Michael Hessel-Mial
@mrpoemguy.bsky.social
Poet and scholar, college writing instructor, wife guy, dad to Melody. I’m an editor at specpoverse.org. Science fiction, PDFs, socialism, Jewish mysticism. Free Palestine 🇵🇸
Pinned
I have three poems in this beautiful anthology! My entries do a lot more genre play this time, doing science fiction sendups of T.S. Eliot and the ancient Greek Olympian ode. Thanks to @angrygablepress.bsky.social and @nsborwein.bsky.social for including me!
For those of you following my science fiction poetry, this essay is a statement on the poetics side of it all. If you’re interested in form/style questions, I hope this gives you some cool expansive ideas about them! Hoping to write more essays about speculative poetics & would love your questions!
Michael Hessel-Mial’s “Speculative Poetry and The Plasticity of Form” is our Angry Gable #28! angrygablepress.com/2025/11/26/t...
The Angry Gable #28
Featuring Michael Hessel-Mial
angrygablepress.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:57 PM
For those of you following my science fiction poetry, this essay is a statement on the poetics side of it all. If you’re interested in form/style questions, I hope this gives you some cool expansive ideas about them! Hoping to write more essays about speculative poetics & would love your questions!
Periodic reminder that I’d love a poetry sub acceptance and ten thousand dollars
November 25, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Periodic reminder that I’d love a poetry sub acceptance and ten thousand dollars
In the long poetry thing I’m doing intense rewrites on, there was a sequence of maybe 30 lines maximum that took two weeks of sweating out, but it couldn’t have gone any other way.
November 25, 2025 at 12:51 PM
In the long poetry thing I’m doing intense rewrites on, there was a sequence of maybe 30 lines maximum that took two weeks of sweating out, but it couldn’t have gone any other way.
Reposted by Michael Hessel-Mial
November 24, 2025 at 11:46 PM
I post a lot about loving writing poetry, and I do, but alas, there are times when writing poetry is disrupted by anxiety about it being good
November 24, 2025 at 12:36 PM
I post a lot about loving writing poetry, and I do, but alas, there are times when writing poetry is disrupted by anxiety about it being good
EVERYTHING YOU SAY TO MEEE
(TAKES ME ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE EDGE
AND I’M ABOUT TO BREAK)
(TAKES ME ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE EDGE
AND I’M ABOUT TO BREAK)
November 23, 2025 at 5:36 PM
EVERYTHING YOU SAY TO MEEE
(TAKES ME ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE EDGE
AND I’M ABOUT TO BREAK)
(TAKES ME ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE EDGE
AND I’M ABOUT TO BREAK)
Did the “stay up late riffing on music videos” thing with my wife and a good friend, and I have only good things to say about riffing on music videos with friends
November 22, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Did the “stay up late riffing on music videos” thing with my wife and a good friend, and I have only good things to say about riffing on music videos with friends
It feels like it’s a pretty challenging transitional time in speculative fiction publishing. Its mainstream prestige has grown but at the same time a lot of publications are financially slipping. I wonder if there’s been a comparable period in SFF publishing history, or if it’s a uniquely hard time.
November 21, 2025 at 7:34 PM
It feels like it’s a pretty challenging transitional time in speculative fiction publishing. Its mainstream prestige has grown but at the same time a lot of publications are financially slipping. I wonder if there’s been a comparable period in SFF publishing history, or if it’s a uniquely hard time.
Just met with my second writers group of the week, and the piece I was excited to share completely belly-flopped, dead in the water
November 21, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Just met with my second writers group of the week, and the piece I was excited to share completely belly-flopped, dead in the water
Reposted by Michael Hessel-Mial
Incredibly honored to have 5 speculative poems in this anthology!
November 20, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Incredibly honored to have 5 speculative poems in this anthology!
I have three poems in this beautiful anthology! My entries do a lot more genre play this time, doing science fiction sendups of T.S. Eliot and the ancient Greek Olympian ode. Thanks to @angrygablepress.bsky.social and @nsborwein.bsky.social for including me!
November 20, 2025 at 4:11 PM
I have three poems in this beautiful anthology! My entries do a lot more genre play this time, doing science fiction sendups of T.S. Eliot and the ancient Greek Olympian ode. Thanks to @angrygablepress.bsky.social and @nsborwein.bsky.social for including me!
I have poems in this! Coming out tomorrow!!!
Katabatic Circus Volume 2 Out November 20th! a.co/d/gt0JNrs
Katabatic Circus (Volume 2)
Amazon.com: Katabatic Circus (Volume 2) eBook : Borwein, Naomi Simone, Arnzen, Michael A., Bruner, Pixie, Patterson, H.V., Newton, Kurt, LoSchiavo, LindaAnn, Hessel-Miel, Michael, Magee, Alan, St. Claire, Joshua, Borwein, Naomi Simone: Kindle Store
a.co
November 19, 2025 at 2:47 PM
I have poems in this! Coming out tomorrow!!!
