Susan Marie Swanson
@susanmarieswanson.bsky.social
Poet, writer. Work for children & for adults. *The House in the Night* (Caldecott Medal, Minnesota Book Award, Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the 21st Century). Hiking shoes.
Back from the concert in St. Paul this afternoon. I'm so inspired by the musicianship and creativity of the artists in the Danish String Quartet.
November 24, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Back from the concert in St. Paul this afternoon. I'm so inspired by the musicianship and creativity of the artists in the Danish String Quartet.
Trying to read the books piled up over here. Lately, these three. I read them all with other people (one with a group, one with a class, one with a partner) because that's helpful to me in these days of how-can-I-possibly-concentrate.
November 22, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Trying to read the books piled up over here. Lately, these three. I read them all with other people (one with a group, one with a class, one with a partner) because that's helpful to me in these days of how-can-I-possibly-concentrate.
18 November! Book III of Solvej Balle's *On the Calculation of Volume* is out today. Tomorrow will be the 19th, but not in the pages of these novels. Fun to head over to a cozy bookstore on a gray November day for the newly-released book.
November 18, 2025 at 11:54 PM
18 November! Book III of Solvej Balle's *On the Calculation of Volume* is out today. Tomorrow will be the 19th, but not in the pages of these novels. Fun to head over to a cozy bookstore on a gray November day for the newly-released book.
Hey MSP, head over to the Walker Art Center to see the beautiful, welcoming exhibition of work by Dyani White Hawk! Admission to the museum is free on Thursday evenings.
walkerart.org/calendar/202...
walkerart.org/calendar/202...
November 6, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Hey MSP, head over to the Walker Art Center to see the beautiful, welcoming exhibition of work by Dyani White Hawk! Admission to the museum is free on Thursday evenings.
walkerart.org/calendar/202...
walkerart.org/calendar/202...
Social media break. (Not pictured: book manuscript, grandchildren, volunteer projects, hiking shoes.)
October 10, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Social media break. (Not pictured: book manuscript, grandchildren, volunteer projects, hiking shoes.)
Speaking of reading, I'm looking forward to Charles Dickens's *Bleak House* with APS Together, beginning a week from today. Yiyun Li returns as host for this project organized by A Public Space. Slow reading--a chapter or two each day.
apublicspace.org/aps-together
apublicspace.org/aps-together...
apublicspace.org/aps-together
apublicspace.org/aps-together...
October 7, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Speaking of reading, I'm looking forward to Charles Dickens's *Bleak House* with APS Together, beginning a week from today. Yiyun Li returns as host for this project organized by A Public Space. Slow reading--a chapter or two each day.
apublicspace.org/aps-together
apublicspace.org/aps-together...
apublicspace.org/aps-together
apublicspace.org/aps-together...
This post is my "Gone Fishing" sign, except that I'm going to read instead of fish. Take care, good people.
July 21, 2025 at 12:49 AM
This post is my "Gone Fishing" sign, except that I'm going to read instead of fish. Take care, good people.
Tthis week, these two books have delighted children and adults visiting our house. All of you have picture books out on your coffee table for family and friends to look at, don't you?
July 11, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Tthis week, these two books have delighted children and adults visiting our house. All of you have picture books out on your coffee table for family and friends to look at, don't you?
Book report: nothing is better than the beaming face of a four-year-old when a picture book reaches out and embraces them like these books do. Thanks, @vivschwarz.bsky.social.
July 11, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Book report: nothing is better than the beaming face of a four-year-old when a picture book reaches out and embraces them like these books do. Thanks, @vivschwarz.bsky.social.
Picture books by @vivschwarz.bsky.social were waiting for me at our branch library today. I can't wait to share these with children!
June 27, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Picture books by @vivschwarz.bsky.social were waiting for me at our branch library today. I can't wait to share these with children!
I am not good at staying up late to read, so I ended up finishing *Feeding Ghosts* by Tessa Hulls when I woke up in the middle of the night.
June 5, 2025 at 12:49 PM
I am not good at staying up late to read, so I ended up finishing *Feeding Ghosts* by Tessa Hulls when I woke up in the middle of the night.
I traveled to Copenhagen. My first snapshot was of this little book among the treasures on display at the Royal Danish Library. The book, dating from the 1550s, is shaped like a heart: the oldest Danish manuscript of folk songs.
June 2, 2025 at 10:16 PM
I traveled to Copenhagen. My first snapshot was of this little book among the treasures on display at the Royal Danish Library. The book, dating from the 1550s, is shaped like a heart: the oldest Danish manuscript of folk songs.
I am sort of on track to get the International Booker Prize shortlist read before the announcement of the winner a week from today! It is fascinating to be reading books translated from Danish, Italian, Japanese, French, and Kannada. My good luck.
May 13, 2025 at 11:39 PM
I am sort of on track to get the International Booker Prize shortlist read before the announcement of the winner a week from today! It is fascinating to be reading books translated from Danish, Italian, Japanese, French, and Kannada. My good luck.
