niina pollari
@niina.bsky.social
beautiful, powerful, dangerous, cold
author of PATH OF TOTALITY (2022) and DEAD HORSE (2015). RISK TOLERANCE forthcoming from autofocus books. reviews ed. at zona motel. poet, translator, parent in nc.
niinapollari.com
https://substack.com/@niinapollari
author of PATH OF TOTALITY (2022) and DEAD HORSE (2015). RISK TOLERANCE forthcoming from autofocus books. reviews ed. at zona motel. poet, translator, parent in nc.
niinapollari.com
https://substack.com/@niinapollari
How lucky to spend Saturday night directly in the path of the heated air from the mini split, reading poetry books
December 14, 2025 at 2:56 AM
How lucky to spend Saturday night directly in the path of the heated air from the mini split, reading poetry books
Ariel Yelen, "Revolution" from the book I WAS WORKING
December 14, 2025 at 2:53 AM
Ariel Yelen, "Revolution" from the book I WAS WORKING
"Can you play 'Don't Take My Son Away'?" -my two-year-old, asking to hear "You Are My Sunshine"
December 13, 2025 at 5:37 PM
"Can you play 'Don't Take My Son Away'?" -my two-year-old, asking to hear "You Are My Sunshine"
Did I already share this, from @ginabird.bsky.social 's book WORKS AND DAYS? A book full of anticapitalist bangers
December 13, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Did I already share this, from @ginabird.bsky.social 's book WORKS AND DAYS? A book full of anticapitalist bangers
I had a fun time chatting with Nikki Volpicelli about a recent reread of The Shining, which it seemed like everyone was reading this year. open.substack.com/pub/zonamote...
INTERVIEW: Why is everyone reading The Shining right now?
Zona Motel contributors Niina Pollari and Nikki Volpicelli discuss the appeal of Stephen King's horror classic in an era where it's impossible to trust your own senses.
open.substack.com
December 12, 2025 at 4:17 PM
I had a fun time chatting with Nikki Volpicelli about a recent reread of The Shining, which it seemed like everyone was reading this year. open.substack.com/pub/zonamote...
I've been volunteering & accidentally skipped a day. I had a nightmare about it once I realized. The next day I showed up there all remorseful and said "I'm so sorry for letting you down. I have to reconcile for skipping yesterday"
And do you know what they said
"It's okay, honey. See you Friday"
And do you know what they said
"It's okay, honey. See you Friday"
December 12, 2025 at 1:06 AM
I've been volunteering & accidentally skipped a day. I had a nightmare about it once I realized. The next day I showed up there all remorseful and said "I'm so sorry for letting you down. I have to reconcile for skipping yesterday"
And do you know what they said
"It's okay, honey. See you Friday"
And do you know what they said
"It's okay, honey. See you Friday"
Rosalie Moffett, "Happy," from the book Making a Living
December 11, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Rosalie Moffett, "Happy," from the book Making a Living
Reposted by niina pollari
you'll spend your entire life thinking "that's not her, not really" and pushing the thought away. you'll never truly grieve. you'll become attached to a simulacrum, something that isn't your grandmother & never was; it will eventually replace her in your memory. you will live in hell before you die
IN DEPTH | If you could speak to your dead grandmother forever, would you?
If you could speak to your dead grandmother forever, would you?
www.independent.co.uk
December 10, 2025 at 5:46 PM
you'll spend your entire life thinking "that's not her, not really" and pushing the thought away. you'll never truly grieve. you'll become attached to a simulacrum, something that isn't your grandmother & never was; it will eventually replace her in your memory. you will live in hell before you die
My husband, father of my children, loves christmas magic. I simply love fading into the background and letting an expert do their job. It's a perfect match
December 10, 2025 at 2:41 AM
My husband, father of my children, loves christmas magic. I simply love fading into the background and letting an expert do their job. It's a perfect match
Normal Al
We got Weird Al out here singing Killing In The Name, the time for moderation is over
December 7, 2025 at 3:44 AM
Normal Al
One of my most toxic personality traits is how much Legos stress me out
December 6, 2025 at 4:00 PM
One of my most toxic personality traits is how much Legos stress me out
My husband and kids are watching a national geographic video about Tutankhamen.
