John M. Murphy
@blackirishbuddha.bsky.social
4.8K followers 6.7K following 2K posts
Proud liberal & activist. Gray & gay Buddhist. Resist/rebel/revolt-as needed. Over the next 4 years,"we must all hang together, or surely, we will all hang separately." Terms Apps iOS app Copyright © 2001 - 2025 BrainyQuote Do Not Sell My Info
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gregfieldsauthor.bsky.social
Back from Ireland where I presented at the Dublin International Writers Festival. I spoke on Why We Write.

"We write to build community, to strip away the pains that plague us and find the purposes, the challenges of simply being alive."

bit.ly/42EGFKQ

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International Dublin Writers Festival --- Why We Write (Excerpt)
…….And now for the real reason, one which becomes more and more apparent every day.Especially during a time when we’re surrounded by contention, when we cannot avoid the poisons of division, hatefulne...
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gregfieldsauthor.bsky.social
William Faulkner (1897-1962) From his Nobel acceptance speech:

"It is the poet's privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart...The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail."

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gregfieldsauthor.bsky.social
T.S. Eliot (1887-1965) Born in St. Louis, he moved to England in 1914 and became a British subject.

Of his stormy marriage to Vivienne Haigh-Wood: "To her, the marriage brought no happiness. To me, it brought the state of mind out of which came 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒅"

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gregfieldsauthor.bsky.social
Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) He joined the Spanish Armada and wounded his left hand, never regaining its full use. Not the luckiest of men, pirates then captured and enslaved him. Upon returning home he was jailed for fraud. While there he began 𝑫𝒐𝒏 𝑸𝒖𝒊𝒙𝒐𝒕𝒆

#booksky
#writingcommunity
#authors
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gregfieldsauthor.bsky.social
Poet WS Merwin (1927-2019):

I asked how can you ever be sure
that what you write is really
any good at all and he said you can't

you can't you can never be sure
you die without knowing
whether anything you wrote was any good
if you have to be sure don't write

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gregfieldsauthor.bsky.social
Novelist Tim O'Brien, born 1946 - 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅

"Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can’t remember how you got from where you were to where you are...when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story."

#booksky
#writingcommunity
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gregfieldsauthor.bsky.social
English novelist Graham Greene (1904-91)

"Writing is a form of therapy; sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness, melancholia, the panic and fear which is inherent in a human situation."

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gregfieldsauthor.bsky.social
Thomas Wolfe (1900-38) - 𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑯𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅, 𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍; 𝑶𝒇 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓; 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑪𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝑮𝒐 𝑯𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝑨𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏

"Man is born to live, to suffer, and to die, and what befalls him is a tragic lot. There is no denying this in the final end. But we must deny it all along the way."

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gregfieldsauthor.bsky.social
Edward Albee’s 𝑾𝒉𝒐'𝒔 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑽𝒊𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒂 𝑾𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒇? premieres on Broadway in 1962. Albee who liked the sound of the pun, which he first heard at his favorite bar, and used it as his play’s title. In Prague, the play was billed as ‘Who’s Afraid of Franz Kafka?’

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gregfieldsauthor.bsky.social
In 1946 Eugene O'Neill's play 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉, centering on a group of alcoholics in a boarding house above a saloon, premiered on Broadway, opening to mixed reviews. It's come to be seen as "a harsh and ruthless drama" and "one of America's greatest plays"

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gregfieldsauthor.bsky.social
Frank Herbert (1920-86) While writing an article about Oregon sand dunes he became enthralled by his research. He abandoned the article and wrote 𝑫𝒖𝒏𝒆, which was rejected by 23 publishers before a small press known mainly for its auto-repair manuals took a chance

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gregfieldsauthor.bsky.social
In 1955, with Kerouac in attendance, Allen Ginsberg first read 𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒍 at a poetry reading in San Francisco. Ferlinghetti's City Lights Books published it and was brought to trial on obscenity charges, the judge ruling that it was of 'redeeming social importance.'

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gregfieldsauthor.bsky.social
Poet ee cummings (1894-1962)
Edna St. Vincent Millay wrote "He offers for sale poetry which is...inexplicable to a person as intelligent as myself...What I propose is this: that you give Mr. Cummings enough rope. He may hang himself; or he may lasso a unicorn."

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dearlstephens.bsky.social
Don't you DARE tell me both parties are the same.
blackirishbuddha.bsky.social
Our turn: #NoKings
This coming Saturday, October 18. Peaceful protest nationwide. Find your location: nokings.org REPOST
Our turn: #NoKings
This coming Saturday, October 18. Peaceful protest nationwide. Find your location: nokings.org REPOST
No Kings
As the president escalates his authoritarian power grab, the NO KINGS non-violent movement continues to rise stronger. We are united once again to remind the world: America has No Kings and the power ...
nokings.org
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angrystaffer.bsky.social
When people show you who they are, believe them.

And of course JD Vance refused to condemn this.
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atrupar.com
Q: Politico reported on a group chat of young Republicans. Does this just reflect some bad apples?

HOCHUL: Some bad apples? These are the future of the GOP. This is so vile it's hard to find the words to put into context ... there's gotta be consequences ... this bullshit has to stop.
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bobgeiger.bsky.social
The people of Portland and Chicago were unavailable for comment on "THE PRESIDENT OF PEACE."

They're all busy protesting the war he has declared on their cities.