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swantower.bsky.social
Marie Brennan
@swantower.bsky.social
5.1K followers 160 following 1.2K posts
Author of the Memoirs of Lady Trent. Also one half of M.A. Carrick. She/her.
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swantower.bsky.social
Marie Brennan @swantower.bsky.social · Jan 7
Okay, this is a thread for U.S. folks, but also anybody facing political woes at home. I'm pinning this to my profile as an irregularly updated thread for advice and links on how to take action/take care of yourself. Scroll through it any time you need reminders (that's what I'll be doing myself).
Reposted by Marie Brennan
swantower.bsky.social
The #12DaysOfPoetry are almost over! "Cutting the Cord," published by @smallwondersmag.com, is about as close as I get to science fiction -- it's even got a space elevator and aliens in it:

smallwondersmag.com/piece/cuttin...
Cutting the Cord - Small Wonders
The aliens didn’t know: they only saw / what seemed to be a baby up in space.
smallwondersmag.com
January 4, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
gbbranstetter.bsky.social
Love this from Guillermo del Toro
“Be kind, be involved, believe in your art,” he said. “At a time when people tell you art is not important, that is always the prelude to fascism. When they tell you it doesn’t matter, when they tell you a fucking app can do art you say, if it’s that important, why the fuck do they want it so bad? The answer is because they think they can debase everything that makes us a little better, a little more human. And that, in my book, and in my life, includes monsters.”
January 5, 2026 at 2:16 AM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
mariness.bsky.social
And on another fairy tale note, "After Midnight," originally published in Mythic Delirium back in 2016:

#12DaysOfPoetry

mythicdelirium.com/featured-poe...
January 4, 2026 at 8:16 PM
swantower.bsky.social
Loved this one then, and still love it now!
January 4, 2026 at 8:55 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
yarntheory.bsky.social
On Day 11 of #12DaysOfPoetry, a math-bio poem, "Three Facts About Sperm":

web.archive.org/web/20210507...
Three facts about sperm
web.archive.org
January 4, 2026 at 7:13 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
badwriter.bsky.social
#12DaysofPoetry Day 11:

eleven dancers
one singular sensation
it's a chorus line
January 4, 2026 at 6:08 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
yarntheory.bsky.social
For a belated Day 10 of #12DaysOfPoetry, a mathematical villanelle for @saraluckelman.bsky.social . You can find a copy in the Bridges 2020 anthology:

www2.math.uconn.edu/~glaz/Bridge...
Difference Equations for Sara There is a smallest step that you can take, embarking on a journey. Skips and hops exaggerate the lurch we always make when setting into motion. Though you shake at the beginning, do not seek to stop before the smallest step that you can take. Pile changes onto changes, as a rake collects dry leaves, or elsewhere steady drops from rainclouds shape a puddle. Always make your starting into stories. No mistake exists except assuming you can swap a safe choice for the steps that you must take. A lack of motion is a choice that slakes no thirst except a petty urge to shop for other people's faults. So, let us make our jerky, small attempts together wake the power for a longer climb. The top of this long hill is reached by steps we take in union, in this work that we all make.
January 4, 2026 at 5:10 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
eleanorball.bsky.social
#12DaysofPoetry Day 11: “On Tuesday, We Take a Trip to Saturn” in @smallwondersmag.com. A sweet poem about a sapphic road trip in space 💕💫

smallwondersmag.com/piece/on-tue...
On Tuesday, We Take a Trip to Saturn - Small Wonders
On Tuesday, we take a trip to Saturn in my mom's old shuttle, / the one with peeling bumper stickers and crumb-spotted seats.
smallwondersmag.com
January 4, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
rmd1023.bsky.social
Reminder for everyone operating at situationally-diminished capacity.
Screencap of post from tumblr user nitewrighter Me: I don't get it. I thought I was doing a lot better than I was a few years ago. I'm like 10 times more on top of things than I used to be. How does everything feel terrible now? The Tiny Me in OSHA-approved Hi-Vis Gear Who lives in my brain and pulls all the levers: Boss, it's the fascism. You're completely gunked up with cortisol due to the fact that your entire daily life is now underscored with a haunting awareness of the rapid erosion of your rights, dignity, and any and all social safety nets, and you're also bearing witness to the most vulnerable people immediately being persecuted. This creates a natural stress response that basically means you're going to continue having memory and organizational problems, as well as emotional imbalances. Me: BUT I HAVE A BULLET JOURNAL AND I MEDITATE NOW. Tiny OSHA Me: BOSS, THE FASCISM.
January 3, 2026 at 3:40 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
swantower.bsky.social
For Day 10 of #12DaysOfPoetry, we go back to free verse with "Hallucination" in @mergansermagazine.bsky.social, wherein I indulge in some linguistic games while being angry about AI:

mergansermagazine.com/story/halluc...
Hallucination – Merganser Magazine
mergansermagazine.com
January 3, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
mariness.bsky.social
Third, "Horsemen."

Because everyone loves biscotti.

#12DaysOfPoetry

medium.com/@marikness/h...
January 3, 2026 at 11:29 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
mariness.bsky.social
Second, "The Indifferent Song of C. Acer," which, ok, yes, another take on a considerably more famous poem, with rockets:

#12DaysOfPoetry

speculativecity.com/poetry/the-i...
January 3, 2026 at 11:27 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
mariness.bsky.social
For Day 10 of #12DaysOfPoetry ....

