Michael Downs
@michaeldowns.bsky.social
Writer. A few books, plenty of journalism, and a fascination with the song "Sitting on Top of the World." http://michael-downs.net
"It is not time that is lacking, only focus." – Zagajewski
"It is not time that is lacking, only focus." – Zagajewski
Pinned
Michael Downs
@michaeldowns.bsky.social
· Jan 15
Michael Downs | writer
The internet home of Michael Downs, author of the forthcoming novel, THE STRANGE AND TRUE TALE OF HORACE WELLS, SURGEON DENTIST
www.michael-downs.net
Updated my author website. New landing page, new art. Please do send a DM should you find a typo.
What @janefriedman.com says!
If you can, please support writers, readers, and the Good Contrivance Farm Writers' Retreat.
secure.givelively.org/donate/good-...
If you can, please support writers, readers, and the Good Contrivance Farm Writers' Retreat.
secure.givelively.org/donate/good-...
November 14, 2025 at 3:38 PM
What @janefriedman.com says!
If you can, please support writers, readers, and the Good Contrivance Farm Writers' Retreat.
secure.givelively.org/donate/good-...
If you can, please support writers, readers, and the Good Contrivance Farm Writers' Retreat.
secure.givelively.org/donate/good-...
My first literary hero ... and still my literary hero at age 97.
"I have been true to everything in life." – Legs Diamond
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/a...
"I have been true to everything in life." – Legs Diamond
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/a...
At 97, the Bard of Albany Still Spins Tales of Gangsters and Politicians
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 7:55 PM
My first literary hero ... and still my literary hero at age 97.
"I have been true to everything in life." – Legs Diamond
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/a...
"I have been true to everything in life." – Legs Diamond
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/a...
Good Contrivance Farm is a magical place for readers and writers. I’m pleased to serve on the non-profit’s volunteer board. We’re engaged in our first-ever year-end fundraiser. If you can help us in our mission to support literary culture, thank you. bit.ly/WriterFarm
#literarylife #writingcommunity
#literarylife #writingcommunity
November 11, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Good Contrivance Farm is a magical place for readers and writers. I’m pleased to serve on the non-profit’s volunteer board. We’re engaged in our first-ever year-end fundraiser. If you can help us in our mission to support literary culture, thank you. bit.ly/WriterFarm
#literarylife #writingcommunity
#literarylife #writingcommunity
I first saw food stamps in 1975 when Mom used them in a grocery store line. I was 11 then, or 12. Eventually, Dad and Mom had stable work and didn't need the country's help anymore. But the country was there for us when we did.
That the administration now chooses to deny hungry people sickens me.
That the administration now chooses to deny hungry people sickens me.
November 3, 2025 at 8:48 PM
I first saw food stamps in 1975 when Mom used them in a grocery store line. I was 11 then, or 12. Eventually, Dad and Mom had stable work and didn't need the country's help anymore. But the country was there for us when we did.
That the administration now chooses to deny hungry people sickens me.
That the administration now chooses to deny hungry people sickens me.
This proud @uarizona.bsky.social alum (Class of '86) is looking at you, President Garimella. Reject the compact now.
This is what courage in the face of authoritarianism looks like. No university should take Trump's bribe & surrender their integrity — bending the knee to a bully only feeds the beast & puts ALL our rights at risk.
Others should follows MIT’s example ASAP.
Others should follows MIT’s example ASAP.
MIT rejects Trump administration deal for priority federal funding
MIT is one of the nine schools that were asked to agree to adopt conservative priorities and policies in exchange for funding perks.
www.washingtonpost.com
October 10, 2025 at 6:04 PM
This proud @uarizona.bsky.social alum (Class of '86) is looking at you, President Garimella. Reject the compact now.
Reposted by Michael Downs
“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?”
Edgar Allan Poe died today in1849 in Baltimore.
Edgar Allan Poe died today in1849 in Baltimore.
October 7, 2025 at 12:37 PM
“The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?”
Edgar Allan Poe died today in1849 in Baltimore.
Edgar Allan Poe died today in1849 in Baltimore.
Reposted by Michael Downs
Reading White, Latino, Asian, Black, Man, Woman, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish-- we are remarkably alike in the printed word. In sharing our experiences, we're talking about the outside.
Our inner voice, our happiness & despair, is universal.
This is why people who want to divide us attack books.
Our inner voice, our happiness & despair, is universal.
This is why people who want to divide us attack books.
