Summer Brennan
@summerbrennan.bsky.social
Award-winning writer and Orion Book Award finalist. American in Paris. Books: THE OYSTER WAR; HIGH HEEL. Next: THE PARISIAN SPHINX, A TRUE TALE OF ART & OBSESSION. Leonard Cohen blew me a kiss one time.
Substack: https://www.awritersnotebook.org/
Substack: https://www.awritersnotebook.org/
Reposted by Summer Brennan
They are betting AI will replace us. Make them lose the bet.
The markets are staying afloat right now on the hope that AI will destroy American workers. What a bleak thing.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b...
November 30, 2025 at 3:07 AM
They are betting AI will replace us. Make them lose the bet.
Reposted by Summer Brennan
I Was Once a Broken Reader. I Found My Way Back to Books. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/o...
Love this essay by @jeffgiles.bsky.social
Love this essay by @jeffgiles.bsky.social
Opinion | I Was Once a Broken Reader. I Found My Way Back to Books.
www.nytimes.com
November 29, 2025 at 3:17 PM
I Was Once a Broken Reader. I Found My Way Back to Books. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/o...
Love this essay by @jeffgiles.bsky.social
Love this essay by @jeffgiles.bsky.social
Reposted by Summer Brennan
At this point, our intro comp/first-year English course has been so heavily revised, it no longer includes a novel, or "extended reading" of any kind, no "specialized" or "historical" reading, mostly in-class assignments, no research essay...and we are still seeing a 40-50% rate of AI misconduct.
November 28, 2025 at 11:31 PM
At this point, our intro comp/first-year English course has been so heavily revised, it no longer includes a novel, or "extended reading" of any kind, no "specialized" or "historical" reading, mostly in-class assignments, no research essay...and we are still seeing a 40-50% rate of AI misconduct.
Reposted by Summer Brennan
It's only a matter of time before humanities departments will be forced to accept AI-authored assignments, as part of revised university policy to cooperate with these billionaires. It's already happening, and our response needs to be decisive. Because our students' ability to *think* is at stake.
November 28, 2025 at 10:37 PM
It's only a matter of time before humanities departments will be forced to accept AI-authored assignments, as part of revised university policy to cooperate with these billionaires. It's already happening, and our response needs to be decisive. Because our students' ability to *think* is at stake.
Reposted by Summer Brennan
This long, heartbreaking thread. Whew. Reason eleventy billion why I'm completely anti-AI.
Students unable to think.
"billionaires hurling addictive technology at us."
Whew.
Students unable to think.
"billionaires hurling addictive technology at us."
Whew.
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
November 29, 2025 at 2:28 PM
This long, heartbreaking thread. Whew. Reason eleventy billion why I'm completely anti-AI.
Students unable to think.
"billionaires hurling addictive technology at us."
Whew.
Students unable to think.
"billionaires hurling addictive technology at us."
Whew.
Reposted by Summer Brennan
Cancer drug Revlimid is one of the bestselling pharmaceutical products of all time, with total sales of over $100 billion.
It’s also extraordinarily expensive, costing nearly $1,000 for each pill, even though that pill costs just 25 cents to make.
By @davidarmstrongx.bsky.social
It’s also extraordinarily expensive, costing nearly $1,000 for each pill, even though that pill costs just 25 cents to make.
By @davidarmstrongx.bsky.social
The Price of Remission: This Cancer Drug Saves Lives — but Costs a Fortune. I Wanted to Know Why.
When I was diagnosed with cancer, I set out to understand why a single pill of Revlimid cost the same as a new iPhone. I’ve covered high drug prices as a reporter for years. What I discovered shocked ...
www.propublica.org
November 28, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Cancer drug Revlimid is one of the bestselling pharmaceutical products of all time, with total sales of over $100 billion.
It’s also extraordinarily expensive, costing nearly $1,000 for each pill, even though that pill costs just 25 cents to make.
By @davidarmstrongx.bsky.social
It’s also extraordinarily expensive, costing nearly $1,000 for each pill, even though that pill costs just 25 cents to make.
By @davidarmstrongx.bsky.social
Reposted by Summer Brennan
Get some rest tonight, everybody. I'll expect to see your offerings tomorrow. The devil hasn't yet made the villain who can spoil Secular Pie Thursday.
November 27, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Get some rest tonight, everybody. I'll expect to see your offerings tomorrow. The devil hasn't yet made the villain who can spoil Secular Pie Thursday.
Reposted by Summer Brennan
Looking for a gift? Edward Carey (my ball-&-chain) is selling original drawings of birds (grackle, barn, owl, even curlews) here:
edwardcarey.bigcartel.com?utm_source=i...
edwardcarey.bigcartel.com?utm_source=i...
EdwardCarey
Original art by Edward Carey, author of Little, The Swallowed Man, Iremonger Trilogy, Edith Holler and B: A Year in Plagues and Pencils.
edwardcarey.bigcartel.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Looking for a gift? Edward Carey (my ball-&-chain) is selling original drawings of birds (grackle, barn, owl, even curlews) here:
edwardcarey.bigcartel.com?utm_source=i...
edwardcarey.bigcartel.com?utm_source=i...