....we need a lot of poems. So, three from me, all of which seem to fit today's mood for one reason or another.

First up, "The Stained Oak Leaves" (Umbel and Panicle, February 2017) kinda about poets and dragons:

umbelandpanicle.weebly.com/issue-one-ma...
January 3, 2026 at 11:24 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
the-lettersea.com
On the 10th day of #12DaysOfPoetry, I return to “wind through a long-forgotten outpost,” published by @penumbricmag.bsky.social in 2023, and demand of the world a day for when it’s neither pertinent nor applicable.
January 3, 2026 at 9:53 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
eleanorball.bsky.social
#12DaysofPoetry Day 10: “Gods from Machine” in @psalteryandlyre.bsky.social. A summery poem to beat the cold this week. Also *checks notes* another grief poem…? I think I’m sensing a theme.

psalteryandlyre.org/2024/12/02/g...
Gods from Machine
by Eleanor Ball
psalteryandlyre.org
January 3, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
badwriter.bsky.social
#12DaysofPoetry Day 10 (in which I get silly):

ten pipers piping
I think I can handle that
if they're piping hot
January 3, 2026 at 3:20 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
swantower.bsky.social
My Day 9 poem title, "Story Sits in Places," pays tribute to Keith Basso's anthropology classic, Wisdom Sits in Places, as it's about mythology being inscribed upon the landscape. Also published by @omgjulia.bsky.social in Worlds of Possibility! #12DaysOfPoetry

www.swantower.com/writing/stor...
Story Sits in Places - Swan Tower
by Marie Brennan A giant bound in stone, that distant peak; an ever-sleeping woman curves these hills; the tears of parted lovers feed this creek. From every place remembered history spills, a landsca...
www.swantower.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
eleanorball.bsky.social
#12DaysofPoetry Day 9: “The Skeleton Cafe” in Orion’s Belt. Another speculative grief poem, this one centered around the quirky visitors (inhabitants?) of an afterlife cafe.

www.orions-belt.net/archives/the...
The Skeleton Cafe — Orion's Belt
Clicking teeth keep time in the skeleton cafe.
www.orions-belt.net
January 3, 2026 at 2:25 AM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
rebeccarhelm.bsky.social
OMG 😭

Huntington's is an inherited disease that's like Alzheimers + Parkinson's all in one. NOW: "once the gene therapy has been delivered into the brain... [it] injects a piece of DNA to reprogram the neuron to become a factory for its own cure."

LIFE SAVING!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhEx...
Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time | BBC News
YouTube video by BBC News
www.youtube.com
September 25, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
histoftech.bsky.social
Barbra Streisand
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wants you to stop calling Al "slop" in 2026. Images of satya Nadella and MS AI logo. Microsoft logo redone to say Microslop
January 3, 2026 at 1:24 AM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
gregpak.net
Clowns will say it doesn't matter; we don't have the numbers to impeach.

You get the numbers by FORCING THE ISSUE. You make NOISE, you DEMAND, you NEVER STOP YELLING.

You do nothing? You get nothing.

Ignore the clowns. Call your fucking reps and tell them to do their jobs and IMPEACH.

reps.fyi
Find Your Representative
Find your representatives. Learn how to find and connect with them. Stay informed about their bills, committees, and contributions.
reps.fyi
January 3, 2026 at 7:52 AM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
lostcitymagic.bsky.social
Your Cherokee words for today.
The top word is English followed by how it is written in the Cherokee language followed by how it is spelled in English then how to pronounce it phonetically.

The origin of Magic part two

When the sun found her daughter dead, she went into the house and grieved, and
Image is line paper with writing showing an English word followed by how it is written in the Cherokee language followed by how it is spelled and pronounced. The word is magic wand and pronounced gahlawnahstawdee gahnahstee Image is line paper with writing showing an English word followed by how it is written in the Cherokee language followed by how it is spelled and pronounced. The word is magician and pronounced ahdahway-hee
January 3, 2026 at 5:34 AM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
spacecowboybooks.bsky.social
My interview with poetry Hugo winner @swantower.bsky.social is up on the SFPA blog
sfpoetry.bsky.social SF & F Poetry Assn @sfpoetry.bsky.social · 2d
we've had some exciting stuff out on the blog the past couple of days, so be sure to check it out!

might we recommend this interview with Marie Brennan, winner of the Hugo award for poetry ✨

sfpoetry.org/wp/2026/01/0...
Interview with Marie Brennan, winner of the Hugo award for poetry – Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association
sfpoetry.org
January 2, 2026 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
mariness.bsky.social
Day 9 of #12DaysOfPoetry - and the first of two days of dancing in the song. (I'm counting the leaping lords as dancing lords, though we could certainly think of other interpretations.)

So, "After the Dance," which originally appeared in Uncanny in 2015:

www.uncannymagazine.com/article/dance/
January 2, 2026 at 8:54 PM
Reposted by Marie Brennan
yarntheory.bsky.social
On Day 9 of #12DaysOfPoetry, another poem from Cirque!

issuu.com/burwellm/doc...
Screenshot of "Marseille": Father, on your birthday I am in the museum taking photos of the bones of ships. The wood arcs up like dinosaur ribs. I lean over the railing upstairs. To the rowers, hunched between wine-jars and fish sauce this ship would have seemed so small. It is so hard to know the size of things when we are close.
January 2, 2026 at 7:45 PM