@petertrachtenberg.bsky.social
The therapeutic narrative is that the traumatized patient has to remember in order to heal, but that may not be true of a traumatized nation, which at any rate will go to fanatical lengths to remain in a state of forgetfulness.
petertrachtenberg.substack.com/p/the-unmaki...
petertrachtenberg.substack.com/p/the-unmaki...
November 24, 2025 at 8:08 PM
The therapeutic narrative is that the traumatized patient has to remember in order to heal, but that may not be true of a traumatized nation, which at any rate will go to fanatical lengths to remain in a state of forgetfulness.
petertrachtenberg.substack.com/p/the-unmaki...
petertrachtenberg.substack.com/p/the-unmaki...
Reposted
Tues, Nov 4, 6:30p - catch the discussion “Downtown and the Twilight of Bohemia” with Peter Trachtenberg, Francine Prose, Howard Michels & Sur Rodney (Sur), exploring the evolution of downtown culture. Reserve: www.eventbrite.com/e/downtown-a... @humanitiescuny.bsky.social @cunyenglish.bsky.social
“Downtown and The Twilight of Bohemia” panel
Join us for a lively discussion on the changing face of downtown areas and the fading bohemian culture.
www.eventbrite.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Tues, Nov 4, 6:30p - catch the discussion “Downtown and the Twilight of Bohemia” with Peter Trachtenberg, Francine Prose, Howard Michels & Sur Rodney (Sur), exploring the evolution of downtown culture. Reserve: www.eventbrite.com/e/downtown-a... @humanitiescuny.bsky.social @cunyenglish.bsky.social
On November 4, NYC may elect a mayor who finally brings housing back within the reach of most of its residents, maybe especially its artists.
,
,
October 25, 2025 at 7:02 PM
On November 4, NYC may elect a mayor who finally brings housing back within the reach of most of its residents, maybe especially its artists.
,
,
n November 4 New York City may elect a mayor who brings housing back within the reach of most of its residents, maybe especially its artists.
October 25, 2025 at 6:50 PM
n November 4 New York City may elect a mayor who brings housing back within the reach of most of its residents, maybe especially its artists.
SIGN NOW: We are people of faith against illegal use of military force! act.fcnl.org/sign/venezeu...
SIGN NOW: We are people of faith against illegal use of military force!
None
act.fcnl.org
September 28, 2025 at 4:20 PM
SIGN NOW: We are people of faith against illegal use of military force! act.fcnl.org/sign/venezeu...
For someone who wrote about bohemia (see Twilight Of), few things are better than getting to talk with people who embody it: @MaggieDubris, @WillHermes, and @luxxante . With thanks to @RicoFrederick and @notprofessorcolarusso. And, above all, to @urbane_brooklyn, who hosted us in style.
September 21, 2025 at 6:21 PM
For someone who wrote about bohemia (see Twilight Of), few things are better than getting to talk with people who embody it: @MaggieDubris, @WillHermes, and @luxxante . With thanks to @RicoFrederick and @notprofessorcolarusso. And, above all, to @urbane_brooklyn, who hosted us in style.
Reposted
Weird how MAGA tried to hang Mike Pence in a public assassination in front of the world, including his family, on January 6th but are upset Charlie Kirk was publicly assassinated.
I think both are horrifying. MAGA still thinks Pence & Pelosi should've been assassinated. Publicly.
I think both are horrifying. MAGA still thinks Pence & Pelosi should've been assassinated. Publicly.
September 21, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Weird how MAGA tried to hang Mike Pence in a public assassination in front of the world, including his family, on January 6th but are upset Charlie Kirk was publicly assassinated.
I think both are horrifying. MAGA still thinks Pence & Pelosi should've been assassinated. Publicly.
I think both are horrifying. MAGA still thinks Pence & Pelosi should've been assassinated. Publicly.
Great plug for my upcoming panel with @WillHermes, @MaggieDubris, and @WillHermes. And, for God’s sake, read Will’s epic bio of the original. open.substack.com/pub/newmusic...
