Ruby Rosenthal
@rubyprosenthal.bsky.social
writer/editor, second funniest person you know, was once called "garbage propaganda" on X and stands by it, social media @ Chicago Review of Books
https://52badessays.substack.com/
https://rubyprosenthal.com/
https://52badessays.substack.com/
https://rubyprosenthal.com/
Reposted by Ruby Rosenthal
"More than anything, I craved community. I wanted to be a Chicagoan and a writer, but mostly a Chicago writer."
@mbwwelch.bsky.social's "A City Where Words Breathe," a lovely reflection on 10 years of the CHIRBys, is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/08/a...
@mbwwelch.bsky.social's "A City Where Words Breathe," a lovely reflection on 10 years of the CHIRBys, is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/08/a...
A City Where Words Breathe: On Celebrating 10 Years of the CHIRBy Awards - Chicago Review of Books
I arrived late to my first Chicago Review of Books Awards in 2019. I was a new editor on the team then, nervous and uncertain about how early to arrive for the ceremony and lost between the awfully na...
chireviewofbooks.com
December 8, 2025 at 4:49 PM
"More than anything, I craved community. I wanted to be a Chicagoan and a writer, but mostly a Chicago writer."
@mbwwelch.bsky.social's "A City Where Words Breathe," a lovely reflection on 10 years of the CHIRBys, is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/08/a...
@mbwwelch.bsky.social's "A City Where Words Breathe," a lovely reflection on 10 years of the CHIRBys, is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/12/08/a...
Reposted by Ruby Rosenthal
It was a delight to speak--with @bethrooney.bsky.social--to @rubyprosenthal.bsky.social of Newcity about LEAF TOWN FOREVER from @uminnpress.bsky.social (& about how capitalism is corrosive & inner children are crucial): lit.newcity.com/2025/12/04/h...
How Kathleen and Beth Rooney Conceived Their New Picture Book, “Leaf Town Forever”
Written in thirty-two haikus, the book is about a band of kids who dream about creating a town that could last forever.
lit.newcity.com
December 7, 2025 at 2:42 PM
It was a delight to speak--with @bethrooney.bsky.social--to @rubyprosenthal.bsky.social of Newcity about LEAF TOWN FOREVER from @uminnpress.bsky.social (& about how capitalism is corrosive & inner children are crucial): lit.newcity.com/2025/12/04/h...
Oh yes 😁 We long to relieve a (suburban) past where things felt... Normal? Whatever that means?
I've had three conversations with three different Gen-Zers this week about how much they love the restaurant Chili's. Is this a thing? Gen-Z ❤️s Chili's? I mean, fine, no issues here -- but it feels like a glitch in the Matrix...
December 5, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Oh yes 😁 We long to relieve a (suburban) past where things felt... Normal? Whatever that means?
Reposted by Ruby Rosenthal
It's publication day for LEAF TOWN FOREVER, the picture book I co-wrote with my sister @bethrooney.bsky.social, illustrated by Betsy Bowen & published by @uminnpress.bsky.social! See you at one of our upcoming events, & in the meantime, add to cart! www.leaftownforever.com/news-and-event
October 14, 2025 at 12:25 PM
It's publication day for LEAF TOWN FOREVER, the picture book I co-wrote with my sister @bethrooney.bsky.social, illustrated by Betsy Bowen & published by @uminnpress.bsky.social! See you at one of our upcoming events, & in the meantime, add to cart! www.leaftownforever.com/news-and-event
Was super lovely to chat with @kathleenmrooney.bsky.social and @bethrooney.bsky.social about their absolutely warm and wonderful children's book LEAF TOWN FOREVER (@uminnpress.bsky.social).
lit.newcity.com/2025/12/04/h...
lit.newcity.com/2025/12/04/h...
How Kathleen and Beth Rooney Conceived Their New Picture Book, “Leaf Town Forever”
Written in thirty-two haikus, the book is about a band of kids who dream about creating a town that could last forever.
lit.newcity.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Was super lovely to chat with @kathleenmrooney.bsky.social and @bethrooney.bsky.social about their absolutely warm and wonderful children's book LEAF TOWN FOREVER (@uminnpress.bsky.social).
lit.newcity.com/2025/12/04/h...
lit.newcity.com/2025/12/04/h...
