Meghan O'Rourke
@meghanor.bsky.social
Writer and poet | Editor of The Yale Review | Professor of Creative Writing at Yale | playing with a Substack about writing
Most recent book: THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM: REIMAGINING CHRONIC ILLNESS, which was a finalist for the nonfiction National Book Award.
Most recent book: THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM: REIMAGINING CHRONIC ILLNESS, which was a finalist for the nonfiction National Book Award.
Looking forward to chatting with Ann Packer about her wonderful new book in New Canaan at Elm Street Books this Wednesday at 6pm!
November 11, 2025 at 3:36 AM
Looking forward to chatting with Ann Packer about her wonderful new book in New Canaan at Elm Street Books this Wednesday at 6pm!
Excited to talk about invisible illness and the ethics of recognizing suffering tonight at 7pm at Emory's Center for Ethics. @emorycenters.bsky.social. Come by if you are in town. www.emory.edu/home/events/...
November 5, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Excited to talk about invisible illness and the ethics of recognizing suffering tonight at 7pm at Emory's Center for Ethics. @emorycenters.bsky.social. Come by if you are in town. www.emory.edu/home/events/...
“Living with #MECFS is like holding what has no meaning.”
@julierehmeyer.bsky.social's new piece about illness and grief for her friend Beth Mazur is searing and unforgettable. I’m better today, but when I was sickest, this paragraph was my life:
@julierehmeyer.bsky.social's new piece about illness and grief for her friend Beth Mazur is searing and unforgettable. I’m better today, but when I was sickest, this paragraph was my life:
August 21, 2025 at 2:00 PM
“Living with #MECFS is like holding what has no meaning.”
@julierehmeyer.bsky.social's new piece about illness and grief for her friend Beth Mazur is searing and unforgettable. I’m better today, but when I was sickest, this paragraph was my life:
@julierehmeyer.bsky.social's new piece about illness and grief for her friend Beth Mazur is searing and unforgettable. I’m better today, but when I was sickest, this paragraph was my life:
📚☀️ I dreamed up this issue a while ago, and I’m so thrilled to see it in the world today—@yalereview Summer Fiction Special is finally here! ❤️ We are so proud to have collected this astonishing group of short stories and essays! yalereview.org
June 9, 2025 at 4:59 PM
📚☀️ I dreamed up this issue a while ago, and I’m so thrilled to see it in the world today—@yalereview Summer Fiction Special is finally here! ❤️ We are so proud to have collected this astonishing group of short stories and essays! yalereview.org
Harvard v. Trump admin isn’t just about one lawsuit—it’s about whether the gov’t can force colleges to follow a political agenda by threatening their funding As I wrote in the NYT: this is how authoritarianism enters through the budget line.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/b...
May 28, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Harvard v. Trump admin isn’t just about one lawsuit—it’s about whether the gov’t can force colleges to follow a political agenda by threatening their funding As I wrote in the NYT: this is how authoritarianism enters through the budget line.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/b...
Really looking forward to this event with Todd Meyers, author of GONE GONE, an ethnography of the grief of those who lose loved ones to opioid overdose, today at the Remarque Institute at NYU.
Would love to see you if you’re around—note, you have to register to attend:
Would love to see you if you’re around—note, you have to register to attend:
May 14, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Really looking forward to this event with Todd Meyers, author of GONE GONE, an ethnography of the grief of those who lose loved ones to opioid overdose, today at the Remarque Institute at NYU.
Would love to see you if you’re around—note, you have to register to attend:
Would love to see you if you’re around—note, you have to register to attend:
So excited to talk with my brilliant friend Katie Kitamura tonight about her fantatic novel AUDITION at the Brooklyn Public Library. Come on by if you're around and interested!
May 7, 2025 at 4:46 PM
So excited to talk with my brilliant friend Katie Kitamura tonight about her fantatic novel AUDITION at the Brooklyn Public Library. Come on by if you're around and interested!
I wrote this book for the days when I couldn’t explain what was happening to me—when even I doubted my own experience. THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM is part memoir, part investigation into why so many of us feel invisible & unseen by the medical system.
If you're curious, it’s on sale @ Amazon for $1.99:
If you're curious, it’s on sale @ Amazon for $1.99:
April 25, 2025 at 12:27 AM
I wrote this book for the days when I couldn’t explain what was happening to me—when even I doubted my own experience. THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM is part memoir, part investigation into why so many of us feel invisible & unseen by the medical system.