Two for Lou Reed (the dead don't die)
New Song(s) of the Day #46 and #47 testify to a living spirit.
open.substack.com
September 16, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Great plug for my upcoming panel with @WillHermes, @MaggieDubris, and @WillHermes. And, for God’s sake, read Will’s epic bio of the original. open.substack.com/pub/newmusic...
Slayer.
August 30, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Slayer.
Every once in a while, even when your country is breaking, you get to write about something you love. #JayneAnnePhillips, #PattiSmith, #VelvetUnderground, #Ai
open.substack.com/pub/petertra...
open.substack.com/pub/petertra...
August 30, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Every once in a while, even when your country is breaking, you get to write about something you love. #JayneAnnePhillips, #PattiSmith, #VelvetUnderground, #Ai
open.substack.com/pub/petertra...
open.substack.com/pub/petertra...
No Bill! open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
No Bill!
The Good News You Need
open.substack.com
August 27, 2025 at 2:50 AM
No Bill! open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
A nice plug from the NY Review of Architecture: "Trachtenberg approaches Westbeth like a Balzacian boardinghouse, organizing much of the book around profiles of individual artists. . . he treats the AIDS crisis with special empathy.”
August 11, 2025 at 10:01 PM
A nice plug from the NY Review of Architecture: "Trachtenberg approaches Westbeth like a Balzacian boardinghouse, organizing much of the book around profiles of individual artists. . . he treats the AIDS crisis with special empathy.”
Reposted
Come see Maggie Dubris, Will Hermes, Lucy Sante, and me trade notes on memoirs and biographies of Downtown. Thursday, 9/18, 7 PM at the Urbane Arts Club, 1016 Beverly Rd, Brooklyn NY 11218. Free w. RSVP at UrbaneBrooklyn.com. An official 2025 Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend Event.
August 8, 2025 at 3:14 AM
Come see Maggie Dubris, Will Hermes, Lucy Sante, and me trade notes on memoirs and biographies of Downtown. Thursday, 9/18, 7 PM at the Urbane Arts Club, 1016 Beverly Rd, Brooklyn NY 11218. Free w. RSVP at UrbaneBrooklyn.com. An official 2025 Brooklyn Book Festival Bookend Event.
I'm attending MoveOn's event, “MoveOn Monthly Phone Bank: Unmask ICE!” - sign up now to join me! www.mobilize.us/moveon/event...
MoveOn Monthly Phone Bank: Unmask ICE! · MoveOn
Join Senator Padilla at MoveOn's July phone bank!
We will focus on contacting fellow MoveOn members and connecting them to their Representatives in support of the [VISIBLE Act](https://www.booker.se...
www.mobilize.us
July 28, 2025 at 8:58 PM
I'm attending MoveOn's event, “MoveOn Monthly Phone Bank: Unmask ICE!” - sign up now to join me! www.mobilize.us/moveon/event...
This cause is close to my heart - please sign: sign.moveon.org/petitions/st...
Stop the Everglades Detention Camp!
Everglades National Park is in a High-Velocity Hurricane Zone—meaning buildings should be constructed to withstand winds of 180 miles per hour. But the Everglades Detention Camp is made up of flimsy t...
sign.moveon.org
July 15, 2025 at 3:44 PM
This cause is close to my heart - please sign: sign.moveon.org/petitions/st...
On the one and the many: a story in a parade and demonstrations. petertrachtenberg.substack.com/p/from-the-m...
From the Many
Among the many reasons I’m grateful for Saturday’s No Kings protests is that they give me yet another opportunity to put off writing the essay that’s haunted me for the past several months, the one I ...
petertrachtenberg.substack.com
June 21, 2025 at 5:16 PM
On the one and the many: a story in a parade and demonstrations. petertrachtenberg.substack.com/p/from-the-m...
"Yet in his darkness he is now aware of a radiance that streams inextinguishably from the gateway of the Law.”
--Kafka
#Nokings. Catskill, NY. On the steps of the town court.
--Kafka
#Nokings. Catskill, NY. On the steps of the town court.
June 14, 2025 at 9:15 PM
"Yet in his darkness he is now aware of a radiance that streams inextinguishably from the gateway of the Law.”
--Kafka
#Nokings. Catskill, NY. On the steps of the town court.
