Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
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kleonardphd.bsky.social
Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her)
@kleonardphd.bsky.social
7.4K followers 8.8K following 9.1K posts
Librettist, lyricist, poet, scholar, teacher. Writing operas abt the Jane Collective, ending rape culture, & climate change. Runs the Silent Film Sound & Music Archive (sfsma.org). Autistic. Disabled. kendraprestonleonard.hcommons.org
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kleonardphd.bsky.social
Wisp didn’t approve of me cleaning the sofa
A large, fluffy, white dog recline on an orange sofa with pillows, stacked up along her back
November 9, 2025 at 5:08 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
Here is my late, lamented Newfie Fozzie. More than 6' from nose to tip of tail, he was 200 lbs and lean. He thought he was a tiny kitten.
An enormous black-and-white (Landseer) Newfoundland dog lying on his back on a tile floor. A giant black-and-white Newfoundland dog (Landseer) sits on a blue dog bed in front of white bookcases. He's been shaved down for the summer but is still a little shaggy.
November 3, 2025 at 9:44 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
I put Teen Vogue in the libretto of PROTECTRESS bc they have been so on point with politics ad culture and everything else. This was our prop:
A mock-up of the cover of Teen Vogue showing Medusa colored in hot pink with black-and-white eyes. The text reads: "Teen Vogue. No Myth-Interpretations: the Legendary Medusa speaks out. Also in this issue: Attend the Teen Vogue Summit; The Hottest New Afrobeats; Bi or Pan? Janelle Monáe Helps Us Decode the Lingo; Top 5 New Apartment Must-Haves; The Best New Opera of the Year"
November 3, 2025 at 8:55 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
…and Blessed Samhain!
A string of lights shaped like moths strung across a mirror
October 31, 2025 at 1:19 AM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
Happy Halloween!
A giant spider made out of PVC pipe and a pumpkin. Perched on top is a skeletal chicken. Another view of the pumpkin PVC spider. There is a big orange pumpkin, eight white legs, and a skeleton chicken on top. Six little ghosts standing in a semi circle in my front lawn. They are made of cheese cloth, bamboo sticks and Styrofoam balls. Another view of the six child ghosts standing in my front yard for Halloween, made of cheese cloth, bamboo sticks, and Styrofoam balls.
October 31, 2025 at 1:18 AM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
Dogs in new Halloween collars
A fluffy white dog with a collar showing dogs in sheet ghost costumes A black and white dog with a bright orange Halloween collar. It has a bowtie in front.
October 31, 2025 at 1:16 AM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
A very good dog (see alt text).
A goddess, probably Hecate (possibly Artemis), is depicted with a bow, twin torches, and a very good dog with a long snoot and small ears who has a happy, upward-curling tail and is clearly going to be getting lots of pets and treats for Halloween.
October 30, 2025 at 8:09 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
Have a happy Noodles (and feel better soon)!
October 29, 2025 at 9:38 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
Wisp was not happy when she realized we were going to the vet but then decided to make friends with all of the people there. She can be very charming.
A floofy white dog with a little blue bow on her ear.
October 25, 2025 at 6:44 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
Close up of Princess GoofGoof.
A large, white, floofy Great Pyrenees dog grins happily and spoilt at the camera from her spot in the corner of the sofa.
October 12, 2025 at 5:38 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
This baby likes being put in the corner. She says, “ Rub mah tummeh!”
A giant white floofy Great Pyrenees dog food back into the corner of a sofa, providing a pink belly for all to admire and rub.
October 12, 2025 at 5:35 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
Wisp’s biopsies came back: one lipoma, one mast cell tumor. Good margins on the cancerous one, so no addl treatment needed! She still has to wear her lampshade for another week, but she’s learned how to use it to clear paths when she stomps through the flowers in the yard.
A goofy-smiling Great Pyrenees dog wearing a cone standing on an orange rug.
September 26, 2025 at 6:02 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
TOADS & TARDIGRADES libretto done! This opera by composer Jessi Harvey & me for all audiences is about the natural world & its glories &d about climate change & how people can be kinder to the earth. Available late 2026 for performances. 4 voices (ranges transposable) w/ small chamber ens or piano.
A tardigrade, a microscopic creature with four pairs of legs, positioned as if it is standing up and looking happy.
