"We have recently been talking about poems of joyful accumulation—poems that begin with some small affection, which leads to a sort of snowballing of pleasure, of happy revelation, even if the revelation begins with a slight ache, a memory of someone who is no longer here, or a place that is not what it once was." —Hanif Abdurraqib for The New Yorker

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/essay/in-defense-of-despair

#HanifAbdurraqib #Poetry #Despair

I have never written in a book before.

Highlighting or marking up books was verboten, to me. Growing up on the edge of poor meant possessions were treasured, not to be vandalized.

Tonight I highlighted passages in THERE'S ALWAYS THIS YEAR by Hanif Abdurraqib. Granted, one of them referenced my now-shuttered high school, but still. His writing speaks loudly to me.

#JessReads #HanifAbdurraqib #books #bookstodon

Just finished listening to the latest THIS IS UNCOMFORTABLE featuring an interview with Hanif Abdurraqib, one of my absolute favorite writers. You should listen too.

https://www.marketplace.org/shows/this-is-uncomfortable-reema-khrais/hanif-abdurraqib-on-what-it-means-to-make-it/

#HanifAbdurraqib #Columbus #GloryToColumbus #Poetry #Writing #JustListenDammit

Loved the hell out of this book by Hanif Abdurraqib ― poetic, deep, DEEP dive into the spirituality of ballin' culture: community hoops; high school; neighborhood cement black top. Wistful remembrances of what it's like to grow up in places one fights to "get away from" ― memories of the terror and the glory and all the loveliness of said places. Very moving. Bravo. (And fuck our enemies, who don't KNOW.)

#hanifabdurraqib #columbus #cleveland #ohio #basketball

Read this for poetry and for protest.
https://open.substack.com/pub/ordinaryplots/p/ws-merwins-to-the-blank-spaces?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2t69m

#poetry #TodaysPoem #PoemADay #protest #dissent #FreePalestine #WSMerwin #DevinKelly #HanifAbdurraqib #RossGay #AnnaKornbluh #ColumbiaUniversity #StudentSolidarity #Gaza #JohnCage #music #listening #birds #silence

“Nostalgia is a relentless hustler”.

#TheDailyShow #HanifAbdurraqib

https://youtu.be/emV0qyihpB0

"To watch Bruce Springsteen step onto a stage in New Jersey is to watch Moses walk to the edge of the Red Sea, so confident in his ability to perform a miracle, to carry his people to the Promised Land."

#HanifAbdurraqib #Book #Bookclub #Reader #Bookshelf #MusicBooks #bookstodon

All of the Ways I’ve Kept Myself Alive by Hanif Abdurraqib

https://youtu.be/FgGNElOciiU

#TodaysPoem #Poetry #Poem #HanifAbdurraqib #ButtonPoetry #BestOfButton