Jay Besemer
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divinetailor.bsky.social
Jay Besemer
@divinetailor.bsky.social
880 followers 440 following 14K posts
poet-artist-fool. aging, tr🔼ns, qu3️⃣3️⃣r, sick/disabled, autistic. he/they. i do not often follow back, so don’t follow me with that expectation.🚨DO NOT ADD TO STARTER PACKS WITHOUT CONSENT!🚨
http://www.jaybesemer.net
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divinetailor.bsky.social
i’m on two panels, & co-modding the creative writing workshop i quote-posted about before. i just love this graphic by my co-mod @teganandsarahj.bsky.social so here it is again😻
blue typewriter—of course!—that seems to be pouring out a great cosmic portal along with the iconic TARDIS police box. text reads “WHO'S GOT A PEN? A Doctor Who-Inspired Creative Writing Workshop Sat., Nov. 29th 1:00 p.m. Open to all experience levels!” and features the logo of the CHICAGO TARDIS dr. who convention.
November 26, 2025 at 12:36 AM
divinetailor.bsky.social
oh, by the way—please print & use as needed! ‘tis the season & all that.

just fill in the blank. note the two checkbox options: “at holidays” & “ever”!!
a hand lettered card-sized pass or certificate reading “THIS PASS EXEMPTS THE BEARER FROM DISCUSSING THEIR ___________WITH THEIR ORIGIN FAMILY [] AT HOLIDAYS [] EVER”
November 24, 2025 at 7:10 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
r. demonstrates some personal ways of engaging autumnal foliage. note: caution recommended…
squinting somewhat in the sun, an older white fella in a faded black knit cap and emerald-green quilted vest gently sticks the red stems of two golden maple leaves up his nose. the same person holds a large sycamore leaf up in front of his face, peering through a small hole in the leaf at eye level. the way the leaf curves around its stem suggests a nose or mouth. behind him, a still lagoon reflects the deep blue of the sky. a tree with more golden foliage rises behind him, but most other trees are bare.
November 24, 2025 at 3:53 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
found a treasure today. these “triangle classics” editions were super important to me in the 80s & 90s. my intro to quentin crisp was through the omnibus put out in this series, & my intro to chip delany was their edition of THE MOTION OF LIGHT IN WATER.
very attractive simple black-bordered white paperback omnibus edition of audre lorde’s ZAMI/SISTER OUTSIDER/UNDERSONG. the cover has a small square illustration of a brown-skinned person with short hair wearing a dark blue tunic-style garment, in a marketplace setting. the spine of this thick book, showing the amathyst-purple triangle logo of the book club/series
November 23, 2025 at 9:21 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
😹
a mug/bowl full of very thick oatmeal, steam rising visibly, with a spoon sticking straight up.
November 23, 2025 at 2:25 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
got my author copies of a chapbook i’ve long wanted to see into the world, but which hadn’t gotten there till earlier this fall. very limited edition (35 copies) letterpress cover, by z-axial press, available for free (until they run out) at the free stuff reading series (“& nowhere online”).
pleasingly-textured front cover of YAKKETY-YAK, a poetry chapbook i wrote around ten years ago but which was only recently published. it has the title and author letterpressed in black sans-serif print. interior of YAKKETY-YAK, printed on sky-blue paper. fun!
November 23, 2025 at 1:57 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
the kids are alright🌟
younger person on train sitting opposite me. i complimented their square toe black platform boots with lucite square heel (!!) and they let me take this pic, trading fistbumps when they got off the train.
November 21, 2025 at 7:06 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
‘night, fam💚
vintage postcard from the royal scottish museum bearing a sepia photo of a naturalistic diorama captioned as: A POLECAT OR FOUMART AND HER FAMILY Mustala putorius (1 Natural Size) Printed by The Zinco Collotype Co., Edinburgh
November 20, 2025 at 3:25 AM
divinetailor.bsky.social
testing fits
my legs and feet as seen from the ground. i am wearing my HOT PINK!!! camo fatigues and my shiny oxblood zip-up vegan creeper boots.
November 19, 2025 at 3:58 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
i’m starting something.
my left hand holds a small square sketchbook with a red cover and red ribbon bookmark. it is open to the first page, on which i have written JAY BESEMER/SMALL COLLAGES/2025-2026”.
November 18, 2025 at 4:51 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
the plot is basically to set up this moment, & to give katy a chance to beat up terry walsh.😉
screenshot from the jon pertwee classic dr. who story “the sea devils” showing him and roger delgado (the master). pertwee as the doctor says, “i reversed the polarity of the neutron flow”—a signature line.
November 17, 2025 at 4:55 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
wearing my “collage cargos” & egregiously wrinkled FAILURE tee from @johnnydamm.bsky.social today.
front-camera headless seated from-above shot showing the black tee with red and black horror-comic lettering spelling out FAILURE, and my corduroy colorblock trousers in red, black, yellow green and lavendar. my kelpies tattoo is partially visible on my arm.