October 7, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Reading White, Latino, Asian, Black, Man, Woman, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish-- we are remarkably alike in the printed word. In sharing our experiences, we're talking about the outside.
Our inner voice, our happiness & despair, is universal.
This is why people who want to divide us attack books.
Our inner voice, our happiness & despair, is universal.
This is why people who want to divide us attack books.
For #BannedBooksWeek, I'm for the first time reading this "horrorshow," the most banned book in the U.S. in 2025, per Pen America. Stephen King is the most banned author. I used to think Banned Books Week was a way to remind ourselves not to fall into a bad old history. Yet, here we are.
October 6, 2025 at 2:43 PM
For #BannedBooksWeek, I'm for the first time reading this "horrorshow," the most banned book in the U.S. in 2025, per Pen America. Stephen King is the most banned author. I used to think Banned Books Week was a way to remind ourselves not to fall into a bad old history. Yet, here we are.
No #SundaySentence this week. Instead, here's a scene from a literary talk featuring writer Debra Spark in the barn at Good Contrivance Farm. I suppose the luna moth is a fine sentence.
September 7, 2025 at 2:15 PM
No #SundaySentence this week. Instead, here's a scene from a literary talk featuring writer Debra Spark in the barn at Good Contrivance Farm. I suppose the luna moth is a fine sentence.
Reposted by Michael Downs
I want the USA to be free from the poison of guns so badly
August 27, 2025 at 5:12 PM
I want the USA to be free from the poison of guns so badly
Reposted by Michael Downs
“There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation. There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize. There is a failure here that topples all our success.”
John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
August 27, 2025 at 9:35 PM
“There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation. There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize. There is a failure here that topples all our success.”
John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
Reposted by Michael Downs
Politico estimates the cost of the Nat'l Guard in L.A. to have been $134 million.
Cost of deployment in Washington, D.C., is estimated to be $1 million a day.
Now, if he goes into Chicago and other blue-state cities?
That's a lot of Medicaid, a lot of food stamps, a lot of grants for art ... .
Cost of deployment in Washington, D.C., is estimated to be $1 million a day.
Now, if he goes into Chicago and other blue-state cities?
That's a lot of Medicaid, a lot of food stamps, a lot of grants for art ... .
What’s the cost of the National Guard deployment in DC? - WTOP News
D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton is calling for the Pentagon to provide an estimate of the cost of deploying 2,000 National Guard personnel in the District during the federal law enforcement surge ...
wtop.com
August 26, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Politico estimates the cost of the Nat'l Guard in L.A. to have been $134 million.
Cost of deployment in Washington, D.C., is estimated to be $1 million a day.
Now, if he goes into Chicago and other blue-state cities?
That's a lot of Medicaid, a lot of food stamps, a lot of grants for art ... .
Cost of deployment in Washington, D.C., is estimated to be $1 million a day.
Now, if he goes into Chicago and other blue-state cities?
That's a lot of Medicaid, a lot of food stamps, a lot of grants for art ... .
He looked at me like I was his spanking newborn baby and he did love me so, but feared the world would never be what any of us had hoped for.
–a daughter recalls her father in this #SundaySentence from Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Poisonwood Bible.
–a daughter recalls her father in this #SundaySentence from Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Poisonwood Bible.
August 24, 2025 at 3:56 PM
He looked at me like I was his spanking newborn baby and he did love me so, but feared the world would never be what any of us had hoped for.
–a daughter recalls her father in this #SundaySentence from Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Poisonwood Bible.
–a daughter recalls her father in this #SundaySentence from Barbara Kingsolver's novel, The Poisonwood Bible.
Hey, #NEA. Go ahead and yank annual funding for creative writing. Maybe spend that $875k on Diet Coke for the West Wing. But for F's sake, don't capitulate to the tyrant's gold-plated vanity by capitalizing "administration."
Unless it's at the start of a sentence, which this is not.
Unless it's at the start of a sentence, which this is not.
August 22, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Hey, #NEA. Go ahead and yank annual funding for creative writing. Maybe spend that $875k on Diet Coke for the West Wing. But for F's sake, don't capitulate to the tyrant's gold-plated vanity by capitalizing "administration."
Unless it's at the start of a sentence, which this is not.
Unless it's at the start of a sentence, which this is not.
"Grandma can't fall asleep without the noise of the table saw."