I slipped into Moon Palace on Friday for my early Independent Bookstore Day. Rain Taxi publishes a "passport" with an illustrated list of bookstores, supplemented by online resources. raintaxi.com/twin-cities-...
April 26, 2025 at 7:30 PM
I slipped into Moon Palace on Friday for my early Independent Bookstore Day. Rain Taxi publishes a "passport" with an illustrated list of bookstores, supplemented by online resources. raintaxi.com/twin-cities-...
"Best" lists are fraught, and there are books that I long to see that are missing from this feature. I am so lucky to have the memory of Aunt Juliet's simple encouragement. Let's keep writing, making, enjoying, and sharing books, everybody!
March 31, 2025 at 8:55 PM
"Best" lists are fraught, and there are books that I long to see that are missing from this feature. I am so lucky to have the memory of Aunt Juliet's simple encouragement. Let's keep writing, making, enjoying, and sharing books, everybody!
Dreamers' Circus was here in Minnesota last night, playing their stunning, reimagined Nordic folk music in the theater at the Walker Art Center on a snowy night. Magic.
March 5, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Dreamers' Circus was here in Minnesota last night, playing their stunning, reimagined Nordic folk music in the theater at the Walker Art Center on a snowy night. Magic.
New newsletter from Rebecca Solnit / @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social
You can read and subscribe here:
meditations-in-an-emergency.ghost.io/three-months...
You can read and subscribe here:
meditations-in-an-emergency.ghost.io/three-months...
February 6, 2025 at 9:39 PM
New newsletter from Rebecca Solnit / @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social
You can read and subscribe here:
meditations-in-an-emergency.ghost.io/three-months...
You can read and subscribe here:
meditations-in-an-emergency.ghost.io/three-months...
I know I'm not alone, struggling to spend less time online! One strategy that helps me is to share a post with some books in it, and a promise to myself to read the books before I check back here. :::waves:::
January 25, 2025 at 10:46 PM
I know I'm not alone, struggling to spend less time online! One strategy that helps me is to share a post with some books in it, and a promise to myself to read the books before I check back here. :::waves:::
I learned about these three books on Bluesky. Heading offline for a few weeks with the intention of reading these books and others in my time away, I'm grateful for thoughtful people here. See you in the New Year.
December 19, 2024 at 11:47 PM
I learned about these three books on Bluesky. Heading offline for a few weeks with the intention of reading these books and others in my time away, I'm grateful for thoughtful people here. See you in the New Year.
Hey, everybody, there is a wonderful picture book out this year about Ernö Rubik, the inventor of Rubik's cube. www.peachtreebooks.com/book/erno-ru...
December 19, 2024 at 11:23 PM
Hey, everybody, there is a wonderful picture book out this year about Ernö Rubik, the inventor of Rubik's cube. www.peachtreebooks.com/book/erno-ru...
❤️
Pete Buttigieg recommended Jon Fosse in his interview with Ezra Klein.
Pete Buttigieg recommended Jon Fosse in his interview with Ezra Klein.
December 18, 2024 at 4:05 PM
❤️
Pete Buttigieg recommended Jon Fosse in his interview with Ezra Klein.
Pete Buttigieg recommended Jon Fosse in his interview with Ezra Klein.
"A bald eagle flies high above Theodore Wirth Regional Park during the morning of the Minneapolis West Winter Bird Count on December 15, 2024. Courtesy of Chris Boser"
December 18, 2024 at 12:04 AM
"A bald eagle flies high above Theodore Wirth Regional Park during the morning of the Minneapolis West Winter Bird Count on December 15, 2024. Courtesy of Chris Boser"
"Knoxville, Tennessee" is such a lovely list poem by Nikki Giovanni. Sometimes I've shared it with children and teachers to encourage them to write about their own experiences in the world with nouns that provide specific detail.
poets.org/poem/knoxvil...
poets.org/poem/knoxvil...
December 10, 2024 at 5:07 PM
"Knoxville, Tennessee" is such a lovely list poem by Nikki Giovanni. Sometimes I've shared it with children and teachers to encourage them to write about their own experiences in the world with nouns that provide specific detail.
poets.org/poem/knoxvil...
poets.org/poem/knoxvil...
Links to interviews, excerpts, and reviews on the @rosemetalpress.bsky.social website. rosemetalpress.com/books/the-br...
November 30, 2024 at 10:52 PM
Links to interviews, excerpts, and reviews on the @rosemetalpress.bsky.social website. rosemetalpress.com/books/the-br...
I think @ilyakaminsky.bsky.social found the right phrase in his blurb for *The Braille Encyclopedia*: he calls the pieces in the book "lyric observations." I'm reading several of Naomi Cohn's lyric observations each day, appreciating how they come together as an alphabetical whole. Recommend!
November 30, 2024 at 10:42 PM
I think @ilyakaminsky.bsky.social found the right phrase in his blurb for *The Braille Encyclopedia*: he calls the pieces in the book "lyric observations." I'm reading several of Naomi Cohn's lyric observations each day, appreciating how they come together as an alphabetical whole. Recommend!