R.D. Pohl
@rdpohl.bsky.social
Writer, critic, literary journalist, poetry editor. Trained as language philosopher. Follow at POETRY/POETICS/LANGUAGE/COMMUNITY (https://rdpohl.substack.com). Formerly with The Buffalo News, currently The Buffalo Hive, a non-profit arts & culture startup.
Reposted by R.D. Pohl
". . .but I never despaired about my students, who, when our conditions allowed it, showed me again and again how close reading requires and multiplies both trust and strength."
Thank you @johannawinant.bsky.social for this ♥️
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
Thank you @johannawinant.bsky.social for this ♥️
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
The Claims of Close Reading - Boston Review
Literary studies have been starved by austerity, but their core methodology remains radical.
www.bostonreview.net
November 29, 2025 at 3:21 PM
". . .but I never despaired about my students, who, when our conditions allowed it, showed me again and again how close reading requires and multiplies both trust and strength."
Thank you @johannawinant.bsky.social for this ♥️
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
Thank you @johannawinant.bsky.social for this ♥️
www.bostonreview.net/articles/the...
Wednesday Night Live with Bianca L. McGraw is one highlight of this week's events in the Buffalo literary community.
thebuffalohive.com/buffalo-area...
thebuffalohive.com/buffalo-area...
Buffalo Area Poetry & Literature Calendar (week of Nov. 24 to Nov. 30) -
Wednesday Night Live with Bianca L. McGraw is one highlight of this week’s events in the Buffalo literary community. Tuesday, Nov. 25, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Tuesday Night Open […]
thebuffalohive.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Wednesday Night Live with Bianca L. McGraw is one highlight of this week's events in the Buffalo literary community.
thebuffalohive.com/buffalo-area...
thebuffalohive.com/buffalo-area...
Reposted by R.D. Pohl
"She’s not trying to rebuild her reputation as a journalist—she’s building a different kind of brand entirely, one where being interesting matters more than being ethical, where attention is the only currency that still spends."
The best thing I have read about her. www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-...
The best thing I have read about her. www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-...
The Olivia Nuzzi Comeback Is Everything Wrong With Modern Media
Olivia Nuzzi’s comeback isn’t a personal scandal story—it’s proof that today’s media rewards access, personality, and controversy more than ethics.
www.mediaite.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:27 PM
"She’s not trying to rebuild her reputation as a journalist—she’s building a different kind of brand entirely, one where being interesting matters more than being ethical, where attention is the only currency that still spends."
The best thing I have read about her. www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-...
The best thing I have read about her. www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-...
Congratulations to Omar El Akkad, who received the National Book Award in nonfiction for “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This,” a book about Western indifference to civilian suffering in Gaza.
A provocative bestseller wins the National Book Award for nonfiction
Omar El Akkad’s “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This” criticizes Western indifference to civilian suffering in Gaza.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Congratulations to Omar El Akkad, who received the National Book Award in nonfiction for “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This,” a book about Western indifference to civilian suffering in Gaza.
Congratulations to Omar El Akkad (nonfiction) and Patricia Smith (poetry) for receiving 2025 National Book Awards. Omar won for "One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This" and Patricia for "The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems." Photo below is of Rabih Alameddine.
November 20, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Congratulations to Omar El Akkad (nonfiction) and Patricia Smith (poetry) for receiving 2025 National Book Awards. Omar won for "One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This" and Patricia for "The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems." Photo below is of Rabih Alameddine.
The Just Buffalo Literary Center BABEL Author Series lecture featuring Hernan Diaz headlines this week in the Buffalo literary community’s events.
@justbuffalolit.bsky.social
thebuffalohive.com/buffalo-area...
@justbuffalolit.bsky.social
thebuffalohive.com/buffalo-area...
Buffalo Area Poetry & Literature Calendar (week of Nov. 17 to Nov. 23) -
The Just Buffalo Literary Center BABEL Author Series lecture featuring Hernan Diaz headlines this week in the Buffalo literary community’s events. Wednesday, Nov. 19, 7:30 p.m.: The Screening Room Rea...
thebuffalohive.com
November 19, 2025 at 10:29 PM
The Just Buffalo Literary Center BABEL Author Series lecture featuring Hernan Diaz headlines this week in the Buffalo literary community’s events.
@justbuffalolit.bsky.social
thebuffalohive.com/buffalo-area...
@justbuffalolit.bsky.social
thebuffalohive.com/buffalo-area...
Pope Leo XIV from Chicago can't rescue the American 'brand' (if you want to call it that) around the world, but he is a significant moral counterweight against Trump the transactionalist.
The U.S.-born pope has spoken out several times against his native country's treatment of migrants in the U.S. n.pr/4i4exY4
Pope Leo calls out 'extremely disrespectful' treatment of migrants in the U.S.
The U.S.-born pope has spoken out several times against his native country's treatment of migrants in the U.S.
n.pr
November 19, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Pope Leo XIV from Chicago can't rescue the American 'brand' (if you want to call it that) around the world, but he is a significant moral counterweight against Trump the transactionalist.
