I started this about 9 months ago; been reading through it slowly. It‘s not a work to consume so much as something to snack on. On a day when you‘re feeling the need for something less hollow than a positive affirmation, this is a good one to pick up. It‘s clear that Aurelius was an introspective man, & his insights into himself has helped me many a day when I have found myself questioning my actions & purpose.

Also really love this edition.

With the deep dive I‘ve made into politics this year I have found the Supreme Court interests me the most. Considered & designed to be the weakest of the branches, Litman carves a narrative that shows how the Court is usurping power for itself. The implications are more terrifying than one might think.

I discovered Litman‘s book through her Strict Scrutiny Podcast.(https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strict-scrutiny/id1469168641) Check it out!

A lot of Americans need this anthology right now.

The guiding premise of The Serpent and the Fire is to show us that the real border is language. There is no North America or South America. There is only a mass of land with many languages & cultures, & unlike massive superfluous walls or militarized imaginary lines, language is a border designed to be crossed. Not to segregate but to integrate.

This book reveals the truth of that integration.

Naturally, Snyder‘s 20 rules on tyranny are pertinent & should be read & absorbed by everyone. But I am so grateful I was able to listen to this expanded edition. Snyder goes deep into the Ukraine/Russian War and how central Ukraine has been to history.

I learned so much & I cannot recommend this version enough.

I wanted to read this after Schiff‘s ‘Midnight in Washington;‘ Raskin‘s book could be the sequel. Both focus on the impeachment of Trump. Both written by men educated in law.

Raskin‘s story is a tougher one, though: On Dec 31 2020, Raskin lost his young adult son to su***de. Jan 6, 2021 was his first day back to work after that. Having to deal with those two events in conjunction… 🤯

Both books end on notes of hope. If only they had known…

As I was leaving to return this collection to the library, I was telling my wife about Sister Juana. Without really thinking I said, “You know, it‘s pretty amazing that the poetry of a Spanish nun from the 17th century could reach through time to affect someone like me.” I sorta stunned myself.

Power of Poetry.

A favorite sonnet from the collection. The epitaph got cut off though. It says:

“On the death of the most excellent Señora Marquesa de Mancera”

Ok. I had a tough time figuring how to get both these in the same shot; this ⬆️ was the best I could do. The top is Edith Grossman‘s translation in the tagged book. The bottom I posted a few weeks ago from an anthology called The Serpent & the Fire; that translation is by John Campion. Notice where they differ & where they align? Do you prefer one over the other? I think I like Campion‘s best but Grossman‘s is probably closer to the original.

This is from Jose Marti from ‘Our America.‘ Found on page 126 of this anthology. It was written & published in 1891.

Powerful and pertinent

I‘ve been Anti Facebook since day one. My original excuse was I was too old (still am). But I did cave about the time I came here 3 years ago. All for the sake of connecting w/ author communities. Well that didn‘t work out & when I saw that Fuckerberg donated to DJT, I deleted my account that same day. No regrets. I‘m totally not surprised that all the upper management are POS.

Ultimately, this is a not so uncommon tale about how we all fail.

this book gets me

After a tiring day, finally at rest on the couch, I picked up this book, which I have been working through slowly & steadily. Thick in a haze, my eyes heavy, I began to read Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz‘s “First Dream.” It‘s a long poem with only an excerpt in this anthology & I wasn‘t paying much attention until I reached the verse pictured above. Instantly awakened I was like ‘what is this magic before me?‘

Anyway, look her up. Fascinating woman.

Harkin‘s debut novel, Tell Me an Ending, was one of my top books of 2022. A quiet, dystopian-lite sci-fi. With The Pretender she‘s going back in time to the Tudor era. I‘ve had this book on hold since it was announced last year.

Alas! I am so overwhelmed with my reading lately—library due dates stress me out!—that I have made the tough decision to return it w/o a read.

