Oscar Villalon
@ovillalon.bsky.social
Editor, ZYZZYVA (zyzzyva.org); contributing editor, Lit Hub; publications: Freeman's, The Believer, VQR, Lit Hub, Stranger's Guide, Alta, and other places. San Francisco is my home.
Reposted by Oscar Villalon
Given ICE and the current Supreme Court (to name just two factors), this is not in the least surprising.
For the first time in nearly two decades of our surveys of U.S. Latinos, most say they think the situation of Hispanics in this country has worsened in the last year. And about a third of Latinos say they have considered leaving the country in the last six months. www.pewresearch.org/...
December 9, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Given ICE and the current Supreme Court (to name just two factors), this is not in the least surprising.
Reposted by Oscar Villalon
The great Paul Beatty, a member of our Board of Directors, on supporting ZYZZYVA.
Read, subscribe, and/or donate: zyzzyva.org
Read, subscribe, and/or donate: zyzzyva.org
December 9, 2025 at 7:37 PM
The great Paul Beatty, a member of our Board of Directors, on supporting ZYZZYVA.
Read, subscribe, and/or donate: zyzzyva.org
Read, subscribe, and/or donate: zyzzyva.org
Reposted by Oscar Villalon
This week, new subscribers will receive a bonus grab bag of five back issues of the magazine along with their first issue—our first-ever sports-themed edition. Subscribe now!
store.mcsweeneys.net/products/the...
store.mcsweeneys.net/products/the...
The Believer Subscription
This week only: Believer subscriptions include a randomized grab bag of five classic issues, absolutely free.
A thirteen-time National Magazine Award finalist. Named the best magazine of 2022 by Alta...
store.mcsweeneys.net
December 8, 2025 at 10:48 PM
This week, new subscribers will receive a bonus grab bag of five back issues of the magazine along with their first issue—our first-ever sports-themed edition. Subscribe now!
store.mcsweeneys.net/products/the...
store.mcsweeneys.net/products/the...
It’s been so unseasonably cold for so many days in San Francisco. We’re all bundled up for Truckee but are trudging around downtown instead.
December 8, 2025 at 6:01 PM
It’s been so unseasonably cold for so many days in San Francisco. We’re all bundled up for Truckee but are trudging around downtown instead.
What is even memory? It turns out I know the lyrics to “All the Gold in California.” When did I memorize this song? Was I a die-hard Larry Gatlin fan in fourth grade? The past is lived country that reverts to terra incognita.
December 6, 2025 at 3:22 AM
What is even memory? It turns out I know the lyrics to “All the Gold in California.” When did I memorize this song? Was I a die-hard Larry Gatlin fan in fourth grade? The past is lived country that reverts to terra incognita.
Reposted by Oscar Villalon
Read Tom Bissell on Jaws in Issue 130: tinyurl.com/f8cx9c9f
Read an essay in @zyzzyvamag.bsky.social issue 130 by Tom Bissell, and I believe it's the first essay I actually devoured, ravenously turning the pages for more, in some time. It's all about the novel "Jaws", & the making of "Jaws" the movie, Read it! It's outstanding.
December 3, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Read Tom Bissell on Jaws in Issue 130: tinyurl.com/f8cx9c9f
Reposted by Oscar Villalon
we’ve been working on this for months—introducing a new teaching collective ✨
starting 2/4, Fatimah Asghar, @ingridrojasc.bsky.social, & I will offer generative & workshop-based classes! In fiction, nonfiction, & poetry!
theministryofwords.com
starting 2/4, Fatimah Asghar, @ingridrojasc.bsky.social, & I will offer generative & workshop-based classes! In fiction, nonfiction, & poetry!
theministryofwords.com
December 3, 2025 at 3:54 PM
we’ve been working on this for months—introducing a new teaching collective ✨
starting 2/4, Fatimah Asghar, @ingridrojasc.bsky.social, & I will offer generative & workshop-based classes! In fiction, nonfiction, & poetry!
theministryofwords.com
starting 2/4, Fatimah Asghar, @ingridrojasc.bsky.social, & I will offer generative & workshop-based classes! In fiction, nonfiction, & poetry!
theministryofwords.com
Reposted by Oscar Villalon
Our upcoming Sports Issue comes with a custom, professional-grade swim cap. This stylish accessory is for subscribers only, so don't miss out—pick up a subscription today.
December 3, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Our upcoming Sports Issue comes with a custom, professional-grade swim cap. This stylish accessory is for subscribers only, so don't miss out—pick up a subscription today.
Reposted by Oscar Villalon
This #givingtuesday help us make ZYZZYVA possible. Your gift, any shape and size, directly supports writers, artists, education, and community.
