Michael Mercurio
@poetmercurio.bsky.social
Poet. Founder and curator of What The Universe Is: A (Virtual) Reading Series, which happens monthly on Zoom. Also writes A Slight Case of Overthinking at https://damncurious.substack.com/
Find out more at https://www.poetmercurio.com
Find out more at https://www.poetmercurio.com
I did a close reading of @mollyakin.bsky.social 's poem "Mothering is a social construct, and I am motherless" — check it out, and then register to hear her read on July 15 at 7:30pm EDT on Zoom!
Substack post: open.substack.com/pub/damncuri...
Registration link: bit.ly/WTUIJul2025
Substack post: open.substack.com/pub/damncuri...
Registration link: bit.ly/WTUIJul2025
A Close Reading of Molly Akin's Poem "Mothering is a social construct, and I am motherless"
In which I refrain from referencing either the Pink Floyd song "Mother" or the Danzig song "Mother" because neither one is germane.
open.substack.com
July 14, 2025 at 11:29 PM
I did a close reading of @mollyakin.bsky.social 's poem "Mothering is a social construct, and I am motherless" — check it out, and then register to hear her read on July 15 at 7:30pm EDT on Zoom!
Substack post: open.substack.com/pub/damncuri...
Registration link: bit.ly/WTUIJul2025
Substack post: open.substack.com/pub/damncuri...
Registration link: bit.ly/WTUIJul2025
Preparing for next Tuesday's What The Universe Is: @mollyakin.bsky.social and David Cazden by doing a close reading of Dave's poem "Vertigo" over on my Substack: damncurious.substack.com/p/a-close-re...
Go check it out and then register for the reading! bit.ly/WTUIJul2025
Go check it out and then register for the reading! bit.ly/WTUIJul2025
A Close Reading of David Cazden's Poem "Vertigo"
No, it has nothing to do with the U2 song of the same name. It's much, much more interesting than that.
damncurious.substack.com
July 9, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Preparing for next Tuesday's What The Universe Is: @mollyakin.bsky.social and David Cazden by doing a close reading of Dave's poem "Vertigo" over on my Substack: damncurious.substack.com/p/a-close-re...
Go check it out and then register for the reading! bit.ly/WTUIJul2025
Go check it out and then register for the reading! bit.ly/WTUIJul2025
Coming up on July 15 at 7:30pm Eastern, @mollyakin.bsky.social and David Cazden will be reading for What The Universe Is: A (Virtual) Reading Series. This means you don't have to leave the comfort of your couch to hear exceptional poems and witty conversation — register at bit.ly/WTUIJul2025!
July 5, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Coming up on July 15 at 7:30pm Eastern, @mollyakin.bsky.social and David Cazden will be reading for What The Universe Is: A (Virtual) Reading Series. This means you don't have to leave the comfort of your couch to hear exceptional poems and witty conversation — register at bit.ly/WTUIJul2025!
If you've ever wanted to hear the brilliant poets Megan Pinto and Michael Dhyne read without leaving the comfort of your home, you'll be able to do exactly that on Thursday, June 12 at 7:30pm Eastern. Register at bit.ly/WTUIJun2025!
@megg-bean.bsky.social
@megg-bean.bsky.social
June 8, 2025 at 12:47 AM
If you've ever wanted to hear the brilliant poets Megan Pinto and Michael Dhyne read without leaving the comfort of your home, you'll be able to do exactly that on Thursday, June 12 at 7:30pm Eastern. Register at bit.ly/WTUIJun2025!
@megg-bean.bsky.social
@megg-bean.bsky.social
Can't wait for this meeting of the poetic minds!
masspoetryfest2025.sched.com/event/23GPb/... Looking forward to being in Salem, MA later this month for "The Informal Formal: A Craft Reading" with @poetmercurio.bsky.social, Tatiana Johnson-Boria, and Desiree C. Bailey. Should be a fun exploration of how we each reckon with form.
May 14, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Can't wait for this meeting of the poetic minds!
Tonight (April 17) at 7:00pm EDT July Westhale will read from their new poetry collection, 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 & we'll chat about it!
July is a wonderful poet and 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 is an innovative and exciting modern epic from @blacklawrence.bsky.social
Register at tinyurl.com/CCWWesthale for the link!
July is a wonderful poet and 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 is an innovative and exciting modern epic from @blacklawrence.bsky.social
Register at tinyurl.com/CCWWesthale for the link!
April 17, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Tonight (April 17) at 7:00pm EDT July Westhale will read from their new poetry collection, 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 & we'll chat about it!
July is a wonderful poet and 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 is an innovative and exciting modern epic from @blacklawrence.bsky.social
Register at tinyurl.com/CCWWesthale for the link!
July is a wonderful poet and 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 is an innovative and exciting modern epic from @blacklawrence.bsky.social
Register at tinyurl.com/CCWWesthale for the link!