If you're curious, it’s on sale @ Amazon for $1.99:
If you're curious, it’s on sale @ Amazon for $1.99:
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of John Ashbery’s Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror at Yale last week. It was a transcendent day & a joy to meet Susan Howe, who moved me to tears - ack - when she said when she was a young poet she felt proud to be an American because of JA's work. 💕
April 8, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of John Ashbery’s Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror at Yale last week. It was a transcendent day & a joy to meet Susan Howe, who moved me to tears - ack - when she said when she was a young poet she felt proud to be an American because of JA's work. 💕
Jim seems to have figured out what they did. But it's basically like a math word-salad problem: “There is a boat race in Europe.The American boat is twice as fast as the Vietnamese and is twice as far in the boat race as the Vietnamese one is. How much should the tariff on Vietnam be?”
April 3, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Jim seems to have figured out what they did. But it's basically like a math word-salad problem: “There is a boat race in Europe.The American boat is twice as fast as the Vietnamese and is twice as far in the boat race as the Vietnamese one is. How much should the tariff on Vietnam be?”
The important thing about the Columbia news is that it was always going to happen; it was part of the anti-DEI, anti-elite Dems play book. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/n...
March 8, 2025 at 5:25 PM
The important thing about the Columbia news is that it was always going to happen; it was part of the anti-DEI, anti-elite Dems play book. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/n...
Universities are one of the first things the new administration has come for. Here is Christopher Rufo explaining the goal in the coming "medium term": putting universities into "an existential terror." Alas, I think they're succeeding.
From this piece/podcast: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/o...
From this piece/podcast: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/o...
March 7, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Universities are one of the first things the new administration has come for. Here is Christopher Rufo explaining the goal in the coming "medium term": putting universities into "an existential terror." Alas, I think they're succeeding.
From this piece/podcast: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/o...
From this piece/podcast: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/o...
Spring is in the air, Nero is fiddling while Rome burns; why not come on out to celebrate the inimitable Sloane Crosley's paperback publication *tomorrow night* with a convo and some wine at @mcnallyjackson?
I haven't seen many of you in way too long!
I haven't seen many of you in way too long!
March 5, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Spring is in the air, Nero is fiddling while Rome burns; why not come on out to celebrate the inimitable Sloane Crosley's paperback publication *tomorrow night* with a convo and some wine at @mcnallyjackson?
I haven't seen many of you in way too long!
I haven't seen many of you in way too long!
WE. ARE. SO. EXCITED.
Announcing The Yale Review Festival: Where Writers and Readers meet.
April 8-11 in New Haven, CT.
Come join us. Schedule is here: yalereview.org/festival
Announcing The Yale Review Festival: Where Writers and Readers meet.
April 8-11 in New Haven, CT.
Come join us. Schedule is here: yalereview.org/festival
February 20, 2025 at 6:39 PM
WE. ARE. SO. EXCITED.
Announcing The Yale Review Festival: Where Writers and Readers meet.
April 8-11 in New Haven, CT.
Come join us. Schedule is here: yalereview.org/festival
Announcing The Yale Review Festival: Where Writers and Readers meet.
April 8-11 in New Haven, CT.
Come join us. Schedule is here: yalereview.org/festival
🎉 As the editor of @yalereview.bsky.social, I'm so proud of our team and our brilliant contributors:
This year, we received *two* nominations to the National Magazine Awards, for criticism & fiction. Congrats to @brandyjensen.bsky.social, @dsparis.bsky.social, Ayşegül Savaş, & Anna DeForest! 🎉
This year, we received *two* nominations to the National Magazine Awards, for criticism & fiction. Congrats to @brandyjensen.bsky.social, @dsparis.bsky.social, Ayşegül Savaş, & Anna DeForest! 🎉
February 19, 2025 at 9:17 PM
🎉 As the editor of @yalereview.bsky.social, I'm so proud of our team and our brilliant contributors:
This year, we received *two* nominations to the National Magazine Awards, for criticism & fiction. Congrats to @brandyjensen.bsky.social, @dsparis.bsky.social, Ayşegül Savaş, & Anna DeForest! 🎉
This year, we received *two* nominations to the National Magazine Awards, for criticism & fiction. Congrats to @brandyjensen.bsky.social, @dsparis.bsky.social, Ayşegül Savaş, & Anna DeForest! 🎉
Looking forward to talking with writers about submitting, publishing, being edited, and more next week--thanks to @pw.org for hosting me with these illustrious others:
February 19, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Looking forward to talking with writers about submitting, publishing, being edited, and more next week--thanks to @pw.org for hosting me with these illustrious others:
Reading and rereading the great Adrienne Rich this week:
But the great dark birds of history screamed and plunged into our personal weather/ They were headed somewhere else but their beaks and pinions drove/ along the shore, through the rags of fog/ where we stood, saying I
But the great dark birds of history screamed and plunged into our personal weather/ They were headed somewhere else but their beaks and pinions drove/ along the shore, through the rags of fog/ where we stood, saying I
February 18, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Reading and rereading the great Adrienne Rich this week:
But the great dark birds of history screamed and plunged into our personal weather/ They were headed somewhere else but their beaks and pinions drove/ along the shore, through the rags of fog/ where we stood, saying I
But the great dark birds of history screamed and plunged into our personal weather/ They were headed somewhere else but their beaks and pinions drove/ along the shore, through the rags of fog/ where we stood, saying I
🎉 Excited to say I'll be on @tamronhall.bsky.social today to talk about chronic illness, my book THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM, and the challenges of being in a body at the edge of medical knowledge. (I loved being with a live audience so much!)