Both the great Irish writers Fintan O'Toole and Colm Toibin, who was in Buffalo last month, agree that if the U.S. didn't have the current president that we have, the Conclave probably would not have picked a highly qualified internationalist American, Robert Francis Prevost, to lead the Church.
The U.S.-born pope has spoken out several times against his native country's treatment of migrants in the U.S. n.pr/4i4exY4
Pope Leo calls out 'extremely disrespectful' treatment of migrants in the U.S.
The U.S.-born pope has spoken out several times against his native country's treatment of migrants in the U.S.
n.pr
November 19, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Both the great Irish writers Fintan O'Toole and Colm Toibin, who was in Buffalo last month, agree that if the U.S. didn't have the current president that we have, the Conclave probably would not have picked a highly qualified internationalist American, Robert Francis Prevost, to lead the Church.
Reposted by R.D. Pohl
The U.S.-born pope has spoken out several times against his native country's treatment of migrants in the U.S. n.pr/4i4exY4
Pope Leo calls out 'extremely disrespectful' treatment of migrants in the U.S.
The U.S.-born pope has spoken out several times against his native country's treatment of migrants in the U.S.
n.pr
November 19, 2025 at 12:58 AM
The U.S.-born pope has spoken out several times against his native country's treatment of migrants in the U.S. n.pr/4i4exY4
Reposted by R.D. Pohl
In this episode of “Uncanny Valley,” we get to know Palantir CEO Alex Karp and dive into what his answers in a recent WIRED interview reveal about the larger beliefs driving the tech industry today. www.wired.com/story/uncann...
In Alex Karp’s World, Palantir Is the Underdog
In this episode of “Uncanny Valley,” we get to know Palantir CEO Alex Karp and dive into what his answers in a recent WIRED interview reveal about the larger beliefs driving the tech industry today.
www.wired.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:58 PM
In this episode of “Uncanny Valley,” we get to know Palantir CEO Alex Karp and dive into what his answers in a recent WIRED interview reveal about the larger beliefs driving the tech industry today. www.wired.com/story/uncann...
I send you salutations from Buffalo.
November 19, 2025 at 1:39 AM
I send you salutations from Buffalo.
@justbuffalolit.bsky.social poem of the week is "Chipping Sparrow," the concluding poem in Susan Howe's new collection Penitential Cries (New Directions, 2025).
Chipping Sparrow by Susan Howe - Just Buffalo Literary Center | Buffalo, NY
Read "Chipping Sparrow" by Susan Howe - part of the Poem of the Week series, curated by literary legacy awardee R.D. Pohl.
www.justbuffalo.org
November 17, 2025 at 6:55 PM
@justbuffalolit.bsky.social poem of the week is "Chipping Sparrow," the concluding poem in Susan Howe's new collection Penitential Cries (New Directions, 2025).
The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library presents Indie Author Day 2025 on Saturday, 11/5. thebuffalohive.com/the-buffalo-...
The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library presents Indie Author Day 2025 on Saturday -
The event runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m at its Central Branch, 1 Lafayette Square in Buffalo. Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.: The Buffalo and […]
thebuffalohive.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:08 AM
The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library presents Indie Author Day 2025 on Saturday, 11/5. thebuffalohive.com/the-buffalo-...
"Kojève’s course on Hegel was attended by such leading figures of French intellectual life as Georges Bataille, Jacques Lacan, André Breton, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Raymond Aron...the transcripts were widely read in Parisian intellectual circles that encompassed Sartre and Camus among others."
What Does It Mean to be Human? (According to Philosopher Alexandre Kojève)
Today, the notion and status of the human have become more and more problematic. We speak about human history as the epoch of the Anthropocene—an epoch that has led to the current global ecological…
lithub.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:51 PM
"Kojève’s course on Hegel was attended by such leading figures of French intellectual life as Georges Bataille, Jacques Lacan, André Breton, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Raymond Aron...the transcripts were widely read in Parisian intellectual circles that encompassed Sartre and Camus among others."
Reposted by R.D. Pohl
Great piece by Zadie Smith. When the right talks about classics or "Western" culture, these works are only important to the extent that it demonstrates their superiority, they have no interest in art in and of itself beyond that www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
November 12, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Great piece by Zadie Smith. When the right talks about classics or "Western" culture, these works are only important to the extent that it demonstrates their superiority, they have no interest in art in and of itself beyond that www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by R.D. Pohl
Yeah whoever jacked up tariffs on coffee from Brazil earlier this year must be a real bonehead
November 12, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Yeah whoever jacked up tariffs on coffee from Brazil earlier this year must be a real bonehead
Ten events this week in the Buffalo literary community, including the return of the Buffalo, Books & Beer Series with author Ken Belson.
thebuffalohive.com/buffalo-area...
thebuffalohive.com/buffalo-area...
