling." Photo by Katie Orlinsky for The New York Times.
October 23, 2025 at 8:44 PM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
Palace gossip from pal w connections in Police: Andrew would smuggle girls into palace (circumventing sign-in book all guests are required to sign). Also Andrew Lownie let on that A took massive cash bribes when he was special trade envoy - and still paid no rent. He should be in fucking prison.
October 21, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by Marina Benjamin
Writers please spread far and wide. Six of my books were scraped by Meta (and the situation is much worse for many others). This cannot put right the past but it does enable readers to support publishers who value the work of actual writers. Thanks so much to those who have worked on this.
October 16, 2025 at 2:55 PM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
Untold Narratives does amazing work helping writers who are censored at home find outlets in the English-language press. Excited to dive into this one.
October 14, 2025 at 1:04 PM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
I am happy about the ceasefire that prevents Israel from killing any more Palestinians, but the lovefest around preening Western leaders who've actively armed the IDF for the past two years in nauseating. This goes beyond hypocricy. It is rewriting of events.
October 13, 2025 at 3:27 PM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
Very excited to get my hands on an early copy of @gavinmevans.bsky.social latest book.
October 13, 2025 at 3:08 PM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
Ooh, I see a Kate Briggs book there 👀
smallpublishers.bsky.social Small Publishers Fair @smallpublishers.bsky.social · 29d
"Reading is both a virtue and a duty." Ma Bibliothèque is the London-based imprint of artist, writer and editor Sharon Kivland, publishing essays, experimental fiction, poetry, critical writing and writing about reading. Discover the library at #smallpublishersfair25, London, Fri 24 / Sat 25 Oct
October 13, 2025 at 2:21 PM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
Normally our turnings points are about overcoming difficult experiences of one kind or another, but this one is light, funny and profound. I'm in the market for pitches for these btw.
psyche.co/turning-poin...
How my fake accent became a full-blown identity experiment | Psyche Turning points
When I spoke like someone I wasn’t, people listened more closely. What did that say about them – and me?
psyche.co
October 13, 2025 at 12:18 PM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
Desperate? Or joyful... either way, slightly disturbing
charlespiroth.bsky.social ᴄʜᴀʀʟᴇʏ★ᴘɪʀᴏᴛʜ @charlespiroth.bsky.social · Oct 10
Cueva de las Manos (Cave of the Hands) located in the Río Pinturas Canyon in the province of Santa Cruz, Patagonia, Argentina, created over 9,000 years ago.
October 10, 2025 at 6:27 PM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
The future of UK Independent presses hang by a thread. Supporting the sector is vital: this is where ALL the bravery lies. The big houses are risk averse, but copycat small press successes to revitalise their lists. Small presses are the motor!
www.thebookseller.com/comment/open...
Open letter on the future of small press publishing in the UK
The industry must work together to ensure the longevity of the UK’s independent presses.
www.thebookseller.com
October 10, 2025 at 8:42 AM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
Priceless
thedailyshow.com The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · Oct 9
The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.
October 10, 2025 at 7:07 AM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
Before we were aware of neurodiversity - mediccal men were confounded by the the coexistence of 'genius' and disability.
aeon.co/essays/histo...
History’s shaming fascination for the so-called ‘idiot savant’ | Aeon Essays
The convergence of singular talent and profound disability confounded scientists eager to place humans into neat categories
aeon.co
October 9, 2025 at 10:31 AM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
Emotional abuse hides. You can exist in an abusive relationship for years and explain it away. Until the penny drops. Then you can no longer stay.
psyche.co/turning-poin...
My husband had been abusive for years, I just couldn’t see it | Psyche Turning points
A smart, educated woman, there’s no way I could have ended up in an abusive relationship, could I?
psyche.co
October 8, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Reposted by Marina Benjamin
joannapocock.bsky.social
London people interested in memoir, the craft of non-fiction, and how we shape lives into words on a page, this is for you!
I will be in conversation at Daunt Books in Notting Hill with @lilydunn.bsky.social and @marinabenjamin.bsky.social ...
See you there!

#nonfiction #writing #memoir
October 4, 2025 at 12:31 PM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
A different kind of coming out story - profound and funny at once
psyche.co/turning-poin...
Can I be gay and Catholic? A severe joy helped me stop asking | Psyche Turning points
I wanted conviction to tell me if I could be gay and Catholic. My convictions told me something bigger
psyche.co
October 2, 2025 at 10:34 AM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
Jenny Potter is crowdfunding a new book about the artist Kurt Schwitters, but she explains it far better than I can in this video ⬇️. @littletollerbooks.bsky.social will be publishing.
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/looking-fo...
Looking for Mr Schwitters - a new book
To produce an innovative and finely illustrated book about the émigré artist Kurt Schwitters’ final years in the Lake District.
www.crowdfunder.co.uk
October 2, 2025 at 10:33 AM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
Smuggled out of Afghanistan — a chronicle of the last four years of living under Taliban rule as a woman. It was a rare privilege to work on this essay, and I am proud to have had some small part, alongside Untold Narratives and the Bagri Foundation is making it happen.
aeon.co/essays/one-w...
One woman’s eye-witness account of life under Taliban rule | Aeon Essays
When the Taliban captured my city, thousands fled and the rest were severely repressed. But I’ve stayed – and survived
aeon.co
October 2, 2025 at 10:14 AM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
Morning. Turns out that 3 of my books are eligible for the Anthropic Copyright Settlement class action claim. It's easy to file. See here for more info.
www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com
ANT Homepage | ANT
www.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com
October 2, 2025 at 7:11 AM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
I'm endlessly fascinated by the subject of women and money, and this first person story I commissioned for Psyche is a classic gaslight swindle. Why are so many women pushovers for money-grabs dressed as courtship?
psyche.co/turning-poin...
When a boyfriend conned me, I gained something priceless | Psyche Turning points
I was a pushover with a habit of picking cheating men as boyfriends; then one of them pushed me too far
psyche.co
September 17, 2025 at 12:34 PM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
The fiction flagged up here looks to be the best crop of new books in a long while. I want to read them all (butt how - given I've got 30+ books to read now for the Queen Mary Small Press Prize) Lord give me more hours!
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/s...
From a new Thomas Pynchon novel to a memoir by Margaret Atwood: the biggest books of the autumn
Essays from Zadie Smith; Wiki founder Jimmy Wales on how to save the internet; a future-set novel by Ian McEwan; a new case for the Slow Horses - plus memoirs from Kamala Harris and Paul McCartney… al...
www.theguardian.com
September 8, 2025 at 8:40 AM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
This event has all the feels. I'll be chairing, asking what memoir can do that other forms can't, and how each of them was changed by writing theirs @lilydunn.bsky.social and @joannapocock.bsky.social
dauntbooks.co.uk/shop/events/...
Joanna Pocock and Lily Dunn in conversation with Marina Benjamin
Buy tickets for the event with Joanna Pocock and Lily Dunn in conversation with Marina Benjamin at Daunt Books Notting Hill from Daunt Books today.
dauntbooks.co.uk
September 5, 2025 at 3:23 PM
marinabenjamin.bsky.social
Always a joy to work with Jay Griffiths. Her unique understanding of our relationship to nature shines through this essay. @aeon.co
aeon.co/essays/why-w...
Why we should tune into the orchestra of the animal world | Aeon Essays
Listen to the boundless sounds of nature, the great animal orchestra, whose songs imbue the world with fresh meaning
aeon.co
September 4, 2025 at 11:16 AM