I want it to be on people‘s radar though because Harkin has serious talent

A seminal & important work. So important I had to check it out from the library to read & listen to it simultaneously after having already listened to it once. I‘ve gone & purchased a hard copy too.

I‘m not looking for a gold star; I‘m looking to mine all the gold I can from Freire because American‘s are under exigent circumstances.

This is not a test! Education is under attack. The oppressive regime is here. Read. Educate yourself. Prepare.

If anyone has seen or heard Senator Schiff speak, it‘s clear that he‘s not a deranged toddler. Now, it‘s hard not to be wary of books by politicians, but Schiff seems genuine. (A few fastuous whiffs here & there). I didn‘t know who he was until I came across him at schiffnotes.substack.com where he has been explaining the American fun.

This book is about his time as the head prosecutor of the first Trump impeachment. Well written & succinct.

A fantastic collection of poetry by Palestinian poet Najwan Darwish. Not quite sure the collection is chronological. There are some dates when/if the poems were published, but that doesn‘t necessarily mean they were written at that time.

Anyway, the first selection didn‘t grab me as much as the subsequent ones; it felt like it was written by a younger poet. Still, there are some powerful poems throughout & I recommend this to any poetry lover.

I think Gouverneur Morris is one of the most interesting and unique of all the Founders. He had a wooden leg and was recognized for his eloquent speech & writing. As part of the Committee of Style, Morris helped create one of our most iconic phrases: We the People. Plus, who can say his name w/o a cockney accent?!

The book itself is sparse, no doubt due to a lack of sources, but is a fine, if unexciting, biography of a lesser known Founder.

Welp… I‘m not surprised that the first congress was as chaotic as the 119th congress is.

Despite the chaos of the first, almost everyone there (& I fully believe this) was genuine in their concern about building a great country; while our 119th congress…

One thing that really struck me was how prevalent tensions between North & South already were, & how critically the North‘s assent to the South in this time has shaped history up to this day.

Well… I finally did it. ☝️ I canceled my Audible membership. Sucks, because I took full advantage of premium status; the Great Courses lectures were one of the best things I had ever come across. But the amount of ‘included-with-membership‘ books made it possible for me to save a huge chunk of titles purchased with credits. Which will give me some time before I (most likely) move to LibroFM.

A random find at the library, this book is an absolute gem. I picked it up as an aide in my poetry. Jessica Roux‘s artwork is simple yet engaging, & the accompanying info on the symbolism was the help I needed for my poems.

I think it would make a fabulous gift for just about anyone interested in nature.

Just wanted to share a small sample of the gorgeous artwork

I included Toha‘s biography in this pic so people realize that when I say these poems are brutal, they get a sense of how brutal I mean.

It seems inappropriate to judge the overall style, or lack thereof, of this collection. These are not meant to simply be poems. They are documents. Rapid fire snapshots of war-torn lives.

These poems don‘t need to prove themselves; they only need to be.

Poem Title:
TRUE OR FALSE: A TEST BY A GAZAN CHILD

I‘m glad I read this after The Hundred Years‘ War on Palestine. Chomsky & Pappe provide the understanding that I felt that Khalidi‘s book did not. However, without reading Khalidi first I would‘ve been lost throughout much of On Palestine.

I now feel that I can justly have an opinion. & while I choose to not voice that here, the one thing I will say is that the United States has exacerbated this war from nearly the beginning & it NEEDS to stop.

(1/2) In school I never cared much about American history. Who cared about a bunch of old dudes who talked funny & wore stupid wigs? Coming into Franklin‘s autobiography I was expecting tough and unrelatable. In fact, I got engaging, &, in a word, stunning. I was struck by how progressive of a thinker Franklin was. He questioned God & religion in a time when it was very unpopular to do so. He felt women deserved more rights & he detested slavery.

The book‘s first section is a simple overview of why volunteering and civic involvement is important. Basic rhetoric that is not exactly necessary unless you are coming to it with no idea.

There is a middle section featuring stories by volunteers; I read a few, but again, not essential.