Buffalo Area Poetry & Literature Calendar (week of Nov. 10 to Nov. 16) -
Ten events this week in the Buffalo literary community, including the return of the Buffalo, Books & Beer Series with author Ken Belson. Wednesday, Nov. 12, 6 p.m. to 7:30 […]
thebuffalohive.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Ten events this week in the Buffalo literary community, including the return of the Buffalo, Books & Beer Series with author Ken Belson.
thebuffalohive.com/buffalo-area...
thebuffalohive.com/buffalo-area...
Reposted by R.D. Pohl
Alex Karp runs Palantir—a $450B tech giant powering AI systems for the CIA, ICE, and the Israeli military during its campaign in Gaza. He’s a law grad with a PhD in philosophy and a CEO who’s as polarizing as he is powerful. www.wired.com/story/alex-k...
Alex Karp Goes to War
Palantir’s CEO is good with ICE and says he defends human rights. But will Israel and Trump ever go too far for him?
www.wired.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Alex Karp runs Palantir—a $450B tech giant powering AI systems for the CIA, ICE, and the Israeli military during its campaign in Gaza. He’s a law grad with a PhD in philosophy and a CEO who’s as polarizing as he is powerful. www.wired.com/story/alex-k...
Remembering Jorge Guitart (1937-2025):"His poetry was not for the masses; it was for everyone."
thebuffalohive.com/remembering-...
thebuffalohive.com/remembering-...
Remembering Jorge Guitart (1937-2025):"His poetry was not for the masses; it was for everyone." -
Dr. Jorge Guitart, a longtime Professor of Spanish linguistics in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures at the University at Buffalo, and beloved member of the Buffalo arts and […]
thebuffalohive.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Remembering Jorge Guitart (1937-2025):"His poetry was not for the masses; it was for everyone."
thebuffalohive.com/remembering-...
thebuffalohive.com/remembering-...
Dr. Jorge Guitart, a longtime Professor of Spanish linguistics in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures at the University at Buffalo, and beloved member of the Buffalo arts and poetry communities, died on Oct. 28th in Buffalo. He was 88.
Dear All by Jorge Guitart (1937-2025) - Just Buffalo Literary Center | Buffalo, NY
Read "Dear All" by Jorge Guitart - part of the Poem of the Week series, curated by literary legacy awardee R.D. Pohl.
www.justbuffalo.org
November 9, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Dr. Jorge Guitart, a longtime Professor of Spanish linguistics in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures at the University at Buffalo, and beloved member of the Buffalo arts and poetry communities, died on Oct. 28th in Buffalo. He was 88.
Reposted by R.D. Pohl
Librarians told 404 Media they're being inundated with new pitches for AI library tech and catalogs are being flooded with AI slop books.
But more broadly, AI maximalism across society is supercharging the ideological war on libraries, schools, government workers, and academics.
But more broadly, AI maximalism across society is supercharging the ideological war on libraries, schools, government workers, and academics.
AI Is Supercharging the War on Libraries, Education, and Human Knowledge
"Fascism and AI, whether or not they have the same goals, they sure are working to accelerate one another."
www.404media.co
November 6, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Librarians told 404 Media they're being inundated with new pitches for AI library tech and catalogs are being flooded with AI slop books.
But more broadly, AI maximalism across society is supercharging the ideological war on libraries, schools, government workers, and academics.
But more broadly, AI maximalism across society is supercharging the ideological war on libraries, schools, government workers, and academics.
Reposted by R.D. Pohl
It’s like he thinks saying “It’s a regulatory tariff not a tax” is a get out of jail free card, and the justices ain’t having it.
November 5, 2025 at 3:52 PM
It’s like he thinks saying “It’s a regulatory tariff not a tax” is a get out of jail free card, and the justices ain’t having it.
Reposted by R.D. Pohl
This is the most important thing @jvl.bsky.social has written: why?
* Trumpism is a fundamentally socialist hybrid state capitalist approach with an authoritarian bent
*it’s Peronist but with a balance sheet
*the next logical step is for the trumpists to make the fed balance sheet their own
* Trumpism is a fundamentally socialist hybrid state capitalist approach with an authoritarian bent
*it’s Peronist but with a balance sheet
*the next logical step is for the trumpists to make the fed balance sheet their own
@jvl.bsky.social: "The real socialism is coming from inside the White House."
Read The Triad on Trump's nuclear socialism, only @thebulwark.com: www.thebulwark.com/p/trumps-nuc...
Read The Triad on Trump's nuclear socialism, only @thebulwark.com: www.thebulwark.com/p/trumps-nuc...
Trump's Nuclear Socialism
You’re worried about Mamdani? The real socialism is coming from inside the White House.
www.thebulwark.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:49 PM
This is the most important thing @jvl.bsky.social has written: why?
* Trumpism is a fundamentally socialist hybrid state capitalist approach with an authoritarian bent
*it’s Peronist but with a balance sheet
*the next logical step is for the trumpists to make the fed balance sheet their own
* Trumpism is a fundamentally socialist hybrid state capitalist approach with an authoritarian bent
*it’s Peronist but with a balance sheet
*the next logical step is for the trumpists to make the fed balance sheet their own
