John McCrory
@johnmccrory.bsky.social
Dance to protest. Twirl your umbrellas. Make balloon animals. Put a daisy in the barrel of the soldier's gun. Me: Poet. Content Strategist & UX. Ultimate frisbee dad. Montclair citizen. New JerseyYorkHampshire.
"Most Immigrants Arrested in City Crackdowns Have No Criminal Record"
December 5, 2025 at 2:22 AM
"Most Immigrants Arrested in City Crackdowns Have No Criminal Record"
Wondering how Republicans are feeling about Trump and the effect it could have on the midterms?
Look at these giant shifts in Sherill's trouncing of Ciattarelli: Flipping Morris County in North Jersey and Burlington, Cumberland and Atlantic in South Jersey. apnews.com/projects/ele...
Look at these giant shifts in Sherill's trouncing of Ciattarelli: Flipping Morris County in North Jersey and Burlington, Cumberland and Atlantic in South Jersey. apnews.com/projects/ele...
November 5, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Wondering how Republicans are feeling about Trump and the effect it could have on the midterms?
Look at these giant shifts in Sherill's trouncing of Ciattarelli: Flipping Morris County in North Jersey and Burlington, Cumberland and Atlantic in South Jersey. apnews.com/projects/ele...
Look at these giant shifts in Sherill's trouncing of Ciattarelli: Flipping Morris County in North Jersey and Burlington, Cumberland and Atlantic in South Jersey. apnews.com/projects/ele...
Seen today on our pond in New Hampshire. Female and male loons share nest-building and nesting duties. We are rooting for their chicks to survive this year.
June 8, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Seen today on our pond in New Hampshire. Female and male loons share nest-building and nesting duties. We are rooting for their chicks to survive this year.
“Distressing to some members”?! Disappearing people in this country because of their speech and beliefs is outrageous and more than distressing to everyone in our country.
March 27, 2025 at 12:07 AM
“Distressing to some members”?! Disappearing people in this country because of their speech and beliefs is outrageous and more than distressing to everyone in our country.
I'm glad to get the work out in the world, with three poems in the spring Innisfree Poetry Journal alongside that of these fine folks www.innisfreepoetry.org
March 3, 2025 at 10:26 PM
I'm glad to get the work out in the world, with three poems in the spring Innisfree Poetry Journal alongside that of these fine folks www.innisfreepoetry.org
Hardly any eggs left at Whole Foods, West Orange, NJ.
March 1, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Hardly any eggs left at Whole Foods, West Orange, NJ.
Making a metaphor out of this front page story is entirely too easy. Like some Times editor is saying, “I’ll just leave this here…”
February 21, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Making a metaphor out of this front page story is entirely too easy. Like some Times editor is saying, “I’ll just leave this here…”
Find the facts here: www.congestion-pricing-tracker.com
February 19, 2025 at 8:57 PM
Find the facts here: www.congestion-pricing-tracker.com
Bubble, bubble, no toil, no trouble.
February 11, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Bubble, bubble, no toil, no trouble.
In Key West I am reminded by the sunset that it comes up again, too. Stay strong, friends.
February 5, 2025 at 2:58 AM
In Key West I am reminded by the sunset that it comes up again, too. Stay strong, friends.
NYT puzzle team needs to hire someone from Pittsburgh
January 31, 2025 at 2:39 AM
NYT puzzle team needs to hire someone from Pittsburgh
Huh. I also didn't realize the g is that soft J /zh/ sound... Makes it sound like a political movement for invented words.
January 19, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Huh. I also didn't realize the g is that soft J /zh/ sound... Makes it sound like a political movement for invented words.
Over the break I renovated George Gascoigne's 1575 manual on 'how to write poetry' in English to make it more accessible with modern spelling and typography + notes on Latin & 16th century idioms. See if you agree much of it is still relevant:
johnmccrory.com/prose/certai...
johnmccrory.com/prose/certai...
January 3, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Over the break I renovated George Gascoigne's 1575 manual on 'how to write poetry' in English to make it more accessible with modern spelling and typography + notes on Latin & 16th century idioms. See if you agree much of it is still relevant:
johnmccrory.com/prose/certai...
johnmccrory.com/prose/certai...