My latest for Newcity: a feature on Chicago poet laureate avery r. young—who was a joy to talk to!—on the Chicago Soul Poem @poetryfoundation.bsky.social event Dec 4 🥳
lit.newcity.com/2025/11/24/p...
lit.newcity.com/2025/11/24/p...
avery r. young on the Soloem Form and "Chicago Soul Poem"
Chicago’s inaugural poet laureate talks about his perspective on poetry, the upcoming event at the Poetry Foundation and how to place poetry in the middle of a time like this.
lit.newcity.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:49 PM
My latest for Newcity: a feature on Chicago poet laureate avery r. young—who was a joy to talk to!—on the Chicago Soul Poem @poetryfoundation.bsky.social event Dec 4 🥳
lit.newcity.com/2025/11/24/p...
lit.newcity.com/2025/11/24/p...
🥳🥳🥳!!!!
BOOM. ⚡️🧨 Consider a pre-order! My debut collection explores grief for our mothers and ourselves.💥The vibe: end times in the multiverse, tender apocalypses, music, the extinct, ancient, alien, and animal. A bit speculative, a bit strange. Links in bio & here genevievedeguzman.carbonmade.com/karaoke
November 23, 2025 at 5:46 AM
🥳🥳🥳!!!!
Reposted by Ruby Rosenthal
We are so thrilled for @poetpatriciasmith.bsky.social, who just won a National Book Award!! In 2023, @recycledgiraffe.bsky.social interviewed her about “Unshuttered” (@nupress.bsky.social), check it out as we celebrate her win in Chicago 🥳
chireviewofbooks.com/2023/03/13/u...
chireviewofbooks.com/2023/03/13/u...
Summoning the Past Through Words and Images: A Conversation with Patricia Smith About "Unshuttered" - Chicago Review of Books
A list of Patricia Smith’s achievements in poetry could take up much of this interview. A poet, playwright, essayist, educator and mentor, she’s deservedly won nearly every accolade and award, includi...
chireviewofbooks.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:17 PM
We are so thrilled for @poetpatriciasmith.bsky.social, who just won a National Book Award!! In 2023, @recycledgiraffe.bsky.social interviewed her about “Unshuttered” (@nupress.bsky.social), check it out as we celebrate her win in Chicago 🥳
chireviewofbooks.com/2023/03/13/u...
chireviewofbooks.com/2023/03/13/u...
Reposted by Ruby Rosenthal
Yuliya Klochan’s beading practice taps into her Ukrainian roots. https://bit.ly/3WOXyiP
‘Seeing the world in bead color’ - Chicago Reader
In her original bead works, Yuliya Klochan portrays queer love, nonbinary and Ukrainian American pride, and women’s issues.
bit.ly
November 17, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Yuliya Klochan’s beading practice taps into her Ukrainian roots. https://bit.ly/3WOXyiP
Read my latest—a Craft Work piece in @chicagoreader.com about lovely beading artist Yuliya Klochan!
chicagoreader.com/visual-arts/...
chicagoreader.com/visual-arts/...
‘Seeing the world in bead color’ - Chicago Reader
In her original bead works, Yuliya Klochan portrays queer love, nonbinary and Ukrainian American pride, and women’s issues.
chicagoreader.com
November 12, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Read my latest—a Craft Work piece in @chicagoreader.com about lovely beading artist Yuliya Klochan!
chicagoreader.com/visual-arts/...
chicagoreader.com/visual-arts/...
Reposted by Ruby Rosenthal
We are always very proud to be a part of the Stories Matter Foundation, but today especially.
October 29, 2025 at 9:15 PM
We are always very proud to be a part of the Stories Matter Foundation, but today especially.
Reposted by Ruby Rosenthal
"Funny, psychologically astute, and full of sharp imagery."
@rubyprosenthal.bsky.social's review of “Crawl” by Max Delsohn (@graywolfpress.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/10/21/w...
@rubyprosenthal.bsky.social's review of “Crawl” by Max Delsohn (@graywolfpress.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/10/21/w...
