kmstraum
@kmstraum.bsky.social
translator (Latvian), editor (then: Open Letter Books, now: Coffee House Press), parent (peak)
Reposted by kmstraum
Nationwide outcry over the killing of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE agent spilled into the streets of cities across the US, with protesters demanding the removal of federal immigration authorities from their communities and justice for the slain Renee Good. https://cnn.it/4sAhJj5
January 11, 2026 at 2:01 PM
Nationwide outcry over the killing of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE agent spilled into the streets of cities across the US, with protesters demanding the removal of federal immigration authorities from their communities and justice for the slain Renee Good. https://cnn.it/4sAhJj5
The way some organizations try to steadfastly gaslight their way out of paying an invoice THEY are on-written-record (in multiple places) asking YOU to send and saying (numerous times) THEY will repay is vewwy angwy siwwy-goose energy, IMHO.
January 9, 2026 at 9:14 PM
The way some organizations try to steadfastly gaslight their way out of paying an invoice THEY are on-written-record (in multiple places) asking YOU to send and saying (numerous times) THEY will repay is vewwy angwy siwwy-goose energy, IMHO.
People are out there flat-out lying (and acting like the rest of us don't keep receipts) or else presenting severe memory issues that should be checked by a neurologist. Politically and professionally speaking.
January 8, 2026 at 3:16 PM
People are out there flat-out lying (and acting like the rest of us don't keep receipts) or else presenting severe memory issues that should be checked by a neurologist. Politically and professionally speaking.
@lithub.com.web.brid.gy got the headline right.
January 8, 2026 at 3:13 PM
@lithub.com.web.brid.gy got the headline right.
Reposted by kmstraum
Walz: "Do you have no decency? We have someone dead in their car for no reason whatsoever. I don't want to be right about this, but I said if they do this they're gonna create a chaotic situation where someone innocent is gonna get killed. And they did it."
January 7, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Walz: "Do you have no decency? We have someone dead in their car for no reason whatsoever. I don't want to be right about this, but I said if they do this they're gonna create a chaotic situation where someone innocent is gonna get killed. And they did it."
The U.S. cannot keep it in its pants for a SINGLE DAY.
January 7, 2026 at 2:29 PM
The U.S. cannot keep it in its pants for a SINGLE DAY.
Reposted by kmstraum
January 2, 2026 at 12:15 AM
2026 is feeling like a bit of drawing some boundaries, a tad of holding people accountable, a sprinkling of burning bridges 💅✨
January 1, 2026 at 8:09 AM
2026 is feeling like a bit of drawing some boundaries, a tad of holding people accountable, a sprinkling of burning bridges 💅✨
incl. THE RIVER! open.substack.com/pub/abookfor...
December 31, 2025 at 4:58 PM
incl. THE RIVER! open.substack.com/pub/abookfor...
This week's THE TUNNEL notes, no context.
December 30, 2025 at 3:30 PM
This week's THE TUNNEL notes, no context.
Laura's THE RIVER means so much to me. To see it on the 2026 PEN Translation Prize longlist, and in such good company, is thrilling—and the cherry on top of this year!
December 18, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Laura's THE RIVER means so much to me. To see it on the 2026 PEN Translation Prize longlist, and in such good company, is thrilling—and the cherry on top of this year!
Drinking game for the president's live address: throw a can at the TV each time you catch yourself saying "this motherfucker..."
December 18, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Drinking game for the president's live address: throw a can at the TV each time you catch yourself saying "this motherfucker..."
Turned on the radio to hear NPR news mid-sentence talking about how "Rudolph has been hit hard by tariffs on China" and, for more seconds than I am comfortable with, legitimately wondered how fucked things are that even reindeer are getting economically railroaded.
December 15, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Turned on the radio to hear NPR news mid-sentence talking about how "Rudolph has been hit hard by tariffs on China" and, for more seconds than I am comfortable with, legitimately wondered how fucked things are that even reindeer are getting economically railroaded.
Reposted by kmstraum
Kicking off a deep dive into @openletterbooks.bsky.social’s backlist with this post about publishing strategies, looking at backlist trends, and Ingrid Winterbach’s TO HELL WITH CRONJÉ.
threepercentproblem.substack.com/p/the-promis...
threepercentproblem.substack.com/p/the-promis...
The Promise of the Backlist
A new project that kicks off with Ingrid Winterbach's "To Hell with Cronjé."
threepercentproblem.substack.com
December 10, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Kicking off a deep dive into @openletterbooks.bsky.social’s backlist with this post about publishing strategies, looking at backlist trends, and Ingrid Winterbach’s TO HELL WITH CRONJÉ.
threepercentproblem.substack.com/p/the-promis...
threepercentproblem.substack.com/p/the-promis...
