David DeGusta
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davidwrites1.bsky.social
David DeGusta
@davidwrites1.bsky.social
2.2K followers 460 following 1.5K posts
Writer / fiction / Iowa Writers’ Workshop / MacDowell / Yaddo | Ethiopia / literary translation from Amharic | Previously a paleoanthropologist.
www.davidwrites.net

Translator of the Ethiopian novel Oromay by Baalu Girma.
www.davidwrites.net/oromay
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davidwrites1.bsky.social
“And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”

Spotted in the SF Bay Area. Feels like an inflection point for me, marking the moment when I can no longer maintain even the illusion that I have some tentative understanding of wtf is going on in the world.
A Tesla Cybertruck with garish graphics depicting Labubu dolls (a fandom Venn diagram I would not have thought overlapped) and a custom license plate reading LABUBUO. Normally I blur the plates of any vehicles I post, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that this owner is not especially concerned with privacy or keeping a low profile. #cybertruck #labubu #wtf
October 22, 2025 at 2:36 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
My “to read next” is a match …
The cover of the novel We Love You, Bunny by Mona Awad.
September 25, 2025 at 5:12 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
A sighting in the wild never gets old, or I sure hope it doesn’t. Spotted Oromay at @greenapplebooks.bsky.social at SF airport, in proximity to fellow Iowa grad Xochitl Gonzalez’s novel. A good start to my Bread Loaf journey.
A photo of a bookstore’s Fiction section with many great books, including the English translation of Baalu Girma’s novel Oromay, an Ethiopian classic.
August 12, 2025 at 5:20 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
I took Apple’s feedback survey for Apple Music and was surprised to see that for the question “How do you listen to Apple Music?“ the possible answers did not include “on my computer.” Which maybe goes some way towards explaining why the Mac Music app is so bad. @siracusa.social
A screenshot of an survey question from Apple asking: How do you typically listen to Apple Music? Select all that apply. • On my smartphone • In my car • On my home speakers • On my tablet • On my TV Other (specify): Under “other” the user has entered “On my Mac.” And, in retrospect, wishes he had added several exclamation marks.
August 5, 2025 at 2:13 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
If you were desperate to end your long-running podcast, murdering your co-host and claiming that they are “on vacation in Canada” would be one way to go. Like, hypothetically.

Many thanks to @mikeingram.bsky.social & @tmcallister.bsky.social (rip??) for 13 years (!!) of Bookfight.
Screenshot of the end of an email that reads as follows: … I will definitely miss doing the show. But I'm thankful for all the cool stuff it's brought into my life, including how many of you I've gotten to meet, or even just chat with online. -Mike (and Tom, in spirit) (oh wait, that makes it sound like Tom is dead, and not just on vacation in Canada.)
August 4, 2025 at 4:03 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
A top ten moment of my life occurred yesterday when I opened the pre-made salad kit (I know, I know, I usually do make my own but this week is busy) and discovered that it contained TWO packages of shredded cheese. That, my friends, is the taste of victory.
Photo of a bag of Trader Joe’s Avocado Ranch Salad Kit showing that it mistakenly contained not one but two packages of shredded cheese.
July 23, 2025 at 2:02 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
The retro/throwback sports apparel trend has officially gotten out of hand - I just saw an ad (below) for a “Retro Golden State Valkyries Logo T-shirt” from Homage. Folks, the Valkyries are an expansion franchise. Not sure how you can go “retro” during their very first season, but here we are. #wnba
An instagram ad for a “Retro” Golden State Valkyries WNBA t-shirt from Homage. Relevant ad text reads as follows: “Retro Golden State Valkyries Logo T-shirt From Homage. Homage goes deep into the archives to bring you the most unique, fun, and comfortable t-shirts. Shop officially licensed sports leagues or pop culture favorites.”
July 21, 2025 at 3:27 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
Isn’t there also a statue of his basset hound next to him? Asking for a friend. Two friends actually.
Two basset hound dogs looking at the camera and generally being adorable. #dogsofbluesky
July 20, 2025 at 6:36 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
Joyeux 14 juillet! Had some very nice ones in France, grateful to everyone I worked with and got to know there.