What luxury, to be so happy
that we can grieve
over imaginary lives.
—Lisel Mueller, "Late Hours"
that we can grieve
over imaginary lives.
—Lisel Mueller, "Late Hours"
December 28, 2024 at 5:42 PM
What luxury, to be so happy
that we can grieve
over imaginary lives.
—Lisel Mueller, "Late Hours"
that we can grieve
over imaginary lives.
—Lisel Mueller, "Late Hours"
As a poet and a content strategist while I am exploring some experiments with trisyllabics I couldn't help myself and had to make this chart.
December 4, 2024 at 6:18 PM
As a poet and a content strategist while I am exploring some experiments with trisyllabics I couldn't help myself and had to make this chart.
You know that saying ‘you catch more flies with honey than vinegar? Not true. And we caught more flies with wine than vinegar.
November 30, 2024 at 10:05 PM
You know that saying ‘you catch more flies with honey than vinegar? Not true. And we caught more flies with wine than vinegar.
I didn’t spend 20 minutes watching this Great Blue Heron hunt the shalllows this morning, I earned it.
November 27, 2024 at 7:43 PM
I didn’t spend 20 minutes watching this Great Blue Heron hunt the shalllows this morning, I earned it.
To me, the poetry of The Task gets better as you get deeper into the books. Cowper may have started with a lark, but he found a form that yielded some seriously great poetry. I keep finding amazing lines and passages deep in book 5 and 6. Like this section on the dangerous whims of the powerful:
November 26, 2024 at 2:01 PM
To me, the poetry of The Task gets better as you get deeper into the books. Cowper may have started with a lark, but he found a form that yielded some seriously great poetry. I keep finding amazing lines and passages deep in book 5 and 6. Like this section on the dangerous whims of the powerful:
Today’s the birthday of William Cowper (b. 1731), whose 5,000-line poem “The Task” is a great argument for poem prompts. A lady friend’s somewhat random challenge to write a blank verse poem about his sofa gets him started on a cheeky discourse (pardon) on the history of seating. But, hold on…
November 26, 2024 at 2:01 PM
Today’s the birthday of William Cowper (b. 1731), whose 5,000-line poem “The Task” is a great argument for poem prompts. A lady friend’s somewhat random challenge to write a blank verse poem about his sofa gets him started on a cheeky discourse (pardon) on the history of seating. But, hold on…
Re-reading some Mona Van Duyn poems this morning for the first time in a few years; I had forgotten how deeply I went in for her deceptively accessible style after seeing her give a reading (at Columbia in '91, I think?). Still a big inspiration for me.
![FALL
[dedication] For James, who liked it
Here’s that old drunk, already mellow.
A few nips and he’s at his best.
Everything brightens up. Summer,
who can’t stand him, gets somebody to take her
home. (She’s spoiled and tired.) The rest
cluster around and enjoy his show.
Actually, they're the same jokes,
the one about the travelling mercury
and the farmer’s pumpkins, the same tricks
lighting bittersweet and sumac
without a match. Well, those who can’t be
original can be good old boys.
A wall mural in lipstick, and he’s back
at the bar. Now for those boozy tears,
you know they come from a cold will.
And now, for God’s sake, one of his rages.
He’s storming around, knocking down everything,
leaves, lovers, lights, stepping
on chrysanthemums. It seems ages
since he’s been this bad. Then his brow clears
and he gives us this look: “Aren’t I a smarty?”
Soon he’ll pass out. Appalling! Still,
he’s always welcome at the next party.
(from Letters from a Father and Other Poems, by Mona Van Duyn, 1982)](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:fkma4nb56nu4czofb3jylzw3/bafkreifh2dw7ti7oisci5tz7nc7owpvz3u5tkw7vtszjgewynesn4ltm7m@jpeg)
November 25, 2024 at 5:02 PM
Re-reading some Mona Van Duyn poems this morning for the first time in a few years; I had forgotten how deeply I went in for her deceptively accessible style after seeing her give a reading (at Columbia in '91, I think?). Still a big inspiration for me.
No AI would ever understand the strange and unpredictable nature of taste
November 24, 2024 at 2:25 AM
No AI would ever understand the strange and unpredictable nature of taste