The last section is the main reason I checked this out: Over 100 pages listing organizations, contact info & specialties. As well as a relevant reading list!

On a recent episode of The Slowdown Podcast, Major Jackson read the poem “Mother‘s Rules” by Yalie Saweda Kamara. It instantly hooked me. And as I often do, in order to not forget, I check if it‘s available at any nearby libraries.

It was. & here I am to tell you about it.

These are intimate poems; little portraits of her family & heritage hidden beneath, or sometimes standing proudly upon, unconventional framing devices.

I know this is a contentious issue so I‘ll keep it simple.

Despite this war having gone on my whole life I was unaware until recent events.

This is a pertinent overview. One-sided, sure, but Khalidi doesn‘t shy away from criticizing the Palestinian‘s actions either.

I‘m not sure if I have a better understanding, but I at least feel I can add to a conversation if need be.

I would like to learn more about the prewar history.

April is National Poetry Month!

What are people doing to participate in this tumultuous 2025? Reading? Writing? Composing short pieces to fit on protest signs? Supporting the Poetry Foundation? Subscribing to Poetry magazine?

Here are three on my nightstand right now (well… not in the pic 😅). Poets that are all new to me.

Why SO-SO? Because Sutton is a judge & he writes like a judge 😂. It seems directed at law students-which I am not, unless you count self-education-instead of laymen, & he glosses over the racism behind forced sterilization.

His basic premise is that often your State Supreme Court may be a more viable option than THE Supreme Court.

Learned a lot, though. Like how Jehovah‘s Witnesses played a huge part in our free speech/expression debates.

This book is DENSE. Prager wasn‘t simply satisfied with distilling a landmark Supreme Court case, he wanted to uncover every stone that led to it, & every window those stones shattered afterward.

It‘s a pretty sad account, not for political biases, but for the constant displays of bad faith by all those involved. What should make Roe a conversation topic isn‘t the ideology but its manipulation.

📸: Norma McCorvey 2011 by Bob Daemmrich

Elie Mystal has a new book out now called Bad Laws, and he‘s been popping up in the media to promote it. I liked him right away: his big white afro, his energy, the way he speaks, his obvious depth of knowledge. Plus he is riotously funny.

And boy does he have a bone to pick with the constitution! & he‘s not afraid to pick it. He clearly knows it better than most, and while often being quite unforgiving, he nails it at least 99% of the time.

A solid read. Cole takes three issues—marriage equality, gun rights, & civil/human rights (particularly after 9/11)—and explores how they were addressed through activism and lobbying. I learned a lot from this; the NRA‘s role in changing the 2nd Amendment‘s interpretation, for example.

Cole maintains a nonpartisan perspective throughout, presenting the facts clearly and giving us a glimpse at what it takes to make change happen.

Uncanny that I checked this out last month and got around to reading it at the exact time the nail has been driven into the coffin…

Cose provides plenty of examples of speech repression in America. Beginning with the first instance in 1798, only 7 years after the Bill of Rights was ratified, with—guess what?—the Alien and Sedition Acts.

His main goal, though, is to get us thinking about the definition of free speech. It really isn‘t so simple.

Quote: From 2017 in reference to Milo Yiannopoulos being protested against at U.C. Berkeley

Pic: Mahmoud Khalil. Arrested. Green card revoked. Facing deportation. For using his right to free expression.

So, no funds for colleges that repress free speech. But also, no funds for colleges that allow free speech.

Hypocritical much?

I recently read an article where a congressperson said that if you want to know what it‘s like to work with Trump then read this book. Well then…

It‘s not surprising that a representative would recommend this; like most of them, it‘s just sorta blah. The way it throws ‘psychopath‘ around so freely feels like a misnomer—according to the authors my boss is a psychopath when I‘m pretty sure he‘s just an a****le.

While by no means a comprehensive history, Stryker‘s book is a good place to start.

I chose this because I was skeptical of my own feelings about transgender issues.

