Brennan Bestwick
@yrfrenbren.bsky.social
Poet. Birder. Prom king. He/Him.
https://awetheater.substack.com/
https://awetheater.substack.com/
Pinned
Spending more time here, so a brief reintroduction. I’m a poet, reader, hobby photographer, proud Kansan. Albums I love from this year are mui zyu’s “nothing or something to die for” And Brittany Howard’s “What Now”
Here’s some of my #poetry from an issue of Prairie Schooner a few years back.
Here’s some of my #poetry from an issue of Prairie Schooner a few years back.
I think about the movie Aftersun every day of my life
February 3, 2026 at 10:39 PM
I think about the movie Aftersun every day of my life
As a Kansan, I’m so sick of this silly little game. Esteemed journalist shocked to find that the people who live here are generous, curious and thoughtful!
New York Times columnist visit somewhere in the the midwest without acting like you reenlisted for a third tour in 'nam challenge.
Bonus points: guess the columnist.
Bonus points: guess the columnist.
February 2, 2026 at 10:47 PM
As a Kansan, I’m so sick of this silly little game. Esteemed journalist shocked to find that the people who live here are generous, curious and thoughtful!
I got into mechanical watches last year and have a habit of slipping them off all over the house. Sometimes while I’m lying down in a dark room, I hear the faint clicking of a watch’s second hand from god knows where and it starts to drive me mad. I understand The Tell-Tale Heart like never before.
February 1, 2026 at 4:45 AM
I got into mechanical watches last year and have a habit of slipping them off all over the house. Sometimes while I’m lying down in a dark room, I hear the faint clicking of a watch’s second hand from god knows where and it starts to drive me mad. I understand The Tell-Tale Heart like never before.
Reposted by Brennan Bestwick
There are 3,800 kids in ICE custody.
January 30, 2026 at 3:44 AM
There are 3,800 kids in ICE custody.
Reposted by Brennan Bestwick
Georgia Fort, an independent journalist and vice president of the Minnesota NABJ chapter, was also arrested by federal agents this morning
I was sent this video of agents at her door:
I was sent this video of agents at her door:
January 30, 2026 at 2:58 PM
Georgia Fort, an independent journalist and vice president of the Minnesota NABJ chapter, was also arrested by federal agents this morning
I was sent this video of agents at her door:
I was sent this video of agents at her door:
I’m not like other poets, I’m actually incapable of getting better at titling poems.
January 29, 2026 at 8:53 PM
I’m not like other poets, I’m actually incapable of getting better at titling poems.
Trying to explain to my wife why the Blake Griffin highlights I watch on my phone make me so emotional.
I yearn for Lob City.
I yearn for Lob City.
January 29, 2026 at 3:47 AM
Trying to explain to my wife why the Blake Griffin highlights I watch on my phone make me so emotional.
I yearn for Lob City.
I yearn for Lob City.
Reposted by Brennan Bestwick
you cannot reform or retrain an utterly sociopathic contempt for human life like this
abolish and prosecute ICE
abolish and prosecute ICE
“I watched him die… then I watched them maneuver his body like a rag doll— only to discover it was because they wanted to count the bullet wounds and see how many they ‘got’, like he was a deer.”
January 28, 2026 at 5:23 PM
you cannot reform or retrain an utterly sociopathic contempt for human life like this
abolish and prosecute ICE
abolish and prosecute ICE
As a child of the 90’s, there is a Savage Garden song stuck deep in the back of my head. Every few years it jolts awake to fly me to the moon and back once more.
January 27, 2026 at 7:58 PM
As a child of the 90’s, there is a Savage Garden song stuck deep in the back of my head. Every few years it jolts awake to fly me to the moon and back once more.
Poem title “They’ll Name The First Snow of Winter After a Sports Betting App If You Let Them”
January 27, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Poem title “They’ll Name The First Snow of Winter After a Sports Betting App If You Let Them”
Hoping this makes me shovel snow faster.
January 25, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Hoping this makes me shovel snow faster.
Reposted by Brennan Bestwick
This is an excellent analogy, because my recollection from grade school is that the pen on the right looks fun and exciting, and then you play with it for a few minutes and realize it's not actually useful for anything and in fact makes some tasks more cumbersome, and never think about it again.
yeah, just out of interest, how many people choose the pen on the right for real work or art? See a lot of them in professional workplaces, do you?
January 22, 2026 at 12:21 PM
This is an excellent analogy, because my recollection from grade school is that the pen on the right looks fun and exciting, and then you play with it for a few minutes and realize it's not actually useful for anything and in fact makes some tasks more cumbersome, and never think about it again.
Whenever I’m sad, I think about that Bob’s Burgers episode where the pear people get peeled and say “don’t look at my bartlett buttlet.”
January 22, 2026 at 4:31 AM
Whenever I’m sad, I think about that Bob’s Burgers episode where the pear people get peeled and say “don’t look at my bartlett buttlet.”
Reposted by Brennan Bestwick
Immediate punishment for speaking out against the regime.
Mischief Toy Store in St. Paul has until Wednesday to turn over employment records to the Department of Homeland Security as part of a surprise audit launched Friday, just hours after one of the shop's owners criticized ICE agents during a television interview. bit.ly/4r5AFol
January 21, 2026 at 12:27 PM
Immediate punishment for speaking out against the regime.