cc: @segovandevelde.bsky.social
A view of some French archaeologists (and wonderful people) eating at a table on the terrace of a medieval monastery looking out over a valley in St Thome, Ardeche, France.
July 14, 2025 at 4:20 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
Brave Basset Confronts Cowardly Lion
A basset hound sniffing a quite realistic plastic lion toy. #dogsofbluesky #bassethound
June 5, 2025 at 3:01 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
Excited to dive in! @zyzzyvamag.bsky.social going strong at 40. Kudos @ovillalon.bsky.social & contributors @arlozoroff.bsky.social
@cubistoctopus.bsky.social
@poetkellycm.bsky.social
@mpalaia.bsky.social
@fetaplace.bsky.social
@dapowell.bsky.social
@kimsamek.bsky.social
@gregoryspatz.bsky.social
The cover of issue 129 of the literary magazine Zyzzyva, founded in 1985.
June 3, 2025 at 3:12 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
Me when I realize it’s Wednesday and I should really deal with the emails etc that I put off until “after the holiday weekend”:
Roscoe the basset hound laying with his head tucked under a bush. #dogsofbluesky #bassethound
May 28, 2025 at 2:29 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
Gracie confirms my working theory that every basset is adorable and also has resting hungry face.
A photo of two bassets, Daisy (left) and Roscoe (right), eying the camera and wondering if there are treats to be had.
May 20, 2025 at 3:08 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
For all future submissions to lit mags, my cover letter will just be a photo of the basset hounds. Feel like that will be better for everyone involved.
A photo of two basset hounds, Roscoe (left) and Daisy (right), looking at the camera.
May 20, 2025 at 2:51 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
It seems we both have writing in the current issue of @barrelhouse.bsky.social and also both have basset hound(s)? If so, quite the coincidence!
A photo of two basset hounds, Roscoe (left) and Daisy (right), staring at the camera.
May 20, 2025 at 2:17 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr dropping in at the first-ever Golden State Valkyries game. #wnba
A photo of the back of Steve Kerr’s head in the front row at the Valkyries game. (He’s the head coach of the Golden State Warriors.)
May 17, 2025 at 3:20 AM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
Warming up for a whole new franchise - let’s go Valkyries! #WNBA #GoldenState
A photo at Chase Center of the Golden State Valkyries warming up in the background with a t-shirt in the foreground. The t-shirt says “Golden State Valkyries Inaugural Season ‘25”.
May 17, 2025 at 1:46 AM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
I’m routinely amused by how the New York Times’ weekly news quiz reveals things about its readership. Today, for example, 95% of responders knew the type of treatment a baby received for a rare disease, but only 67% knew which NBA team traded Luka Doncic and got the #1 pick in the draft lottery.
A screenshot of a question from today’s NY Times News Quiz that reads as follows: The New York Times News Quiz, May 16, 2025 KJ, a 9½-month-old boy, made medical history when he became the first patient of any age to receive which treatment, designed to fix his precise genetic disease? Custom gene-editing treatment Immunotherapy Nerve allotransplantation Tendon lengthening Orphan drug treatment Correct. It's custom gene-editing treatment. The rare genetic disorder, CPS1 deficiency, affects just one in 1.3 million babies, and half of all babies with the disorder die in the first week of life. But KJ's treatment - which built on decades of federally funded research - offers a new path for companies to develop personalized treatments without going through years of expensive development and testing. 95% of 30,929 readers answered this correctly. A screenshot of a question from today’s New York Times News Quiz that reads as follows: The New York Times News Quiz, May 16, 2025 9 of 11 What team - which traded away its superstar player, Luka Doncic, earlier this season - won the N.B.A.'s draft lottery and will have the No. 1 pick? Dallas Mavericks Los Angeles Lakers Atlanta Hawks Oklahoma City Thunder Philadelphia 76ers Correct. It's the Mavericks. The team won the lottery despite coming into the night with a 1.8 percent chance of doing so - the second-longest odds of any lottery winner in history. "It was kind of a crazy draft lottery," Cooper Flagg, the likely No. 1 pick, told The Athletic. 67% of 30,636 readers answered this correctly.
May 16, 2025 at 3:01 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
Prediction: The last survivors of end-stage capitalism will be purveyors of current event t-shirts.
An advertisement for a Pope Leo XIV t-shirt. The graphic on the shirt is in the style of the logo for the Chicago White Sox baseball team — the new Pope is from Chicago and is reportedly a White Sox fan. So they’ve got that going for them, which is nice.
May 11, 2025 at 4:29 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
I’m 100% opposed to racist sports names/logos, whose removal is virtually always a result of activism from the community.

But the Warriors logo change occured before the occupation/reclamation of Alcatraz (began 11/20/69 vs start of NBA season 10/15/69; City logo introduced in 1966 per SF Chron).
Getty photo by Fred Kaplan of NBA Warriors playoff game between March 31, 1969 and April 2, 1969, showing City logo uniforms.
May 4, 2025 at 2:02 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
When Your First Professional Job Was Being An Editor It Warps Your Brain, Part 72:

Was re-watching the pilot episode of True Detective and got distracted by inconsistent capitalization in the label of the videos. It doesn’t matter, but I can’t help noticing.
Screenshot from True Detective pilot episode (season 1) showing a video of Woody Harrelson labelled “Statement of: HART, Martin Eric” with Hart in all caps. Screenshot from True Detective pilot episode (season 1) showing a video of Matthew McConaughy labelled “Statement of: Cohle, Rustin Spencer” with Cohle capitalized normally.
May 2, 2025 at 1:27 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
X marks the spot @yaddocommunity.bsky.social
A photo of the historic mansion at Yaddo with two contrails forming an X in the sky above it.
April 21, 2025 at 1:18 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
Blurb Creep: made a rare visit to the Amazon UK website to check a listing and was surprised to see that apparently blurbs are now being appended to book titles !?

(again, I was just checking some info - I buy books from indie bookstores or Bookshop dot org, not Amazon)
Screenshot of a listing on the Amazon UK website showing the title of a book immediately followed by a blurb, specifically: Rejection: 'Tulathimutte is a pervert, a madman and a stone-cold genius' Carmen Maria Machado Hardcover - 13 Feb. 2025 by Tony Tulathimutte (Author)
April 17, 2025 at 12:49 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
View from my window at Yaddo.
An icicle melting with trees in the background against a gray sky @yaddocommunity.bsky.social
April 14, 2025 at 2:30 PM
davidwrites1.bsky.social
Oh, hello Yaddo.
The weather vane on top of the mansion at Yaddo, an artists’ residency since 1926. The ironwork of the weather vane spells out “Yaddo”. A desk with a laptop looking out tall windows to a lawn and trees, aka my studio at Yaddo.
April 11, 2025 at 1:56 PM