September 22, 2025 at 7:40 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
The dogs got baths and the groomer decided Wisp should be a Pyr with a Pearl Earring (and bow).
A freshly bathed, floofy, white dog with a blue ribbon with a pearl on it attached to her right ear.
September 21, 2025 at 10:26 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
Join composer Jessica Rudman and me for a pre-performance discussion about MARIE CURIE LEARNS TO SWIM at 6:45 pm on Saturday, Sept 20 at the Mago Hunt Center at the U of Portland! Doors open at 6:15 for drinks and nibbles.
New Wave Opera Presents ATOMS & ARTIFACTS a west coast premiere of two 60-minute operas. Marie Curie Learns to Swim and Alice Tierney PRE-SHOW RECEPTION & DISCUSSION PANEL Saturday, September 20 Mago Hunt Center Reception 6:15pm | Panel 6:45pm | Show 7:30pm Garaventa Center invites show ticket holders to New Wave Opera's Atoms & Artifacts, an exploration of the perceptions & experiences of historical women, to enjoy a complimentary wine and light bites reception and pre-show panel discussion. This production features two 60-minute west coast premieres of operas: Marie Curie Learns to Swim by Jessica Rudman, composer & Kendra Preston Leonard, librettist, and Alice Tierney by Melissa Dunphy, composer & Jacqueline Goldfinger, librettist, used by arrangement with Mormolyke Press. FREE for UP students, faculty, and staff with ID To reserve tickets - zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/atoms-and-artifacts. For more info: 503-943-7702 or garaventa@up.edu. ADA compliant event.
September 2, 2025 at 9:18 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
This one has all the books.
A large orange cat lies on its back with its paws extended into the sunshine. Photo from Wikimedia Commons by Sebastian Wallroth.
August 28, 2025 at 8:59 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
Wisp wants cuddles
A fluffy white dog rests her chin on a purple paisley spread on a sofa, asking for cuddles
August 23, 2025 at 11:14 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
@berneri.horse created a piece of art for me that celebrated and immortalized my wonderful childhood pony Misty Blue. I highly recommend them for your art commission needs!
A white horse with blue markings is nestled down peacefully among flowers and other plants.
August 21, 2025 at 8:32 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
Y’all go look at/read about all the good dogs in this thread. They are a balm for the soul. Here is my own goof, Wisp.
A large, fluffy white dog reclining on a quilt-covered sofa. Her hind legs are splayed out and her front paws dangle above her pink belly. Her expression says, “Rub it, human.”
August 9, 2025 at 4:15 AM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
This is who runs this account (alternating days).
Retsuko, a red panda in a blue and white work outfit, and Aggretsuko, her death-metal-singing alter ego, in the same outfit but with fangs and heavy black eye makeup in the style of the band KISS, throwing metal hand signs and with "rage" written on her forehead in Japanese. Flufflepuff, a fluffy pink unicorn drawn in the style of My Little Pony, wearing a pink paper unicorn horn, dancing on a rainbow.
August 8, 2025 at 8:24 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
My favorite explanation of why we need the Oxford/serial comma:
On a white background, this image reads: With the Oxford comma: we invited the strippers, JFK, and Stalin. There's an illustration of JFK, Stalin, and two strippers. One wears pasties and a thong; the other wears a camisole, panties, and fishnets attached to a garter belt. Below this, the text reads: Without the Oxford comma: we invited the strippers, JFK and Stalin. The illustration below this shows JFK in the camisole and fishnets, and Stalin in pasties and a thong.
July 24, 2025 at 9:11 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
I have a dog named Noodles. The rescue organization named him, and it’s perfect because he is very noodly.
July 23, 2025 at 11:04 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
This week’s flowers
Lush pink peonies and green and purple thistles
July 20, 2025 at 6:18 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
It is indeed!
Wisp, a fluffy white Great Pyrenees dog, and Noodles, a sleek black mixed-breed dog with a white chest, sit on a red rug, looking expectantly at the camera.
July 18, 2025 at 9:14 PM
kleonardphd.bsky.social
And here is a sleepy Wisp
A floofy white Great Pyrenees dog snoozes with her eyes closed on a wood floor. Visible behind her is a yellow kantha blanket made of sari fabrics. Her eyeliner game is spotless
July 13, 2025 at 9:14 PM