Reposted by Michael Hessel-Mial
Shimaas tent has fallen apart in the cold and the rain, and she desperately needs another. Please do what you can gofund.me/bec64b33
November 19, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Shimaas tent has fallen apart in the cold and the rain, and she desperately needs another. Please do what you can gofund.me/bec64b33
The sympathetic framing of both the Epstein revelations and the Nuzzi scandal is meant to encourage a fawning intoxication with power, promote the idea that anyone small could be caught up in the allure of someone so big. It’s cool that people are mostly seeing through it.
November 18, 2025 at 1:01 PM
The sympathetic framing of both the Epstein revelations and the Nuzzi scandal is meant to encourage a fawning intoxication with power, promote the idea that anyone small could be caught up in the allure of someone so big. It’s cool that people are mostly seeing through it.
Reposted by Michael Hessel-Mial
615 of the estimated 3,000+ detained immigrants who were kidnapped in Chicagoland during Midway Blitz are expected to be eligible for bond this week. The Midwest Immigration Bond Fund shows up for people in detention who need bond, but it costs, at minimum, $1,500 per person. Pls help them.
A Midwest Bond Fund Is Helping Detained Chicago Immigrants Return To Their Families
The Midwest Immigration Bond Fund launched in 2020 to provide bond assistance to people navigating the complex immigration legal system. That mission has become more difficult under the second Trump a...
blockclubchicago.org
November 17, 2025 at 10:08 PM
615 of the estimated 3,000+ detained immigrants who were kidnapped in Chicagoland during Midway Blitz are expected to be eligible for bond this week. The Midwest Immigration Bond Fund shows up for people in detention who need bond, but it costs, at minimum, $1,500 per person. Pls help them.
My business writing students are starting their final unit on crisis communications, in which I write outlandish nightmare scenarios for them based on their previous mock project proposals. It’s a lot of writing for me but it’s fun!
November 17, 2025 at 7:25 PM
My business writing students are starting their final unit on crisis communications, in which I write outlandish nightmare scenarios for them based on their previous mock project proposals. It’s a lot of writing for me but it’s fun!
Reposted by Michael Hessel-Mial
#WritingCommunity
Our 19th issue is here, with quite some #SouthAsian flavour in it. Find it at stateofmatter.in/issue/curren...
Details 👇🧵
Our 19th issue is here, with quite some #SouthAsian flavour in it. Find it at stateofmatter.in/issue/curren...
Details 👇🧵
November 17, 2025 at 12:51 PM
#WritingCommunity
Our 19th issue is here, with quite some #SouthAsian flavour in it. Find it at stateofmatter.in/issue/curren...
Details 👇🧵
Our 19th issue is here, with quite some #SouthAsian flavour in it. Find it at stateofmatter.in/issue/curren...
Details 👇🧵
We watched the season finale of Hacks, and I got to say, “This Cantonese-language Cranberries cover is a reference to Wong Kar-Wai’s Chungking Express”
November 17, 2025 at 7:27 AM
We watched the season finale of Hacks, and I got to say, “This Cantonese-language Cranberries cover is a reference to Wong Kar-Wai’s Chungking Express”
After a year of living in the twin cities I finally visited the sci fi bookstore Uncle Hugo’s and it is amazing
November 15, 2025 at 10:39 PM
After a year of living in the twin cities I finally visited the sci fi bookstore Uncle Hugo’s and it is amazing
We watched Freakier Friday and somehow it’s still really funny watching Jamie Lee Curtis pretend to be a teenager
November 14, 2025 at 1:03 PM
We watched Freakier Friday and somehow it’s still really funny watching Jamie Lee Curtis pretend to be a teenager
There are many things grievously wrong with America and I’m very down to replace it with something else, but one thing I don’t care about is moralizing big portion sizes (outside of the offshoot environmental and food sovereignty questions). Life is to be enjoyed and eating is fun.
November 14, 2025 at 1:09 AM
There are many things grievously wrong with America and I’m very down to replace it with something else, but one thing I don’t care about is moralizing big portion sizes (outside of the offshoot environmental and food sovereignty questions). Life is to be enjoyed and eating is fun.
Reposted by Michael Hessel-Mial
The last Jedi is the best Star Wars movie because it’s the wokest one
November 12, 2025 at 5:32 PM
The last Jedi is the best Star Wars movie because it’s the wokest one
I just got a scam email offering me a free (gently used) baby grand piano
November 13, 2025 at 6:17 PM
I just got a scam email offering me a free (gently used) baby grand piano
Reposted by Michael Hessel-Mial
As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
November 13, 2025 at 11:33 AM
As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
One interesting “textual” feature of cartoons is when representations are animated the same as the real thing in the cartoon: tigger wrapping paper becomes a Tigger disguise, a stuffed cat resembles Kiki’s cat in Kiki’s Delivery Service, and of course the painted tunnel on the rock wall
November 12, 2025 at 10:18 PM
One interesting “textual” feature of cartoons is when representations are animated the same as the real thing in the cartoon: tigger wrapping paper becomes a Tigger disguise, a stuffed cat resembles Kiki’s cat in Kiki’s Delivery Service, and of course the painted tunnel on the rock wall