Reposted by Summer Brennan
My Xmas gift thank you Summer Brennan
This was originally written in summer, but for all of us facing empty chairs this Thanksgiving—the chairs that once were filled and now are not, and the chairs that may be filled one day, with people who’ve not yet been born, or whom we haven’t met yet 💜 www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Going Through Old Notebooks Part 13: Trees and Their Absence
I felt an affinity for that space, where a tree’s branches had swayed for over half a century, if not longer, and now did not
www.awritersnotebook.org
November 25, 2025 at 5:43 AM
My Xmas gift thank you Summer Brennan
Reposted by Summer Brennan
This was originally written in summer, but for all of us facing empty chairs this Thanksgiving—the chairs that once were filled and now are not, and the chairs that may be filled one day, with people who’ve not yet been born, or whom we haven’t met yet 💜 www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Going Through Old Notebooks Part 13: Trees and Their Absence
I felt an affinity for that space, where a tree’s branches had swayed for over half a century, if not longer, and now did not
www.awritersnotebook.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:51 AM
This was originally written in summer, but for all of us facing empty chairs this Thanksgiving—the chairs that once were filled and now are not, and the chairs that may be filled one day, with people who’ve not yet been born, or whom we haven’t met yet 💜 www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Reposted by Summer Brennan
The least you could do is tell me I look nice today.
November 21, 2025 at 1:10 PM
The least you could do is tell me I look nice today.
This was originally written in summer, but for all of us facing empty chairs this Thanksgiving—the chairs that once were filled and now are not, and the chairs that may be filled one day, with people who’ve not yet been born, or whom we haven’t met yet 💜 www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Going Through Old Notebooks Part 13: Trees and Their Absence
I felt an affinity for that space, where a tree’s branches had swayed for over half a century, if not longer, and now did not
www.awritersnotebook.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:51 AM
This was originally written in summer, but for all of us facing empty chairs this Thanksgiving—the chairs that once were filled and now are not, and the chairs that may be filled one day, with people who’ve not yet been born, or whom we haven’t met yet 💜 www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Reposted by Summer Brennan
I renew my request that you all stop showing me the worst people in the world morning, noon, and night.
November 24, 2025 at 4:46 PM
I renew my request that you all stop showing me the worst people in the world morning, noon, and night.
Reposted by Summer Brennan
Forgive me for this, but since it looks like "Cat Person" is a contender for winning @literaryhub.bsky.social's "What Was Literary Twitter" bracket, I've decided to re-share an edited, slightly updated version of my own take from the time www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Going Through Old Notebooks Part 12: The Defining Moment of What Was Literary Twitter? Or "Discourse Person"
On empathy, fiction, plagiarism, the woman as artist, the short story that launched a thousand takes—and the lost world we writers once shared online.
www.awritersnotebook.org
November 23, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Forgive me for this, but since it looks like "Cat Person" is a contender for winning @literaryhub.bsky.social's "What Was Literary Twitter" bracket, I've decided to re-share an edited, slightly updated version of my own take from the time www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Reposted by Summer Brennan
What happened then mattered then, and still does. Women still struggle to claim their own experiences and ability to write what they wish.
Forgive me for this, but since it looks like "Cat Person" is a contender for winning @literaryhub.bsky.social's "What Was Literary Twitter" bracket, I've decided to re-share an edited, slightly updated version of my own take from the time www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Going Through Old Notebooks Part 12: The Defining Moment of What Was Literary Twitter? Or "Discourse Person"
On empathy, fiction, plagiarism, the woman as artist, the short story that launched a thousand takes—and the lost world we writers once shared online.
www.awritersnotebook.org
November 23, 2025 at 8:14 PM
What happened then mattered then, and still does. Women still struggle to claim their own experiences and ability to write what they wish.
"In 1931, Anaïs Nin opened the door to a Paris apartment, all cheekbones and cigarette smoke, and met Henry Miller, a hurricane disguised as a man." substack.com/home/post/p-...
Don’t Let Your Husband Stop You From Meeting Your Other Husband (Plus some Boyfriends and Lovers...)
Women in men's fields
substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 1:47 PM
"In 1931, Anaïs Nin opened the door to a Paris apartment, all cheekbones and cigarette smoke, and met Henry Miller, a hurricane disguised as a man." substack.com/home/post/p-...
Reposted by Summer Brennan
“In fiction, female authors are constantly asked to explain how their personal experiences have somehow qualified them to tell the stories they are telling, and live under the constant suspicion that their fiction isn’t really fiction at all…”
open.substack.com/pub/summerbr...
open.substack.com/pub/summerbr...
Going Through Old Notebooks Part 12: The Defining Moment of What Was Literary Twitter? Or "Discourse Person"
On empathy, fiction, plagiarism, the woman as artist, the short story that launched a thousand takes—and the lost world we writers once shared online.
