E. R. Paine
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E. R. Paine
@publiuspaine.bsky.social
22 followers 34 following 25 posts
Reflections and fables for an unquiet republic.
Stories in frost, candlelight, and the unfinished American experiment.
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E. R. Paine @publiuspaine.bsky.social · 4d
Today, I choose to stay.

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Notes of Paine No. 2
On Staying
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Today, I choose to stay.

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Notes of Paine No. 2
On Staying
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January 30, 2026 at 2:50 AM
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Valley Forge — Part II is live.

The cold was constant.
So was the choice to remain.

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Valley Forge — Part II: The Winter
Erosion
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January 7, 2026 at 6:54 PM
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The year turns. The questions remain.
January 1, 2026 at 8:53 PM
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Valley Forge — Part I: The Encampment

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Valley Forge — Part I: The Encampment
On endurance, recognition, and the work of remaining
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December 29, 2025 at 8:39 PM
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Burns has a way of returning us to the frost—
to the nights when the Revolution survived on breath and bone alone.

It’s striking how close it all came to failure,
not in the battles we remember,
but in the winters we forget.

A new story begins next week,
set in the long cold of 1777.
#NotesOfPaine
A lone lantern flickers against the frost, its small flame holding out against a moonlit winter. A quiet echo of the cold nights that nearly ended the Revolution.
December 3, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Reposted by E. R. Paine
librarycongress.bsky.social
History buffs, we’ve got an activity to occupy your digestion downtime this holiday season. Our crowdsourced transcription program, By The People, presents new documents for transcription in collaboration with @PBS and "The American Revolution," a new Ken Burns series. crowd.loc.gov/topics/ameri...
Surrender of Cornwallis: at York-Town Va. Oct. 1781. Print shows Major General O'Hara, surrounded by French and American soldiers handing his sword in surrender to General Lincoln. Currier & Ives lithograph. Published by N. Currier, c1846. From the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
November 26, 2025 at 4:00 PM
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The reckoning concludes.
A Thanksgiving Requiem — Part III

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#NotesOfPaine
A Thanksgiving Requiem—Part III: The Reckoning
In which three old voices confront what remains, and what must be renewed.
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December 1, 2025 at 12:30 AM
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Gratitude is a measure of attention, not abundance.
November 26, 2025 at 6:35 PM
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The argument begins.
A Thanksgiving Requiem — Part II is now live.

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#NotesOfPaine
A Thanksgiving Requiem — Part II: The Argument
In which the founders measure what remains, and what has slipped away.
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November 23, 2025 at 8:00 PM
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Some questions never age, only deepen. 🕯️
November 21, 2025 at 2:26 AM
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The feast returns, but not for celebration.
A Thanksgiving Requiem—Part I: The Gathering is now live.

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#NotesOfPaine #LiteraryFiction #Thanksgiving
A Thanksgiving Requiem—Part I: The Gathering
In which the founders return to dine, and to reckon.
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November 16, 2025 at 7:24 PM
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“Three chairs, one candle, and a silence that feels like prayer.”
November 14, 2025 at 1:27 AM
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November holds its breath.
On the Eve of Requiem — new reflection live.
#NotesOfPaine #LiteraryEssay #Autumn

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On the Eve of Requiem
The table waits, still set for ghosts.
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November 13, 2025 at 9:26 PM
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The table is set, but something’s missing.
A Thanksgiving Requiem—begins Nov 17.
#NotesOfPaine #LiteraryFiction #Thanksgiving #Reflection

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A Thanksgiving Requiem—Coming November 17
The table is set again.
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November 9, 2025 at 9:09 PM
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The clocks have turned back; some lights still resist the dark.
Notes of Paine No. 1 — On Candles in an Age of Floodlights. #NotesOfPaine #WritingCommunity #LiteraryEssay #Autumn

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Notes of Paine No. 1 — On Candles in an Age of Floodlights 🕯️
The clocks have turned back; some lights are meant to flicker.
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November 6, 2025 at 12:47 AM
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The clocks have turned back; some lights are meant to flicker.
Notes of Paine No. 1 — On Candles in an Age of Floodlights.

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Notes of Paine No. 1 — On Candles in an Age of Floodlights 🕯️
The clocks have turned back; some lights are meant to flicker.
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November 4, 2025 at 1:34 AM
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The ghosts are gone, but the candle remains.
Thank you to everyone who read A Halloween Carol.
Until the next haunting. 🕯️

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E. R. Paine | Substack
E. R. Paine writes modern allegories and quiet hauntings from an undisclosed New England attic, where the Wi-Fi is poor, the coffee is strong, and the ghosts of fallen reputations occasionally offer e...
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November 2, 2025 at 6:51 PM
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Thank you for reading through the dust and candlelight.
A Halloween Carol has reached its dawn, but the candle still burns. 🕯️

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The Candle Remains: A Note of Thanks 🕯️
Dear Reader,
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November 1, 2025 at 8:45 PM
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The night ends, but the work remains.
One candle still burns.
A Halloween Carol: An American Haunting (Part V — The Dawn)

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A Halloween Carol: An American Haunting (Part V — The Dawn)
The night ends, but the work remains.
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November 1, 2025 at 1:28 AM
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The room fills with voices that never listen.
Part IV — The Ghost of Presidents Yet to Come is live.🕯️

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A Halloween Carol: An American Haunting (Part IV — The Ghost of Presidents Yet to Come)
The room fills with voices that never listen.
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October 31, 2025 at 12:25 AM
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“The republic is not a reception,” the ghost said.
Part III — The Ghost of Presidents Present is live.🕯️

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A Halloween Carol: An American Haunting (Part III — The Ghost of Presidents Present)
He carries a nation’s wounds in cloth and shadow.
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October 30, 2025 at 12:32 AM
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A man in threadbare slippers steps out of the dark.
Part II — The Ghost of Presidents Past is live.🕯️

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A Halloween Carol: An American Haunting (Part II – The Ghost of Presidents Past)
The man in the threadbare slippers steps forward.
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October 29, 2025 at 1:02 AM
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The house is not done with him.
October 28, 2025 at 9:02 PM
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“Magnificent,” he said. “You can feel the greatness already.”
Part I — The Demolition is live.

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A Halloween Carol: An American Haunting (Part I – The Demolition)
The first ghost enters the hall.
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October 28, 2025 at 12:10 AM
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The candle trembles. The house remembers.
Tomorrow night.

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E. R. Paine | Substack
E. R. Paine writes modern allegories and quiet hauntings from an undisclosed New England attic, where the Wi-Fi is poor, the coffee is strong, and the ghosts of fallen reputations occasionally offer e...
substack.com
October 26, 2025 at 9:27 PM