Tuesday, April 15 at 7:30pm Eastern, @janehuffman.bsky.social and @patrickdonnelly.bsky.social will be reading for What The Universe Is: A (Virtual) Reading Series. It's free! Register at bit.ly/WTUIApr2025
April 15, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Tuesday, April 15 at 7:30pm Eastern, @janehuffman.bsky.social and @patrickdonnelly.bsky.social will be reading for What The Universe Is: A (Virtual) Reading Series. It's free! Register at bit.ly/WTUIApr2025
This is the upcoming (non-poetry) book I'm most excited to read!
March 31, 2025 at 3:18 PM
This is the upcoming (non-poetry) book I'm most excited to read!
Have you made a call about this yet? I have.
CALLS ARE WORKING - it has bought us precious time, but we NEED to keep the pressure up.
Tomorrow is the cloture vote.
KEEP CALLING: (202) 224-3121 ☎️☎️☎️
Tell your Dem Senator to vote NO on Cloture and NO on the Republican spending bill.
Do NOT assume your Senator will be good on this. Trust me.
Tomorrow is the cloture vote.
KEEP CALLING: (202) 224-3121 ☎️☎️☎️
Tell your Dem Senator to vote NO on Cloture and NO on the Republican spending bill.
Do NOT assume your Senator will be good on this. Trust me.
🚨 Everyone needs to call their Dem Senator right now. They are starting to cave.
Tell them:
1. Vote NO on Cloture
AND
2. Vote NO on the Republican spending bill.
Don’t let them pivot to reconciliation. GOP doesn’t need Dem votes on that and they know it.
TODAY is the showdown.
🤳🏽: (202) 224-3121
Tell them:
1. Vote NO on Cloture
AND
2. Vote NO on the Republican spending bill.
Don’t let them pivot to reconciliation. GOP doesn’t need Dem votes on that and they know it.
TODAY is the showdown.
🤳🏽: (202) 224-3121
March 13, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Have you made a call about this yet? I have.
Reposted by Michael Mercurio
From October 2024: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/totem-and-...
March 13, 2025 at 12:33 PM
From October 2024: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/totem-and-...
Whenever people ask me which celebrity shares my birthday, I always lead with Liza, because who could be better?
Happy Liza Minnelli Birthday Day 🎉💖😎🪩
a woman in a pink shirt holds a green kermit the frog
ALT: a woman in a pink shirt holds a green kermit the frog
media.tenor.com
March 12, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Whenever people ask me which celebrity shares my birthday, I always lead with Liza, because who could be better?
Keep your eye on what's happening in the Republic of Georgia, friends.
It’s the morning of Day 104. Theater University students and actors - some of the most targeted people by the regime - held the first overnight protest. They are, for now, leaving the place, and will be back in the evening.
“Solidsrity! Freedom! Until the end!”
#GeorgiaProtests
“Solidsrity! Freedom! Until the end!”
#GeorgiaProtests
March 11, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Keep your eye on what's happening in the Republic of Georgia, friends.
Saw my first red-winged blackbirds of the season this morning. I am no fan of the transition from winter to spring, but it has some lovely moments nonetheless.
March 10, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Saw my first red-winged blackbirds of the season this morning. I am no fan of the transition from winter to spring, but it has some lovely moments nonetheless.
Reposted by Michael Mercurio
“Everything shows. Your newish tattoo.
Your lips, that gruesome pool-cue
chalk blue.
The spinning light on top
of the ambulance is blue,
the color of a bruise.
Inside, Diane, you suffer,
and your suffering is you.”
— @dseuss.bsky.social “Bluish” @graywolfpress.bsky.social iterant.org/issue8-diane...
Your lips, that gruesome pool-cue
chalk blue.
The spinning light on top
of the ambulance is blue,
the color of a bruise.
Inside, Diane, you suffer,
and your suffering is you.”
— @dseuss.bsky.social “Bluish” @graywolfpress.bsky.social iterant.org/issue8-diane...
Issue #8 - Diane Seuss - Iterant
Little Fugue (State) Far have I wandered not knowing the names of where, long have I woven this dress of human hair, hereI have pitched my tent, here and there,not knowing my name, or where, not even ...
iterant.org
March 3, 2025 at 1:03 PM
“Everything shows. Your newish tattoo.
Your lips, that gruesome pool-cue
chalk blue.
The spinning light on top
of the ambulance is blue,
the color of a bruise.
Inside, Diane, you suffer,
and your suffering is you.”
— @dseuss.bsky.social “Bluish” @graywolfpress.bsky.social iterant.org/issue8-diane...
Your lips, that gruesome pool-cue
chalk blue.
The spinning light on top
of the ambulance is blue,
the color of a bruise.
Inside, Diane, you suffer,
and your suffering is you.”
— @dseuss.bsky.social “Bluish” @graywolfpress.bsky.social iterant.org/issue8-diane...
You know what to do. Click through and read.
New Q & A is up! I answered questions about Trump and Russia, the "Krasnov" rumor, surviving a mafia state, the military purges and martial law, Musk's ambitions, and much more: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/your-quest...
Your Questions Answered: We're Already in the Aftermath
On Trump and Russia, defeating the mafia state, and more.
sarahkendzior.substack.com
February 27, 2025 at 7:21 PM
You know what to do. Click through and read.
