alexis

photo of large curved tree trunk lying side wise, piled with snow, shone upon by sun

gravity and grace

🥰

Thank you 🥰

cut-paper lantern, beeswax, and shadow

ʍopɐɥs ɯǝod .. poem shadow

and on a holiday !?

Yay I love having company in hating Pearl Jam!!

The only B52's song I know is Love Shack & it's one of my TOP HATED songs. Ever.

And yeah, all the others I can think of are solo too - Ray LaMontaigne (nice guy IRL but don't like his voice), KD Lang, Sarah McLachlan...

Oh! and MGMT. Sorry kids.

calligraphic drift

So sorry to hear this ☹️ idk if you’re looking for suggestions but if so, Dr Adam Fields (find him on YouTube) is my go-to for self-massage headache solutions. anyway, hope you feel better soon. x

Happy new year Katy! I was thinking of you recently, still working my way through the Small Beer Press back catalogue and read “At The Mouth of the River of Bees” by Kij Johnson which was wonderful and reminded me of your writing in all good ways. 📚💙

Thanks! Save the date and please help spread the word. 😀

"Venus of Chalk" is by Susan Stinson whose books "Martha Moody" and "Spider In a Tree" I gave 5 stars to in 2024

Each of these books is a v unique setting and Stinson nails it every time, but "Spider In a Tree" is my favorite for being a wonderful blend of fiction, history and poetry

"Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: Our Year of Seasonal Eating" by Barbara Kingsolver has a couple of chapters set in my town!

It's not what I would usually choose but I'm so glad I read it - it was less sanctimonious than I expected, and very funny, fun, wise, and about things I care about

"James" by Percival Everstt is really smart and well-rendered, successfully doing things like using changes in diction to make social commentary

this fast-paced reimagining of Huck Finn told from the enslaved Jim's POV is touching, funny, wise, and deeply disturbing for it's brutal truths

"An Orchid in my Belly Button" is a collection of short stories by Katy Whimhurst @sylphsea.bsky.social

suffused with magical realism, these stories are often dark and reflective of modern life, while also infusing kindness, wonder, and an offbeat sense of humor

"Eileen" is one of my favorite Ottessa Moshfegh books, along with "My Year of Rest & Relaxation"

A quiet book, driven by internal monologue and set in a small town, yet I was propelled thru by curiosity and interest to know what would happen. the book's wrap-up made me gasp a few times

I fell in love with "The Poet X" by Elizabeth Acevedo, and later read her "Clap When You Land" (gave that 4.5 stars).

This novel in verse reminds me of Anne Carson's "Red" for themes of adolescent sexuality, friendships, and independence/development - tho they're v different too

"Either / Or" is one of two Elif Bautman books I read last year (I gave "The Idiot" 4.5 stars). I'll read more as soon as she writes them

These setting familiar to me (college, New England, mid-90's) & I relate so much to the protagonist (what she is drawn to, questions she has about the world)

"The Dictionary of Lost Words" by Pip Williams (a bday gift from my mom) is a solid choice for anyone who loved Simon Winchester's "The Professor and the Madman"

a well-researched and poignant novel on the making of the OED, weaving a narrative about women that's lost in history written by men

Thick with Trouble - Amber McBride
A History of Half Birds - Caroline Harper New
Ditch Memory - Todd Davis
Room Swept Home - Remica Bingham-Risher
Cauterized - Laura Apol

all poetry books, these were my finalists (in no particular order) for a contest I helped judge

"Pearly Everlasting" by Tammy Armstrong is historical fiction featuring a friendship between a girl and a bear, taking place in remote logging camps of New Brunswick Canada during the Great Depression. It's an evocative blend of realism & fable, and poetic too.

Venus of Chalk by Susan Stinson Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver James by Percival Everett An Orchid In My Belly Button by Katy Wimhurst Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo Either Or by Elif Bautman Cauterized by Laura Apol A History of Half Birds by Caroline Harper New Ditch Memory by Todd Davis The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams Room Swept Home by Remica Bingham-Risher Thick With Trouble by Amber McBride Pearly Everlasting by Tammy Armstrong Third try, hoping there are no more remaining auto-correct errors!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ according to @thestorygraph.com stats, these are the books I gave 5-stars to in 2025 (titles and authors in the alt text)

same to you! things are likely to get worse before they get better, but let's hope anyway for good things in 2026.

ice bright as lightening

& there in the middle of it all

heart photo by karen hanrahan

heart photo by karen hanrahan

sending ❤️

Thanks! It feels lucky when I get a good shot not wearing my reading glasses :)

something magic still exists

The copies of our newspaper are here! What a beautiful thing! Order the first issue of The Visual Poetry Times now via @thepoetrykiosk.bsky.social - it’s small but packed with visual poetry fun ❤️ I’m now off to post the contributors’ copies. www.thepoetrykiosk.com

insect eating plants

Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia

Late winter is the popular request! I wasn’t feeling like I could do this next year because I am organizing two other REALLY BIG events but someone approached me & said she‘d do the fundraising, booking & marketing if I share my files & contacts with her. Which is awesome, hoping that works out. 💪