Local listings are here: tamronhallshow.com/all-channels/
Local listings are here: tamronhallshow.com/all-channels/
February 18, 2025 at 6:23 PM
🎉 Excited to say I'll be on @tamronhall.bsky.social today to talk about chronic illness, my book THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM, and the challenges of being in a body at the edge of medical knowledge. (I loved being with a live audience so much!)
Local listings are here: tamronhallshow.com/all-channels/
Local listings are here: tamronhallshow.com/all-channels/
It's like we're living in SILICON VALLEY, the TV show.
February 7, 2025 at 3:56 AM
It's like we're living in SILICON VALLEY, the TV show.
I missed this @nytimes.com piece about close calls at airports when it was first published, and find the figure shocking; it should be possible to minimize near collisions like this:
January 31, 2025 at 8:10 PM
I missed this @nytimes.com piece about close calls at airports when it was first published, and find the figure shocking; it should be possible to minimize near collisions like this:
Very excited that the Yale Schwarzman center is hosting Joshua Roman performing this coming Wednesday and Thursday; on Wednesday, I'll be in conversation with him and @putrinolab.bsky.social , talking about #longcovid and #invisibleillness. Reserve tickets early!
schwarzman.yale.edu/events/joshu...
schwarzman.yale.edu/events/joshu...
January 24, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Very excited that the Yale Schwarzman center is hosting Joshua Roman performing this coming Wednesday and Thursday; on Wednesday, I'll be in conversation with him and @putrinolab.bsky.social , talking about #longcovid and #invisibleillness. Reserve tickets early!
schwarzman.yale.edu/events/joshu...
schwarzman.yale.edu/events/joshu...
Love this one: January, by William Carlos Williams.
(Fun fact: he delivered my grandmother in a tricky home breech birth! I wouldn't be here without him.)
poets.org/poem/january-3
(Fun fact: he delivered my grandmother in a tricky home breech birth! I wouldn't be here without him.)
poets.org/poem/january-3
January 2, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Love this one: January, by William Carlos Williams.
(Fun fact: he delivered my grandmother in a tricky home breech birth! I wouldn't be here without him.)
poets.org/poem/january-3
(Fun fact: he delivered my grandmother in a tricky home breech birth! I wouldn't be here without him.)
poets.org/poem/january-3
Hosting an Ask Me Anything over on my Substack subscriber chat—come ask me your questions about writing, editing, publishing, and submitting work (you just have to sign up for a subscription, whether free or paid): meghanorourke.substack.com/p/join-my-new-
January 2, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Hosting an Ask Me Anything over on my Substack subscriber chat—come ask me your questions about writing, editing, publishing, and submitting work (you just have to sign up for a subscription, whether free or paid): meghanorourke.substack.com/p/join-my-new-
A January writing challenge for subscribers... Come follow along! meghanorourke.substack.com/p/a-january-...
January 1, 2025 at 5:17 PM
A January writing challenge for subscribers... Come follow along! meghanorourke.substack.com/p/a-january-...
I’ve been editing an anthology of poems on illness and struck by how many good poems there are in which illness as seen as a metaphor in a productive way. It can be useful to describe our society as pathological. See, for example, this stunning Evie Shockley poem: poetryfoundation.org/po…
December 31, 2024 at 3:01 PM
I’ve been editing an anthology of poems on illness and struck by how many good poems there are in which illness as seen as a metaphor in a productive way. It can be useful to describe our society as pathological. See, for example, this stunning Evie Shockley poem: poetryfoundation.org/po…