5yo: "I NEED to see a real mummy now."
2yo: "WAIT DID THAT GUY DIE"
5yo: "I NEED to see a real mummy now."
2yo: "WAIT DID THAT GUY DIE"
December 4, 2025 at 11:45 PM
My husband and kids are watching a national geographic video about Tutankhamen.
5yo: "I NEED to see a real mummy now."
2yo: "WAIT DID THAT GUY DIE"
5yo: "I NEED to see a real mummy now."
2yo: "WAIT DID THAT GUY DIE"
I don't know about you but I don't actually want to function like a basic executive
December 4, 2025 at 5:40 PM
I don't know about you but I don't actually want to function like a basic executive
What gives the word palimpsest the right to sound so superlative? Annoying tbh
December 4, 2025 at 2:43 PM
What gives the word palimpsest the right to sound so superlative? Annoying tbh
This review by Erin is a delight -- insightful literary analysis without loss of context. (In addition, I am a huge fan of thinking while riding the bus, which this review also has)
I reviewed Damion Searls’s great novella on navigating the present + making nostalgia meaningful for Zona Motel open.substack.com/pub/zonamote...
REVIEW: Analog Days by Damion Searls
Damion Searls's new novella shows us that the surrounding noise, innocuous as it might seem at times, is valuable; that the foreground and background are both essential to meaning.
open.substack.com
December 2, 2025 at 6:40 PM
This review by Erin is a delight -- insightful literary analysis without loss of context. (In addition, I am a huge fan of thinking while riding the bus, which this review also has)
I loved Gina Myers's WORKS AND DAYS, a long poem from the edge of late capitalism. I also just finished Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove which is exquisite and which I started in January and had to put away for a while.
Repost with the last book you enjoyed, and we’ll enter you in a drawing for one of our new fall poetry titles! 🍂📚💙
We are thankful for our readers ❤️
riverriverbooks.org/store/
We are thankful for our readers ❤️
riverriverbooks.org/store/
December 2, 2025 at 12:59 PM
I loved Gina Myers's WORKS AND DAYS, a long poem from the edge of late capitalism. I also just finished Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove which is exquisite and which I started in January and had to put away for a while.
Treasure trove arrived from @princetonupress.bsky.social ✨️
December 1, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Treasure trove arrived from @princetonupress.bsky.social ✨️
I had a dream that the new plant-based milk innovation was mushroom milk
November 30, 2025 at 2:01 PM
I had a dream that the new plant-based milk innovation was mushroom milk
Finnish excellence
November 30, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Finnish excellence
This has nothing to do with anything but I think about this Radiohead performance of "Creep" from MTV Spring Break weirdly often. youtu.be/jRea4kI_P7U?...
Radiohead - Creep (Live at the MTV Beach House, 1993) [HD Remastered]
YouTube video by Lone Wolf 669
youtu.be
November 28, 2025 at 2:34 PM
This has nothing to do with anything but I think about this Radiohead performance of "Creep" from MTV Spring Break weirdly often. youtu.be/jRea4kI_P7U?...
Reposted by niina pollari
"The disappearance of my work from bookshops would mark a truly extreme incursion by the state into the realm of artistic expression.”
November 28, 2025 at 12:14 PM
"The disappearance of my work from bookshops would mark a truly extreme incursion by the state into the realm of artistic expression.”
Shoutout to tofurky. Fine year after year with no murder involved
November 28, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Shoutout to tofurky. Fine year after year with no murder involved
Pretty sure I saw Satan's car today
November 26, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Pretty sure I saw Satan's car today
Found a mountain dulcimer in my mother-in-law's garage so I'm going to fuck around and restring it. Stay tuned
See what I did there
See what I did there
November 25, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Found a mountain dulcimer in my mother-in-law's garage so I'm going to fuck around and restring it. Stay tuned
See what I did there
See what I did there
Speaking of this, should I take them to the Emily Dickinson museum this week
This just in: apparently I'm the parent and I can make them go to poetry readings
November 24, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Speaking of this, should I take them to the Emily Dickinson museum this week