🔗 zyzzyva.org/donate
🔗 zyzzyva.org/donate
December 2, 2025 at 5:01 PM
This #givingtuesday help us make ZYZZYVA possible. Your gift, any shape and size, directly supports writers, artists, education, and community.
🔗 zyzzyva.org/donate
🔗 zyzzyva.org/donate
Reposted by Oscar Villalon
"There are two San Franciscos at least. San Francisco remains a city of great beauty and disposition. It is also a city that is plagued by the effects of income disparity, a problem at the heart of much that is wrong with our country."
“A book is not interesting to me until it’s impossible for me to write”: Q&A with Robert Glück – ZYZZYVA
A chapter from Robert Glück’s Jack the Modernist appeared in the very first issue of ZYZZYVA in 1985. It’s the chapter where Bob, Glück’s avatar and the
www.zyzzyva.org
December 2, 2025 at 12:11 AM
"There are two San Franciscos at least. San Francisco remains a city of great beauty and disposition. It is also a city that is plagued by the effects of income disparity, a problem at the heart of much that is wrong with our country."
Lane Kiffin is truly an agent of chaos. I don’t think college football has ever seen the likes of him.
November 30, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Lane Kiffin is truly an agent of chaos. I don’t think college football has ever seen the likes of him.
Reposted by Oscar Villalon
I still love reading journals and periodicals without needing to be logged in.
November 29, 2025 at 3:10 PM
I still love reading journals and periodicals without needing to be logged in.
Reposted by Oscar Villalon
I’m not assuming that I have so many followers that someone who cares hasn’t seen this, but here it is:
If you’re watching “Death by Lightning” over the holiday break (and you should), I wrote an episode-by-episode history companion threads for context & correction. Great show—not an attack on it!
If you’re watching “Death by Lightning” over the holiday break (and you should), I wrote an episode-by-episode history companion threads for context & correction. Great show—not an attack on it!
Here's my promised thread of threads on every episode of "Death by Lightning." Again, it's totally legit to diverge from history to craft this satisfying (and manageable) show. I'm simply providing the real historical context, as best I can. Plus a final thought at the end.
bsky.app/profile/tj-s...
bsky.app/profile/tj-s...
Just watched ep. 1 of “Death by Lightning.” For a screen adaptation, great job. Superb casting.
The problem: Everyone’s white. Black delegates played a big role in GOP conventions. There were still Black congressmen! Hollywood is bad with Black people in history with power & their own interests.
The problem: Everyone’s white. Black delegates played a big role in GOP conventions. There were still Black congressmen! Hollywood is bad with Black people in history with power & their own interests.
November 28, 2025 at 10:06 PM
I’m not assuming that I have so many followers that someone who cares hasn’t seen this, but here it is:
If you’re watching “Death by Lightning” over the holiday break (and you should), I wrote an episode-by-episode history companion threads for context & correction. Great show—not an attack on it!
If you’re watching “Death by Lightning” over the holiday break (and you should), I wrote an episode-by-episode history companion threads for context & correction. Great show—not an attack on it!
Want a quiet, reflective Thanksgiving? Sit everybody on the sectional and make them watch “Train Dreams” a couple of hours before serving the turkey.
November 27, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Want a quiet, reflective Thanksgiving? Sit everybody on the sectional and make them watch “Train Dreams” a couple of hours before serving the turkey.
Reposted by Oscar Villalon
November 25, 2025 at 4:20 AM
Reposted by Oscar Villalon
bay area friends, this will be so lovely—a party 12/3 raising funds for @zyzzyvamag.bsky.social & @litquake.org, two beloved organizations hit hard by NEA & NEH cuts
hosted by daniel handler, @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social, jonathan escoffery, @ingridrojasc.bsky.social, & @alexismadrigal.bsky.social
hosted by daniel handler, @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social, jonathan escoffery, @ingridrojasc.bsky.social, & @alexismadrigal.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 11:29 PM
bay area friends, this will be so lovely—a party 12/3 raising funds for @zyzzyvamag.bsky.social & @litquake.org, two beloved organizations hit hard by NEA & NEH cuts
hosted by daniel handler, @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social, jonathan escoffery, @ingridrojasc.bsky.social, & @alexismadrigal.bsky.social
hosted by daniel handler, @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social, jonathan escoffery, @ingridrojasc.bsky.social, & @alexismadrigal.bsky.social
Reposted by Oscar Villalon
5 immigration judges were summarily fired in San Francisco today, the largest such firing in the city all year.