Writing the Trans Experience with Humor and Charm in Max Delsohn’s “Crawl” - Chicago Review of Books
There’s a tense moment when Matthew, a transmasculine character in Crawl—a smart, funny debut short story collection by Max Delsohn—is chatting casually with Harvest, his boss’s boss, at his workplace...
chireviewofbooks.com
October 21, 2025 at 4:42 PM
"Funny, psychologically astute, and full of sharp imagery."
@rubyprosenthal.bsky.social's review of “Crawl” by Max Delsohn (@graywolfpress.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/10/21/w...
@rubyprosenthal.bsky.social's review of “Crawl” by Max Delsohn (@graywolfpress.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/10/21/w...
Loved chatting with @jasondiamond.bsky.social on his new book and Jewish stuff!
"I wanted to talk about intergenerational trauma, the things we inherit."
@rubyprosenthal.bsky.social's interview with @jasondiamond.bsky.social on his new book “Kaplan's Plot” (@flatironbooks.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/09/16/o...
@rubyprosenthal.bsky.social's interview with @jasondiamond.bsky.social on his new book “Kaplan's Plot” (@flatironbooks.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/09/16/o...
On Kafka, Jewish Identity, and the Choices of Our Ancestors: A Conversation with Jason Diamond - Chicago Review of Books
Jason Diamond likes to say he has dual citizenship: though he was born in Chicago and grew up in Lake Forest, he currently lives in Brooklyn. Yet, for the moment, as I talk to him on a boiling aftern...
chireviewofbooks.com
September 16, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Loved chatting with @jasondiamond.bsky.social on his new book and Jewish stuff!
Reposted by Ruby Rosenthal
This is going to be epic.
We're thrilled to be co-hosting the Chicago release of Kaplan's Plot by @jasondiamond.bsky.social with @volumesbooks.bsky.social!! Join Jason in conversation with
@jamiattenberg.bsky.social and we can't wait to see you next Friday night! 🥳🥳🥳
www.eventbrite.com/e/jason-diam...
@jamiattenberg.bsky.social and we can't wait to see you next Friday night! 🥳🥳🥳
www.eventbrite.com/e/jason-diam...
September 11, 2025 at 7:58 PM
This is going to be epic.
Read my review! :)
"The book is largely compelling because of Sanz’s voice."
@rubyprosenthal.bsky.social's review of “My Clavicle And Other Massive Misalignments” by Marta Sanz, translated by Katie King (@unnamedpress.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/07/22/l...
@rubyprosenthal.bsky.social's review of “My Clavicle And Other Massive Misalignments” by Marta Sanz, translated by Katie King (@unnamedpress.bsky.social) is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/07/22/l...
Life Disguised as Art in “My Clavicle” - Chicago Review of Books
If you are like I was a few months ago, you may not know exactly where your clavicle is. If you took an anatomy test, and one of the questions was “which one of these body parts is real,” and “clavicl...
chireviewofbooks.com
July 24, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Read my review! :)
Elmo wrote my Subst*ck this week! Check it out here.
52badessays.substack.com/p/elmos-stat...
52badessays.substack.com/p/elmos-stat...
July 16, 2025 at 3:08 AM
Elmo wrote my Subst*ck this week! Check it out here.
52badessays.substack.com/p/elmos-stat...
52badessays.substack.com/p/elmos-stat...
Wondering what an alligator thinks of this week’s news of Alligator Alcatraz? Well I sat down with one yesterday and got the exclusive scoop!
52badessays.substack.com/p/i-am-an-al...
52badessays.substack.com/p/i-am-an-al...
I am an Alligator and I Love the Idea of Alligator Alcatraz
Maybe if there were, say, three thousand humans locked up nearby—although I always thought the human preference was “cage-free”—I’d finally have someone new to grumble with.
52badessays.substack.com
July 3, 2025 at 4:29 PM
Wondering what an alligator thinks of this week’s news of Alligator Alcatraz? Well I sat down with one yesterday and got the exclusive scoop!
52badessays.substack.com/p/i-am-an-al...
52badessays.substack.com/p/i-am-an-al...
I wrote about the big A-word... Could it be Assholes? Could it be Ackamarackus? Could it be Annoying Apples? Maybe you should find out...
52badessays.substack.com/p/hiding-in-...
52badessays.substack.com/p/hiding-in-...