I plead with my senators and say please stop appeasing the coal eating greed man who casts a 10 mile long shadow and kills our crops, but it’s no use, they love the coal eating greed man who casts a 10 mile long shadow and kills our crops, they sell him the coal.
January 21, 2026 at 12:39 PM
I plead with my senators and say please stop appeasing the coal eating greed man who casts a 10 mile long shadow and kills our crops, but it’s no use, they love the coal eating greed man who casts a 10 mile long shadow and kills our crops, they sell him the coal.
Reposted by Brennan Bestwick
I can’t get the face of this autistic woman out of my mind.
She was driving through an area where ICE was active when they forcibly removed her from her car. She was on her way to a brain injury clinic appointment. She screamed as they carried her away that she was autistic and had a brain injury.
She was driving through an area where ICE was active when they forcibly removed her from her car. She was on her way to a brain injury clinic appointment. She screamed as they carried her away that she was autistic and had a brain injury.
January 17, 2026 at 5:45 PM
I can’t get the face of this autistic woman out of my mind.
She was driving through an area where ICE was active when they forcibly removed her from her car. She was on her way to a brain injury clinic appointment. She screamed as they carried her away that she was autistic and had a brain injury.
She was driving through an area where ICE was active when they forcibly removed her from her car. She was on her way to a brain injury clinic appointment. She screamed as they carried her away that she was autistic and had a brain injury.
Reposted by Brennan Bestwick
Holy hell, what an obituary
Renfrew Christie Dies at 76; Sabotaged Racist Regime’s Nuclear Program
www.nytimes.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Holy hell, what an obituary
Reposted by Brennan Bestwick
The anti-DEI bullshit has always been simple racism barely even repackaged. Erasing Dr. Kings legacy was always one of the goals.
We pretend that the segregationists lost. But any defeat was temporary and they currently control all three branches of government.
We pretend that the segregationists lost. But any defeat was temporary and they currently control all three branches of government.
After 56 years, Indiana University is canceling the MLK dinner hosted by their Black Student Union.
Indiana University Cancels MLK Celebration Dinner
Indiana University in Indianapolis canceled a dinner in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. hosted annually in January by the Black Student Union, Mirror Indy reported.
www.insidehighered.com
January 15, 2026 at 1:04 PM
The anti-DEI bullshit has always been simple racism barely even repackaged. Erasing Dr. Kings legacy was always one of the goals.
We pretend that the segregationists lost. But any defeat was temporary and they currently control all three branches of government.
We pretend that the segregationists lost. But any defeat was temporary and they currently control all three branches of government.
Reposted by Brennan Bestwick
I wrote about Renee Good, Venezuela, Greenland, and what it means to be a human being. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
January 14, 2026 at 3:26 PM
I wrote about Renee Good, Venezuela, Greenland, and what it means to be a human being. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Listen up, brother, no whiskey will ever hit like one of these bad boys. Free yourself.
January 14, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Listen up, brother, no whiskey will ever hit like one of these bad boys. Free yourself.
Most bad things are rooted in the most embarrassing displays of masculinity
Update — Here is another clearer view of the "Whiskey Fridays with Tony Dokoupil" staging at CBS News:
January 14, 2026 at 5:31 PM
Most bad things are rooted in the most embarrassing displays of masculinity
Reposted by Brennan Bestwick
I really want ppl w/o Minneapolis connections to understand
You might've heard that Mpls public schools went hybrid bc so many families are in hiding. Well, a coworker just told me that today, during his kid's hybrid class, a kid's apt building was raided onscreen
*Everyone has stories like this*
You might've heard that Mpls public schools went hybrid bc so many families are in hiding. Well, a coworker just told me that today, during his kid's hybrid class, a kid's apt building was raided onscreen
*Everyone has stories like this*
January 13, 2026 at 6:06 PM
I really want ppl w/o Minneapolis connections to understand
You might've heard that Mpls public schools went hybrid bc so many families are in hiding. Well, a coworker just told me that today, during his kid's hybrid class, a kid's apt building was raided onscreen
*Everyone has stories like this*
You might've heard that Mpls public schools went hybrid bc so many families are in hiding. Well, a coworker just told me that today, during his kid's hybrid class, a kid's apt building was raided onscreen
*Everyone has stories like this*
Reposted by Brennan Bestwick
One basic pattern here is that DHS officials are engaging in violence simply because they are irritated at citizens protesting them. There is no plausible threat of violence here. He just wants to inflict pain, and believes there will be no penalty for doing so.
Big clash this afternoon between DHS agents and protesters in a residential street in Minneapolis, following a DHS agent hitting another vehicle. Tear gas was deployed in people’s yards and agents pepper prayed people.
January 12, 2026 at 10:09 PM
One basic pattern here is that DHS officials are engaging in violence simply because they are irritated at citizens protesting them. There is no plausible threat of violence here. He just wants to inflict pain, and believes there will be no penalty for doing so.
Reposted by Brennan Bestwick
"get a load of this guy" is gonna be the emoji cocktail of 2026
January 12, 2026 at 5:50 PM
"get a load of this guy" is gonna be the emoji cocktail of 2026