Heather Lanier
@heatherklanier.bsky.social
Essayist, poet, TED Speaker, thrift store shopper. BOOKS: Raising a Rare Girl (New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice) & Psalms of Unknowing: Poems. Work in Longreads, The Sun, Atlantic. Writing Prof @RowanU. Trying to be more human, not superhuman.
Pinned
Sometimes it helps to name the absurdity. You can find the rest of this poem in my book, PSALMS OF UNKNOWING, from Monkfish Publishing.
Reposted by Heather Lanier
I refer to growing up in the acid rain/ quicksand/impending nuclear conflict era as being "classically trained" in generalized anxiety
April 2, 2025 at 1:36 PM
I refer to growing up in the acid rain/ quicksand/impending nuclear conflict era as being "classically trained" in generalized anxiety
Reposted by Heather Lanier
If you like what you've seen from Sen. Cory Booker and other Democratic lawmakers this week, call and email their offices and let them know that. Evidence of public support gives lawmakers more clout with their colleagues to keep doing what they're doing. Constituent encouragement becomes influence.
April 2, 2025 at 6:09 PM
If you like what you've seen from Sen. Cory Booker and other Democratic lawmakers this week, call and email their offices and let them know that. Evidence of public support gives lawmakers more clout with their colleagues to keep doing what they're doing. Constituent encouragement becomes influence.
Happy Annual "OMG I Don't Think I Watched Any New Movies This Year" Day!... to all who celebrate.
March 3, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Happy Annual "OMG I Don't Think I Watched Any New Movies This Year" Day!... to all who celebrate.
Remember Reverend Shaw from Footloose? Remember the book burning scene, when all the parishioners are burning Vonnegut and such, and John Lithgow's Rev. Shaw runs out and tells everyone to stop burning books and go home? Who knew, 40 yrs later, that Rev. Shaw would be left of red America.
February 23, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Remember Reverend Shaw from Footloose? Remember the book burning scene, when all the parishioners are burning Vonnegut and such, and John Lithgow's Rev. Shaw runs out and tells everyone to stop burning books and go home? Who knew, 40 yrs later, that Rev. Shaw would be left of red America.
Trump's review of Jesus Christ after meeting: "Radical leftist. Nasty in tone. Hangs out with twelve losers. Smells like fish."
January 23, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Trump's review of Jesus Christ after meeting: "Radical leftist. Nasty in tone. Hangs out with twelve losers. Smells like fish."
The tween in my house is unabashedly listening to a muzak version of "Dance Monkey" and that's the brightest element in this shitstorm of a day. What's yours?
January 21, 2025 at 2:18 AM
The tween in my house is unabashedly listening to a muzak version of "Dance Monkey" and that's the brightest element in this shitstorm of a day. What's yours?
I watched a bit of the Eagles game. The best part was when the players made snow angels.
January 20, 2025 at 3:34 AM
I watched a bit of the Eagles game. The best part was when the players made snow angels.
When I see a sweatshirt that reads "ALL GOOD," I think, "Nope. It is decidedly not all good." But I'd love to buy a sweatshirt that reads SOME THINGS GOOD. That's a message I can get behind.
January 15, 2025 at 2:50 AM
When I see a sweatshirt that reads "ALL GOOD," I think, "Nope. It is decidedly not all good." But I'd love to buy a sweatshirt that reads SOME THINGS GOOD. That's a message I can get behind.
A year ago this week, my kid had a hole in her heart repaired w/ a polymer and titanium device that looked like a paper flower. Hooray for medical art!
With all her heart
Writer Heather Lanier reflects on a tough parenting moment: ceding control and trusting that everything will be OK
hub.jhu.edu
January 14, 2025 at 7:36 PM
A year ago this week, my kid had a hole in her heart repaired w/ a polymer and titanium device that looked like a paper flower. Hooray for medical art!
Artists, writers, thinkers, makers: Let's encourage ourselves to question the constant pressure to be "relevant." Let's give ourselves permission to be "irrelevant." Moments are fleeting. The Earth is 4.5 billion years old. You're on the Earth. Ergo, just by breathing, you're relevant.
January 10, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Artists, writers, thinkers, makers: Let's encourage ourselves to question the constant pressure to be "relevant." Let's give ourselves permission to be "irrelevant." Moments are fleeting. The Earth is 4.5 billion years old. You're on the Earth. Ergo, just by breathing, you're relevant.
1/ This morning, I typed up a very rough draft of a poem I’d handwritten in my journal, and none of it was particularly good. “Jeez,” I thought, “is this a bad poem?” The lines read like broken-up prose. And then I realized, “Wait. Maybe this isn’t a poem at all. Maybe this is an essay.”
January 9, 2025 at 8:52 PM
1/ This morning, I typed up a very rough draft of a poem I’d handwritten in my journal, and none of it was particularly good. “Jeez,” I thought, “is this a bad poem?” The lines read like broken-up prose. And then I realized, “Wait. Maybe this isn’t a poem at all. Maybe this is an essay.”
I'm impressed by the person who picks a Word of the Year. I can barely pick a Word of the Week.
December 27, 2024 at 9:37 PM
I'm impressed by the person who picks a Word of the Year. I can barely pick a Word of the Week.