– a #SundaySentence from the remarkable novel VORACIOUS by Małgorzata Lebda, translated by @antonialloydjones.bsky.social. Published by @lindeneditions.bsky.social
– a #SundaySentence from the remarkable novel VORACIOUS by Małgorzata Lebda, translated by @antonialloydjones.bsky.social. Published by @lindeneditions.bsky.social
August 17, 2025 at 1:29 PM
"Grandma can't fall asleep without the noise of the table saw."
– a #SundaySentence from the remarkable novel VORACIOUS by Małgorzata Lebda, translated by @antonialloydjones.bsky.social. Published by @lindeneditions.bsky.social
– a #SundaySentence from the remarkable novel VORACIOUS by Małgorzata Lebda, translated by @antonialloydjones.bsky.social. Published by @lindeneditions.bsky.social
Reposted by Michael Downs
Announcing a special micro category for the Baltimore Review fall issue: 400 words max, one or two micros in one sub, micro submission period (9/1 – 9/14) and response by 9/30. Payment for accepted work at our usual rate. Because we love the short and surprising. baltimorereview.org
The Baltimore Review
A journal of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction
baltimorereview.org
August 14, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Announcing a special micro category for the Baltimore Review fall issue: 400 words max, one or two micros in one sub, micro submission period (9/1 – 9/14) and response by 9/30. Payment for accepted work at our usual rate. Because we love the short and surprising. baltimorereview.org
"I prefer the hell of chaos to the hell of order."
Possibilities - The Wisława Szymborska Foundation
I prefer movies. I prefer cats. I prefer the oaks along the Warta. I prefer Dickens to Dostoyevsky. I prefer myself liking people to myself loving mankind. I prefer keeping a needle and thread on hand...
www.szymborska.org.pl
August 12, 2025 at 1:09 PM
"I prefer the hell of chaos to the hell of order."
A good day to remind ourselves:
August 11, 2025 at 4:33 PM
A good day to remind ourselves:
For me, this will be a must read.
All right, the countdown has begun: Six months from today, my next book, "Moses and the Doctor," will be published. We'll be in page proofs and galleys in September. If you're interested in reviewing or covering the book, shoot me an email (address in my bio) or DM. It's becoming real.
August 10, 2025 at 9:37 PM
For me, this will be a must read.
"I give you Thurman Munson ... spitting diamonds of saliva: Safe."
– a #SundaySentence I've long loved, too long for Bluesky's character limitations, so the screen grab. From Michael Paterniti's classic, "The House that Thurman Munson Built," first published in Esquire, September 1999.
– a #SundaySentence I've long loved, too long for Bluesky's character limitations, so the screen grab. From Michael Paterniti's classic, "The House that Thurman Munson Built," first published in Esquire, September 1999.
August 10, 2025 at 11:07 AM
"I give you Thurman Munson ... spitting diamonds of saliva: Safe."
– a #SundaySentence I've long loved, too long for Bluesky's character limitations, so the screen grab. From Michael Paterniti's classic, "The House that Thurman Munson Built," first published in Esquire, September 1999.
– a #SundaySentence I've long loved, too long for Bluesky's character limitations, so the screen grab. From Michael Paterniti's classic, "The House that Thurman Munson Built," first published in Esquire, September 1999.
Breakfast in Baltimore with James Baldwin.
August 6, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Breakfast in Baltimore with James Baldwin.
To begin, I must admit that I am no one you know, and ask you to excuse my forwardness.
– a #SundaySentence from the anthology Letters to a Stranger, "To the Young German Horsewoman, Chosen to Help with Réttir," by Pam Houston
– a #SundaySentence from the anthology Letters to a Stranger, "To the Young German Horsewoman, Chosen to Help with Réttir," by Pam Houston
August 3, 2025 at 12:00 PM
To begin, I must admit that I am no one you know, and ask you to excuse my forwardness.
– a #SundaySentence from the anthology Letters to a Stranger, "To the Young German Horsewoman, Chosen to Help with Réttir," by Pam Houston
– a #SundaySentence from the anthology Letters to a Stranger, "To the Young German Horsewoman, Chosen to Help with Réttir," by Pam Houston
Reposted by Michael Downs
The US government has sent innocent men to be beaten and raped in a foreign gulag
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
‘Welcome to hell’: Inside the megaprison where the U.S. deported migrants
Interviews with 16 former detainees of El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center offer the most complete view yet of conditions inside the notorious prison.
www.washingtonpost.com
August 1, 2025 at 5:21 PM
The US government has sent innocent men to be beaten and raped in a foreign gulag
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...
www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...