I̶ ̵d̶o̶n̶'t̶ ̵k̶n̶o̶w̶ ̵w̶h̶o̶ ̵n̶e̶e̶d̶s̶ ̵t̶o̶ ̵h̶e̶a̶r̶ ̵t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̵b̶u̶t̶ you really should be proofreading your public-facing shit.
December 12, 2025 at 6:54 PM
I̶ ̵d̶o̶n̶'t̶ ̵k̶n̶o̶w̶ ̵w̶h̶o̶ ̵n̶e̶e̶d̶s̶ ̵t̶o̶ ̵h̶e̶a̶r̶ ̵t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̵b̶u̶t̶ you really should be proofreading your public-facing shit.
Reposted by kmstraum
Great chat with @chadwpost.bsky.social about this book and its author. And what to do with artists that do terrible things. And the time I conned my way into meeting Jeanette Winterson. dalkeyarchive.substack.com/p/the-ikon-m...
"The Ikon Maker" by Desmond Hogan
A deeply sad book about parenting and sexuality.
dalkeyarchive.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Great chat with @chadwpost.bsky.social about this book and its author. And what to do with artists that do terrible things. And the time I conned my way into meeting Jeanette Winterson. dalkeyarchive.substack.com/p/the-ikon-m...
Scam me on a sunny day but in THIS weather?
December 9, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Scam me on a sunny day but in THIS weather?
Wherein I hope William Gass's German pronunciation in THE TUNNEL is just a bit and 100% Kohler. open.substack.com/pub/threeper...
November 20, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Wherein I hope William Gass's German pronunciation in THE TUNNEL is just a bit and 100% Kohler. open.substack.com/pub/threeper...
Giving Mark Nowak's . . . AGAIN a final proof and it is so hard to remember/believe he is writing about things that happened in 2021 and not 2025. coffeehousepress.org/products/aga...
. . . AGAIN
Award-winning poet Mark Nowak returns with a harrowing documentation of the expansive landscape of MAGAmerica. Told through five abecedarian prose sections,
coffeehousepress.org
November 19, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Giving Mark Nowak's . . . AGAIN a final proof and it is so hard to remember/believe he is writing about things that happened in 2021 and not 2025. coffeehousepress.org/products/aga...
Reposted by kmstraum
We're sad to hear of the death of David Bellos, a wonderfully witty writer, professor, translator and judge of the 2016 International Booker Prize.
October 29, 2025 at 10:06 AM
We're sad to hear of the death of David Bellos, a wonderfully witty writer, professor, translator and judge of the 2016 International Booker Prize.
My Translator Triptych has released 2 of its 3 books! Who's ready for next week's gem? threepercentproblem.substack.com/p/kicking-of...
Kicking off the Latvian Translator Triptych with "The River" by Laura Vinogradova
Kaija Straumanis's triptych is finally here!
threepercentproblem.substack.com
March 13, 2025 at 12:25 AM
My Translator Triptych has released 2 of its 3 books! Who's ready for next week's gem? threepercentproblem.substack.com/p/kicking-of...
Our 6yo: So you know how everything is made of atoms? That means everything is always moving and we're never actually touching anything and that KINDA FREAKS ME OUT.
I miss the days when it was just about monsters under the bed 😵💫
I miss the days when it was just about monsters under the bed 😵💫
February 24, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Our 6yo: So you know how everything is made of atoms? That means everything is always moving and we're never actually touching anything and that KINDA FREAKS ME OUT.
I miss the days when it was just about monsters under the bed 😵💫
I miss the days when it was just about monsters under the bed 😵💫
Reposted by kmstraum
And then we released the second episode of this season of the Two Month Review about Melville’s THE CONFIDENCE-MAN.
open.substack.com/pub/threeper...
open.substack.com/pub/threeper...
TMR 24.2: "Trust Me, Nature Is Health" [Confidence-Man]
Minerals?!? Get that outta here. Vegetable all the way . . .
open.substack.com
November 15, 2024 at 3:34 PM
And then we released the second episode of this season of the Two Month Review about Melville’s THE CONFIDENCE-MAN.
open.substack.com/pub/threeper...
open.substack.com/pub/threeper...
Reposted by kmstraum
And finally, I posted a piece on Dalkey Essentials and Eimar O’Duffy (mostly forgotten Irish satirist) and parody. Took me MONTHS to finally get this down. So much struggle and procrastination . . .
open.substack.com/pub/dalkeyar...
open.substack.com/pub/dalkeyar...
Political Satire When We're Through the Looking-Glass
Do Eimar O'Duffy's satires matter today? Are they "Essentials"?
open.substack.com
November 15, 2024 at 3:35 PM
And finally, I posted a piece on Dalkey Essentials and Eimar O’Duffy (mostly forgotten Irish satirist) and parody. Took me MONTHS to finally get this down. So much struggle and procrastination . . .
open.substack.com/pub/dalkeyar...
open.substack.com/pub/dalkeyar...