Reposted by Heather Lanier
XPN's John Vettese calls "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes, our number 1 song in the #XPNCountdown, "a song of scorned determination that is an unbreakable part of the 21st century’s pop cultural DNA." Read about it here:
xpn.org/2024/12/12/8...
xpn.org/2024/12/12/8...
Song No. 1: "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes
The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" is a song of scorned determination and an unbreakable part of the 21st century's pop cultural DNA.
xpn.org
December 13, 2024 at 5:26 PM
XPN's John Vettese calls "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes, our number 1 song in the #XPNCountdown, "a song of scorned determination that is an unbreakable part of the 21st century’s pop cultural DNA." Read about it here:
xpn.org/2024/12/12/8...
xpn.org/2024/12/12/8...
Aww, Nikki Giovanni! One of my first favorite poets. www.npr.org/2024/12/09/n...
Renowned poet and Black arts movement icon Nikki Giovanni dies at 81
The poet and activist was a leading figure of the Black Arts Movement. Giovanni was working on her upcoming book of poetry, set to publish in the fall.
www.npr.org
December 10, 2024 at 3:38 AM
Aww, Nikki Giovanni! One of my first favorite poets. www.npr.org/2024/12/09/n...
Reposted by Heather Lanier
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law Monday to prohibit public and school libraries from banning books in the state and to enshrine protections against civil and criminal charges for librarians who comply with the law.
December 9, 2024 at 11:20 PM
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law Monday to prohibit public and school libraries from banning books in the state and to enshrine protections against civil and criminal charges for librarians who comply with the law.
Lately, when I scroll through Facebook and Instagram, I get off as soon as I see an ad. So far, I only make it through 1 or 2 real posts. How many posts do you see before an ad?
December 4, 2024 at 11:42 PM
Lately, when I scroll through Facebook and Instagram, I get off as soon as I see an ad. So far, I only make it through 1 or 2 real posts. How many posts do you see before an ad?
I picked out a date and time to see WICKED with the fam, chose the seats, went to pay, saw the price, and slowly backed away from the computer, cackling like a green-faced witch. “There’s no place like cheap theaters of the 90s…”
#end-of-month-budget
#end-of-month-budget
November 27, 2024 at 10:59 PM
I picked out a date and time to see WICKED with the fam, chose the seats, went to pay, saw the price, and slowly backed away from the computer, cackling like a green-faced witch. “There’s no place like cheap theaters of the 90s…”
#end-of-month-budget
#end-of-month-budget
Too many dashes. This hope metaphor is beak-less and, thus, unbelievable.
Workshop a famous piece badly: “Grass is already plural, why do you need to call it ‘Leaves of Grass.’ Also ‘leaves’ makes me think of trees’.”
November 27, 2024 at 9:16 PM
Too many dashes. This hope metaphor is beak-less and, thus, unbelievable.
I highly recommend Brooke Champagne's essay collection, NOLA FACE! Every essay is a gem. ugapress.org/book/9780820...
Nola Face
Early in Brooke Champagne’s childhood, her Ecuadorian grandmother Lala (half bruja, half santa) strictly circumscribed the girl’s present and future: bec...
ugapress.org
November 26, 2024 at 8:37 PM
I highly recommend Brooke Champagne's essay collection, NOLA FACE! Every essay is a gem. ugapress.org/book/9780820...
Reposted by Heather Lanier
I was today years old when I realized “Vader” means “father” and that plotline was not very suspenseful for the Dutch.
November 26, 2024 at 8:14 PM
I was today years old when I realized “Vader” means “father” and that plotline was not very suspenseful for the Dutch.
My 4-year-old autistic neighbor got kicked out of school and sent to "baby jail," as his educator-mom called it. I wrote about that injustice, and scarcity mindset, and tomato-growing, and the slant of the Earth, and our need to care for one another, for @electriclit.bsky.social .
We Need To Rewrite Ourselves an Ethics of Care in the Classroom and Beyond - Electric Literature
The school district used a rhetoric of scarcity to determine which kids it would support, and which kids it would eventually remove
electricliterature.com
November 19, 2024 at 9:22 PM
My 4-year-old autistic neighbor got kicked out of school and sent to "baby jail," as his educator-mom called it. I wrote about that injustice, and scarcity mindset, and tomato-growing, and the slant of the Earth, and our need to care for one another, for @electriclit.bsky.social .
Reposted by Heather Lanier
Thanks, Ohio GOP. Because of your passage of SB29 that requires our already overworked school counselors to notify parents every time a student types certain words, my kids constantly think they’re in trouble & are backing away from reading & writing about topics that matter to them. Great job.
November 15, 2024 at 3:36 PM
Thanks, Ohio GOP. Because of your passage of SB29 that requires our already overworked school counselors to notify parents every time a student types certain words, my kids constantly think they’re in trouble & are backing away from reading & writing about topics that matter to them. Great job.
Sometimes it helps to name the absurdity. You can find the rest of this poem in my book, PSALMS OF UNKNOWING, from Monkfish Publishing.
November 14, 2024 at 9:54 PM
Sometimes it helps to name the absurdity. You can find the rest of this poem in my book, PSALMS OF UNKNOWING, from Monkfish Publishing.
Reposted by Heather Lanier
Who's a policy expert I could interview on the ways the next administration will impact elders, and what they can do about it—now, and after the inauguration?
November 12, 2024 at 2:02 PM
Who's a policy expert I could interview on the ways the next administration will impact elders, and what they can do about it—now, and after the inauguration?