November 16, 2025 at 1:56 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
a cafe table with a finish made of pages torn from books. a paper bag, a san pellegrino water, an espresso in a glass, and my aires viscount camera are arranged in a row in front of me. a furniture store window (lubinski, as indicated in the signature white-on-red signage) declares the availability of “sofa beds for chicago apartments”—a very important distinction, as these can be very tricky. the building opposite is reflected brightly in the window, and some folks may be able to locatw my reflection too.
November 14, 2025 at 5:19 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
it is done.
i am wearing a white hand-lettered t-shirt reading TRUST ME I’M A POET and a rather smug, ambiguous facial expression. the shirt actually goes well with sonny’s white belly and front, which he displays to good effect as he gazes at (or sniffs) me in profile. the white ceiling is our backdrop.
November 12, 2025 at 8:02 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
surprise of beauty/beauty of surprise: a steamy mirror meets a nightlight & creates a sort of indoor aurora-portrait
emerging from a haze of light at the bottom of the shot, my torso in a white undershirt forms a ghostly presence against a reddish vertical (door), teal wall and brown cabinet. my face is obscured by the black rectangle of the phone, and the clearest object is r’s electric toothbrush.
November 12, 2025 at 1:16 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
he has a unique interpretation of the concept “self-washing.”

(this is NOT RECOMMENDED!)
sonny, looking absolutely wild and silly, sits in the empty dry washing-machine drum. his head is tilted way back so as to look directly upward, and he appears to be just about to lunge into a leap out of the machine.
November 11, 2025 at 7:45 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
snow did not really reach the maple-covered floodplain.
low-angle shot of ground covered with pale gold, green and peach-colored fallen maple leaves. wet black trunks of the trees from which the leaves fell reach up into the pale sky. a patch of swordlike iris plant (blossom long gone, of course) in front of a big textured steel slab set askew and upright in the earth of a leaf-strewn floodplain. the steel slab has been tagged in turquoise blue. dark tree trunks recede into the distance. a lean-to shelter made of fairly thick tree limbs around a maple tree on the floodplain. diffuse light comes down theough yellow leaves, giving a light golden cast to the image. a dusting of snow on the tree limbs makes them seem to be glistening.
November 9, 2025 at 10:08 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
aerial fart machine
dark helicopter hovering and videoing overhead
November 8, 2025 at 5:00 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
finally fondled fun fur at fishman fabrics. fantastic!
a close view of thick tawny faux fur in the foreground with the lights and ceiling of the cavernous fabric store in the background, receding in perspective. the vintage green script signage on the light and dark tan brick exterior of the building. low threatening clouds hang overhead.
November 8, 2025 at 3:59 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
a year ago today this dorkpants came into our life & totally reshaped it.
sonny as a 6-month-old, not yet grown into his ears. he sits on the corner of a patterned rug over dark old wooden floorboards of varying widths and directions. he is not used to his surroundings and is looking with great interest and alertness over his right shoulder at something off-camera.
November 7, 2025 at 3:47 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
quiet studio day today.
a low-angle shot from the chair in which i sit, showing unmatched rugs on the floor, cluttered shelves and stackable bins full of materials and tools, a massive wooden desk covered with photos in front of a wall of photos (my “wall of love”) of people i love, both living and gone. a vacuum cleaner, various low tables, a small suitcase lying open, and a gray hoody are strewn about the floor. the place has a vibe of comfort and activity paused midstream. warm sunlight comes in from large south-facing windows (not in shot).
November 6, 2025 at 3:15 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
here is the most terrifying okra plant i have ever grown—legit as big around as my wrist & downright reptilian!
sunlight illuminates the stalk and root knuckles of an okra plant pulled out of the soil. the texture of the stalk is very defined by the side-lighting. it looks like an alligator foot. more of the same okra stalk from a different angle and with another stalk beneath it. this view looks less scaly, but no less intimidating. a little blush of red lines one edge of the stalk.
November 5, 2025 at 5:18 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
this one was my advisor for today. look at those chrysoprase eyes! (also that glare yikes sizzle)
close up of leaf-green praying mantis on a black fabric work glove. the insect’s wicked toothed and clawed foreleg is flexed beautifully and its gorgeous round seafoam green eyes look like gemstones. the pupils of the eyes are turned up and to the right as the mantis glares at the phone!
November 5, 2025 at 5:18 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
she’s outstanding in her field
a lone volunteer sunflower still blooming in the broad empty park meadow of partly-dried grass
November 3, 2025 at 8:24 PM
divinetailor.bsky.social
i think this is a shaggy mane inky cap, but my guidebook is for the northeast, not the midwest.
close up of a younger white mushroom with a vaguely egg-shaped cap. the stalk of the mushroom runs parallel to the dark soil. dry and fresh green grasses crisscross over the mushroom. the cap is splitting into shaggy fringes all along its length, looking a bit like a “flapper” dress.
November 2, 2025 at 6:41 PM