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 1:37 PM
“In fiction, female authors are constantly asked to explain how their personal experiences have somehow qualified them to tell the stories they are telling, and live under the constant suspicion that their fiction isn’t really fiction at all…”
open.substack.com/pub/summerbr...
open.substack.com/pub/summerbr...
Reposted by Summer Brennan
@summerbrennan.bsky.social on “Cat Person” and discourses of yore (and ongoing projects to deny women as artists)
“In fiction, female authors are constantly asked to explain how their personal experiences have somehow qualified them to tell the stories they are telling, and live under the constant suspicion that their fiction isn’t really fiction at all…”
open.substack.com/pub/summerbr...
open.substack.com/pub/summerbr...
Going Through Old Notebooks Part 12: The Defining Moment of What Was Literary Twitter? Or "Discourse Person"
On empathy, fiction, plagiarism, the woman as artist, the short story that launched a thousand takes—and the lost world we writers once shared online.
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 1:39 PM
@summerbrennan.bsky.social on “Cat Person” and discourses of yore (and ongoing projects to deny women as artists)
Reposted by Summer Brennan
Yeah the wars they will
Be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
Bought and sold
And bought again
The dove is never free
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
Be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
Bought and sold
And bought again
The dove is never free
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
November 23, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Yeah the wars they will
Be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
Bought and sold
And bought again
The dove is never free
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
Be fought again
The holy dove
She will be caught again
Bought and sold
And bought again
The dove is never free
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in
Forgive me for this, but since it looks like "Cat Person" is a contender for winning @literaryhub.bsky.social's "What Was Literary Twitter" bracket, I've decided to re-share an edited, slightly updated version of my own take from the time www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Going Through Old Notebooks Part 12: The Defining Moment of What Was Literary Twitter? Or "Discourse Person"
On empathy, fiction, plagiarism, the woman as artist, the short story that launched a thousand takes—and the lost world we writers once shared online.
www.awritersnotebook.org
November 23, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Forgive me for this, but since it looks like "Cat Person" is a contender for winning @literaryhub.bsky.social's "What Was Literary Twitter" bracket, I've decided to re-share an edited, slightly updated version of my own take from the time www.awritersnotebook.org/p/going-thro...
Reposted by Summer Brennan
Almost a year now since I received this absolutely classic burn from the Canadian government.
November 21, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Almost a year now since I received this absolutely classic burn from the Canadian government.
Oh my god, they placed an adult content warning on this because it's a Bazille painting of nude bathers! Anyway, if you're a person with a few extra hundred thousand lying around and want to own a work by a truly great artist who was cut down even before his prime (LOVE Bazille), this is for you.
Alert for people with money: there is a FRÉDÉRIC EFFING BAZILLE painting going up for auction on December 3rd in Paris. It's been authenticated. I'd buy it if I had a spare €150 grand lying around but alas, I do not. drouot.com/fr/l/31454608
FRÉDÉRIC BAZILLE (1841-1870)Au bord du Lez signé et da... | enchères
FRÉDÉRIC BAZILLE (1841-1870)Au bord du Lez signé et daté 'F.Bazille 68' (en bas à gauche)huile sur toile Peint en 1868signed and dated 'F.Bazille 6...
drouot.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Oh my god, they placed an adult content warning on this because it's a Bazille painting of nude bathers! Anyway, if you're a person with a few extra hundred thousand lying around and want to own a work by a truly great artist who was cut down even before his prime (LOVE Bazille), this is for you.
Alert for people with money: there is a FRÉDÉRIC EFFING BAZILLE painting going up for auction on December 3rd in Paris. It's been authenticated. I'd buy it if I had a spare €150 grand lying around but alas, I do not. drouot.com/fr/l/31454608
FRÉDÉRIC BAZILLE (1841-1870)Au bord du Lez signé et da... | enchères
FRÉDÉRIC BAZILLE (1841-1870)Au bord du Lez signé et daté 'F.Bazille 68' (en bas à gauche)huile sur toile Peint en 1868signed and dated 'F.Bazille 6...
drouot.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Alert for people with money: there is a FRÉDÉRIC EFFING BAZILLE painting going up for auction on December 3rd in Paris. It's been authenticated. I'd buy it if I had a spare €150 grand lying around but alas, I do not. drouot.com/fr/l/31454608
Reposted by Summer Brennan
The reason that magnolia flowers are more rigid and less soft compared to other flowers is because magnolia trees belong to one of the earliest lineages of flowering plants, and predate bees. They evolved to be pollinated by beetles, and still are
November 21, 2025 at 3:25 AM
The reason that magnolia flowers are more rigid and less soft compared to other flowers is because magnolia trees belong to one of the earliest lineages of flowering plants, and predate bees. They evolved to be pollinated by beetles, and still are
Reposted by Summer Brennan
Man, everything is so bleak, anyone got a fun fact or little bit of trivia they want to share
November 21, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Man, everything is so bleak, anyone got a fun fact or little bit of trivia they want to share