To be clear, I was never skeptical of their rights; I believe everyone has a right to live how they want & I am also of the view that one doesn‘t belong at the table if one doesn‘t know anything about what‘s on it.

So now I know a little & I understand better & that‘s good.

Pick for Women‘s History Month.

Struggled to make a choice. While I have plenty of great options on my TBR, I needed to find something readily available and in audiobook. Scoured a bunch of lists, checked Audible, Goodreads, etc. Finally, one of my Libby librarys had a featured list & since I‘ve been leaning toward politics and law lately this caught my eye.

The story behind ‘Jane Roe‘ and what led up to her infamous case and its aftermath.

Halfway through Long Walk to Freedom I considered how hard Winnie Mandela‘s life must have been and how I would like to hear the story from her perspective.

It wasn‘t that long ago where I might not have gave Winnie much thought. But I have worked very hard to break the chains that have been put in place to imprison our curiosity and concern for ALL people‘s stories; work we all need to do. Unfortunately, I haven‘t found a copy of this yet.

I was just 10 when Mandela was released from prison, so he‘s always been a name in the background for me. I was surprised to find that he was not above political violence if necessary, or working with communists. In many ways he seems a bit of an anomaly in the ‘Revered Figure Dept.‘

The storytelling is compelling, told simply, but engagingly. I particularly enjoyed the early sections about his childhood. And the language.

I hesitate to rate this since I missed huge portions of it—through no fault of Solms‘. Rather my elementary understanding of the subject at hand.

We‘re talking about what consciousness is and where it comes from. Solm‘s theory, in his own words, is controversial. He presents his research and analyses to promote, from my understanding, that consciousness is the oldest emotion & has a physical location within the brain.

Decipherable but tough.

Normally, I don‘t pay particular attention to History Months, but this year I want to engage in some way with Black HM. So I perused my TBR and I think I have found the best way I can personally engage: Mandela‘s autobiography.

Already a few chapters in and I know it was the right choice. Perhaps (don‘t hold me to this) I will make it a theme for this year.

Funny how tr**mp‘s attempts to stifle history has made me want to do the opposite 🤔

There is no denying that Washington‘s Farewell Address is eerily prescient. His warnings about party divides, about tyrants exacerbating that divide, about foreign entanglements, & losing the ideal of ‘We The People‘. Well, those foresights are now realities.

I‘m glad I took the time to read this. It‘s sad to think that if Washington were to write this now and say it today, some jackass would be on X calling for his deportation.

Stay safe.

This is one of those types of books where you pause and think: “Huh, I never considered what mental health looked like for Black communities.” (I was gonna add ‘at the peak of racism‘, but…) Which makes this book vitally important. It just opens up a new chapter in one‘s understanding of the world, & racism, & camaraderie.

I‘ve never been to Maryland & I know there is TONS of history there, but if I ever do go, Crownsville will be a stop.

This one struck me. Obviously the word ‘Immigration‘ stands out given the current situation. Perhaps Ada is saying things will work out. That this dance of destruction will spawn a new, more inclusive dance?

I wish I had that hope.

I‘ve been thinking about Ada a lot. I believe the Poet Laureate is federally funded. Will our federal arts programs be gutted too? We all know the US‘s two presidents wouldn‘t know poetry if it bit them in the ass.

Established before the #metoo movement, Bates‘s Everyday Sexism project gave women a place to voice their issues with predatory behavior. This book is more like a compilation of what she has learned through research, activism, & her own experiences, as well as the experience of other women around the globe through their tweets, quotes, emails, and interviews. It‘s upsetting to hear all the horrible things men do.

Stay safe, Littens

This is a perfect example of why we need to keep DEIA here in America. It‘s never been about race or sex as much as it has been about points of view. How can a group of all white men possibly know what a Black female soldier needs? How can a group of physically fit people make decisions for disabled people without knowing that experience?

By removing DEIA we‘re not eliminating “wokeness”we‘re eliminating multiple views of the world.

Stay safe