It continues a trend of the Trump admin. targeting immigration judges nationwide. In San Francisco, at least 12 have been sacked this year.
missionlocal.org/2025/11/sf-i...
It continues a trend of the Trump admin. targeting immigration judges nationwide. In San Francisco, at least 12 have been sacked this year.
missionlocal.org/2025/11/sf-i...
Friday night massacre: 5 judges fired from S.F. immigration court today
The Department of Justice fired at least five San Francisco immigration court judges on Friday in the largest cut of immigration judges in the city so far
missionlocal.org
November 22, 2025 at 12:39 AM
5 immigration judges were summarily fired in San Francisco today, the largest such firing in the city all year.
It continues a trend of the Trump admin. targeting immigration judges nationwide. In San Francisco, at least 12 have been sacked this year.
missionlocal.org/2025/11/sf-i...
It continues a trend of the Trump admin. targeting immigration judges nationwide. In San Francisco, at least 12 have been sacked this year.
missionlocal.org/2025/11/sf-i...
Reposted by Oscar Villalon
"She’s not trying to rebuild her reputation as a journalist—she’s building a different kind of brand entirely, one where being interesting matters more than being ethical, where attention is the only currency that still spends."
The best thing I have read about her. www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-...
The best thing I have read about her. www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-...
The Olivia Nuzzi Comeback Is Everything Wrong With Modern Media
Olivia Nuzzi’s comeback isn’t a personal scandal story—it’s proof that today’s media rewards access, personality, and controversy more than ethics.
www.mediaite.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:27 PM
"She’s not trying to rebuild her reputation as a journalist—she’s building a different kind of brand entirely, one where being interesting matters more than being ethical, where attention is the only currency that still spends."
The best thing I have read about her. www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-...
The best thing I have read about her. www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-...
So the president never says what we just heard him say. He never does what we see him doing. He's never planning what he says he's planning. It's both sinister and risible.
November 21, 2025 at 12:01 AM
So the president never says what we just heard him say. He never does what we see him doing. He's never planning what he says he's planning. It's both sinister and risible.
What the hell?!
The Valencia art wall has been a Mission District fixture for 20 years—a spot for posters, graffiti, stickers, & all manner of anti-establishment sloganeering.
The city painted over that wall last week.
missionlocal.org/2025/11/sf-v...
The city painted over that wall last week.
missionlocal.org/2025/11/sf-v...
S.F. anti-graffiti workers paint over the Valencia Art Wall
Public Works employees painted over the beloved art wall on Valencia Street. Property owners say they didn't sign up for that.
missionlocal.org
November 20, 2025 at 11:25 PM
What the hell?!
Reposted by Oscar Villalon
Come for the movie! roxie.com/film/zyzzyva...
And stay for the party! www.eventbrite.com/e/zyzzyva-li...
And stay for the party! www.eventbrite.com/e/zyzzyva-li...
November 20, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Come for the movie! roxie.com/film/zyzzyva...
And stay for the party! www.eventbrite.com/e/zyzzyva-li...
And stay for the party! www.eventbrite.com/e/zyzzyva-li...
Reposted by Oscar Villalon
Please watch
I wanted to share probably the most important sermon I’ve given and it’s while I’m being arrested. It’s torture pure and simple what happens at #Broadview. I’m ok, though I was thrown to the ground and choked with my pectoral cross. A review of the video shows I was peaceful - did I deserve this?
November 15, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Please watch
That profile of her is satire, right? I mean, it's got to be intentional: an ironic look at the privileged class who are clueless as to their own ridiculousness & shallowness & complicity, & who perhaps don't care, or can't comprehend, that nobody serious cares about nor wants to understand them.
November 14, 2025 at 6:50 PM
That profile of her is satire, right? I mean, it's got to be intentional: an ironic look at the privileged class who are clueless as to their own ridiculousness & shallowness & complicity, & who perhaps don't care, or can't comprehend, that nobody serious cares about nor wants to understand them.
Reposted by Oscar Villalon
This year's final ZYZZYVA Movie Night with @ingridrojasc.bsky.social will be Wed., Dec. 3. Our featured guest will be Daniel Handler, and the movie: "Aventurera" (1950), starring Ninón Sevilla. Starts at 6 p.m. And get a ticket to join our party right after the screening! roxie.com/film/zyzzyva...
November 13, 2025 at 8:05 PM
This year's final ZYZZYVA Movie Night with @ingridrojasc.bsky.social will be Wed., Dec. 3. Our featured guest will be Daniel Handler, and the movie: "Aventurera" (1950), starring Ninón Sevilla. Starts at 6 p.m. And get a ticket to join our party right after the screening! roxie.com/film/zyzzyva...