Reposted by Michael Mercurio
"We may have driven past the point of no return, but at least we got a carpool going."
substack.com/@sarahkendzi...
substack.com/@sarahkendzi...
February 26, 2025 at 11:30 PM
"We may have driven past the point of no return, but at least we got a carpool going."
substack.com/@sarahkendzi...
substack.com/@sarahkendzi...
This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the why and the how of where we are now.
:There was a coup in America, and no one noticed. It was a slow-moving coup, decades in the making, forged by redefining laws and loyalty until the contours of betrayal blurred."
--THEY KNEW (2022)
--THEY KNEW (2022)
February 26, 2025 at 2:10 PM
This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the why and the how of where we are now.
Reposted by Michael Mercurio
Putting Kash Patel in a leadership position in law enforcement, investigation and intelligence is the equivalent of asking Alf to watch your cat.
February 21, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Putting Kash Patel in a leadership position in law enforcement, investigation and intelligence is the equivalent of asking Alf to watch your cat.
If I were in Lincoln, NE, on Saturday, February 22nd, this is where I'd be at 4:30pm. If you, unlike me, will be in Lincoln, NE, on that date and at that time, please go to this and then report back. @chotchandani.bsky.social and Maria Zoccola are both really wonderful poets!
Carolina Hotchandani and Maria Zoccola are reading from their beautiful debut collections this Saturday at Francie & Finch Bookshop in Lincoln, Nebraska at 4:30pm. 🌟🌟
@chotchandani.bsky.social
@chotchandani.bsky.social
February 20, 2025 at 2:39 PM
If I were in Lincoln, NE, on Saturday, February 22nd, this is where I'd be at 4:30pm. If you, unlike me, will be in Lincoln, NE, on that date and at that time, please go to this and then report back. @chotchandani.bsky.social and Maria Zoccola are both really wonderful poets!
Reposted by Michael Mercurio
New article! On craftsmanship and independence in the face of technocratic dictatorship: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/the-crafts...
The Craftsman
I was going to make a noose, but instead I made a basket.
sarahkendzior.substack.com
February 17, 2025 at 2:07 AM
New article! On craftsmanship and independence in the face of technocratic dictatorship: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/the-crafts...
Reposted by Michael Mercurio
80th day of the protests in European Georgia. This is Tbilisi tonight.
Look at that crowd. 80 days of this. That’s how you resist a Putin-backed coup.
Look at that crowd. 80 days of this. That’s how you resist a Putin-backed coup.
February 15, 2025 at 6:03 PM
80th day of the protests in European Georgia. This is Tbilisi tonight.
Look at that crowd. 80 days of this. That’s how you resist a Putin-backed coup.
Look at that crowd. 80 days of this. That’s how you resist a Putin-backed coup.
Reposted by Michael Mercurio
"A crime syndicate that transcends state borders in its pursuit of power and wealth...this elite criminal network has been building for decades...total domination is the outcome they seek..."
HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT (2020)
hidinginplainsightbook.com
HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT (2020)
hidinginplainsightbook.com
February 16, 2025 at 12:15 AM
"A crime syndicate that transcends state borders in its pursuit of power and wealth...this elite criminal network has been building for decades...total domination is the outcome they seek..."
HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT (2020)
hidinginplainsightbook.com
HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT (2020)
hidinginplainsightbook.com
Honestly, this reads like something out of Gary Shteyngart's novel Super Sad True Love Story.
Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Georgia) has introduced a bill to "authorize the President to enter into negotiations to acquire Greenland"—and to rename Greenland as "Red, White, and Blueland."
“America is back and will soon be bigger than ever with the addition of Red, White, and Blueland,” Carter said.
“America is back and will soon be bigger than ever with the addition of Red, White, and Blueland,” Carter said.
February 14, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Honestly, this reads like something out of Gary Shteyngart's novel Super Sad True Love Story.
Reposted by Michael Mercurio
I'm reposting this. Now that my predictions have come true, folks may read these articles in a different light. Hopefully a clearer light. To fight the future, you need to grasp the past: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/ten-articl...
Ten Articles Explaining the 2024 Election
Some background reading
sarahkendzior.substack.com
February 12, 2025 at 5:56 PM
I'm reposting this. Now that my predictions have come true, folks may read these articles in a different light. Hopefully a clearer light. To fight the future, you need to grasp the past: sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/ten-articl...
“I think the role of poetry really is about detailing what it is to live during a particular period in time,” [McClain] said. “It’s within the poems that I’m really able to discover how I feel or what I think.”
What joy to read this interview with @nathanhmcclain.bsky.social today!
What joy to read this interview with @nathanhmcclain.bsky.social today!
February 12, 2025 at 10:02 PM
“I think the role of poetry really is about detailing what it is to live during a particular period in time,” [McClain] said. “It’s within the poems that I’m really able to discover how I feel or what I think.”
What joy to read this interview with @nathanhmcclain.bsky.social today!
What joy to read this interview with @nathanhmcclain.bsky.social today!