Hiding in Plain Sight
There is so much more to be said about this, but I’ve decided to start here
52badessays.substack.com
June 5, 2025 at 1:15 PM
I wrote about the big A-word... Could it be Assholes? Could it be Ackamarackus? Could it be Annoying Apples? Maybe you should find out...
52badessays.substack.com/p/hiding-in-...
52badessays.substack.com/p/hiding-in-...
Reposted by Ruby Rosenthal
With @storystudiochicago.bsky.social, literary journal Arcturus, and @chicagowriterspod.bsky.social we've decided to leave X. Our social media editor @rubyprosenthal.bsky.social writes why:
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/05/21/b...
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/05/21/b...
Bye, Twitter! - Chicago Review of Books
The Chicago Review of Books is saying goodbye to Twitter/X for reasons you’ve probably already guessed, because why be part of a crypto-neo-Nazi-hellsphere when we could, just, well, not. This, by th...
chireviewofbooks.com
May 21, 2025 at 7:22 PM
With @storystudiochicago.bsky.social, literary journal Arcturus, and @chicagowriterspod.bsky.social we've decided to leave X. Our social media editor @rubyprosenthal.bsky.social writes why:
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/05/21/b...
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/05/21/b...
Reposted by Ruby Rosenthal
Huge thanks to Newcity Lit and @rubyprosenthal.bsky.social for this terrific piece on our Writers on Writing series, curated by @rebeccamakkai.bsky.social:
Rebecca Makkai Talks StoryStudio's Writers on Writing Series at the Newberry
Writers on Writing returns on May 22 with featured writer Carmen Maria Machado in conversation with Chicago nonfiction writer Megan Stielstra. Ahead of the event, Ruby Rosenthal spoke to Rebecca…
buff.ly
May 21, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Huge thanks to Newcity Lit and @rubyprosenthal.bsky.social for this terrific piece on our Writers on Writing series, curated by @rebeccamakkai.bsky.social:
Okay Bluesky followers...raise your hand if you remember the Jamie Lee Curtis Activia commercials...
May 15, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Okay Bluesky followers...raise your hand if you remember the Jamie Lee Curtis Activia commercials...
Plenty to be angry about with this administration, but I wrote about what this week's NEA cuts mean to me. Spoiler alert: a LOT.
open.substack.com/pub/52badess...
open.substack.com/pub/52badess...
Something Serious: I'd be Nowhere Without Arts Funding
What this week's NEA cuts mean to me
open.substack.com
May 7, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Plenty to be angry about with this administration, but I wrote about what this week's NEA cuts mean to me. Spoiler alert: a LOT.
open.substack.com/pub/52badess...
open.substack.com/pub/52badess...
Reposted by Ruby Rosenthal
Get your spring reading sorted! The @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social has your 12 must-read books for May!
12 Must-Read Books of May 2025 - Chicago Review of Books
Well, it certainly showered in April. With any luck, the May flowers are on their way! May is often the start of summertime reading, a time to get outside and enjoy some fresh air and an even fresher…
buff.ly
May 1, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Get your spring reading sorted! The @chicagorevbooks.bsky.social has your 12 must-read books for May!
Reposted by Ruby Rosenthal
"Books and art allow us to be fully realized. Authoritarians want to oppress us. They want us to feel downtrodden. But art gives us hope."
@gregzimmerman.bsky.social's interview with @samiraahmed.bsky.social is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/05/01/r...
@gregzimmerman.bsky.social's interview with @samiraahmed.bsky.social is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/05/01/r...
Read Your Resistance: Book Bans and Bravery: A Conversation with Samira Ahmed - Chicago Review of Books
The science is certain: Reading engenders empathy. If it’s true that books bring about compassion and a curiosity about the world, ideas, and people different from oneself, then it’s also true that ba...
chireviewofbooks.com
May 1, 2025 at 7:04 PM
"Books and art allow us to be fully realized. Authoritarians want to oppress us. They want us to feel downtrodden. But art gives us hope."
@gregzimmerman.bsky.social's interview with @samiraahmed.bsky.social is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/05/01/r...
@gregzimmerman.bsky.social's interview with @samiraahmed.bsky.social is out now.
chireviewofbooks.com/2025/05/01/r...