--Kafka
#Nokings. Catskill, NY. On the steps of the town court.
God speed, Sly Stone, who took us higher. When he sang "I am no better and neither are you/We are the same whatever we do," how was that different from Whitman's “every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you"? You could just dance to it. You had to.
June 10, 2025 at 2:29 AM
God speed, Sly Stone, who took us higher. When he sang "I am no better and neither are you/We are the same whatever we do," how was that different from Whitman's “every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you"? You could just dance to it. You had to.
This cause is close to my heart - please sign: sign.moveon.org/petitions/ke...
Keep schools safe for children and families—and keep ICE out!
The threat of ICE in schools creates unnecessary trauma, leads to damaged trust in educators, and causes students from undocumented and mixed-status families to miss school, leaving a lasting impact o...
sign.moveon.org
June 9, 2025 at 11:27 PM
This cause is close to my heart - please sign: sign.moveon.org/petitions/ke...
Here's an annotated transcript of my conversation with Peter Spears on his podcast #ThatBusinessofMeaning. It's about Westbeth Artists Housing and the increasingly precarious living conditions of art-makers in New York.
petertrachtenberg.substack.com/p/hacking-th...
And remember, ice always melts.
petertrachtenberg.substack.com/p/hacking-th...
And remember, ice always melts.
June 9, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Here's an annotated transcript of my conversation with Peter Spears on his podcast #ThatBusinessofMeaning. It's about Westbeth Artists Housing and the increasingly precarious living conditions of art-makers in New York.
petertrachtenberg.substack.com/p/hacking-th...
And remember, ice always melts.
petertrachtenberg.substack.com/p/hacking-th...
And remember, ice always melts.
Simone Weil in New York, where she lived for a while. Almost every word I write is an answer to her words. An attempt at one.
June 2, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Simone Weil in New York, where she lived for a while. Almost every word I write is an answer to her words. An attempt at one.
Peter Trachtenberg on Art & New York City A nice conversation with @Peter Spears on his Substack #TheBusinessofMeaning. He asks great questions and gets guests to speak in complete sentences. Still marveling at that. open.substack.com/pub/thatbusi...
Peter Trachtenberg on Art & New York City
A THAT BUSINESS OF MEANING Conversation
open.substack.com
June 2, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Peter Trachtenberg on Art & New York City A nice conversation with @Peter Spears on his Substack #TheBusinessofMeaning. He asks great questions and gets guests to speak in complete sentences. Still marveling at that. open.substack.com/pub/thatbusi...
This sets an incredible precedent that will allow the state to regulate books and deny you the right to read freely in public libraries.
action.everylibrary.org/governmentdi... via @everylibrary.bsky.social
action.everylibrary.org/governmentdi... via @everylibrary.bsky.social
The Government Can Now Ban Books It Dislikes.
This court ruling should terrify you.
action.everylibrary.org
May 28, 2025 at 4:41 PM
This sets an incredible precedent that will allow the state to regulate books and deny you the right to read freely in public libraries.
action.everylibrary.org/governmentdi... via @everylibrary.bsky.social
action.everylibrary.org/governmentdi... via @everylibrary.bsky.social
The Westbeth apartment of Barton Beneš, at the North Dakota Museum of Art, to which he willed it. A pillow contains the ashes of the artist and his mother.
I'll be reading about Beneš and his neighbors tonight at Oblong Books, Rhinebeck NY. 6 PM. Reserve here: www.eventbrite.com/e/peter-trac...
I'll be reading about Beneš and his neighbors tonight at Oblong Books, Rhinebeck NY. 6 PM. Reserve here: www.eventbrite.com/e/peter-trac...
May 16, 2025 at 1:19 PM
The Westbeth apartment of Barton Beneš, at the North Dakota Museum of Art, to which he willed it. A pillow contains the ashes of the artist and his mother.
I'll be reading about Beneš and his neighbors tonight at Oblong Books, Rhinebeck NY. 6 PM. Reserve here: www.eventbrite.com/e/peter-trac...
I'll be reading about Beneš and his neighbors tonight at Oblong Books, Rhinebeck NY. 6 PM. Reserve here: www.eventbrite.com/e/peter-trac...