Susan Marie Swanson
@susanmarieswanson.bsky.social
Poet, writer. Work for children & for adults. *The House in the Night* (Caldecott Medal, Minnesota Book Award, Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the 21st Century). Hiking shoes.
Reposted by Susan Marie Swanson
This is a thrilling list of books that deserve attention and love. Small press publication is thriving.
If you only look at one year-end "best of" books list, make it this thoughtful one of underrecognized gems from @literaryhub.bsky.social lithub.com/100-notable-...
100 Notable Small Press Books of 2025
The idea of 100 Notable Small Press Books was born November 2024, after The New York Times’s annual 100 Notable Books list featured eighty-two books from the Big Five publishing houses (Pengu…
lithub.com
December 1, 2025 at 2:23 PM
This is a thrilling list of books that deserve attention and love. Small press publication is thriving.
I love unpacking the box with the Advent candleholder and decorations each year. The oldest of these things I remember being invited to choose from amongst some toys and trinkets at my great-aunt and uncle's house when I was maybe five years old. Each object has some small story behind it.
November 30, 2025 at 10:03 PM
I love unpacking the box with the Advent candleholder and decorations each year. The oldest of these things I remember being invited to choose from amongst some toys and trinkets at my great-aunt and uncle's house when I was maybe five years old. Each object has some small story behind it.
I started to read *On the Calculation of Volume III* this morning, but I only read a few pages. I spent most of my early-morning reading time rereading the last part of book II, which I remembered but imperfectly! I'm so happy to be wandering around in Solvej Balle's words again.
November 30, 2025 at 5:39 PM
I started to read *On the Calculation of Volume III* this morning, but I only read a few pages. I spent most of my early-morning reading time rereading the last part of book II, which I remembered but imperfectly! I'm so happy to be wandering around in Solvej Balle's words again.
Reposted by Susan Marie Swanson
This morning I saw two bald eagles ice fishing on the Kenilworth Lagoon at Lake of the Isles. You don’t see that every day.
November 28, 2025 at 7:52 PM
This morning I saw two bald eagles ice fishing on the Kenilworth Lagoon at Lake of the Isles. You don’t see that every day.
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild:
Great Horned Owl
Pileated Woodpecker
Common Loon
Bald Eagle
Red Fox
(All animals I've seen in the city of St. Paul.)
Great Horned Owl
Pileated Woodpecker
Common Loon
Bald Eagle
Red Fox
(All animals I've seen in the city of St. Paul.)
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild:
Deer
Fox
Red-Tailed Hawk
Bottlenose Dolphin
Muskrat
Deer
Fox
Red-Tailed Hawk
Bottlenose Dolphin
Muskrat
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild:
A long tailed weasel
A western tiger salamander
A mountain lion (on camera outside our house, but I heard it yowl which is why I checked.)
A Chincoteague pony
An antelope
A long tailed weasel
A western tiger salamander
A mountain lion (on camera outside our house, but I heard it yowl which is why I checked.)
A Chincoteague pony
An antelope
November 28, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild:
Great Horned Owl
Pileated Woodpecker
Common Loon
Bald Eagle
Red Fox
(All animals I've seen in the city of St. Paul.)
Great Horned Owl
Pileated Woodpecker
Common Loon
Bald Eagle
Red Fox
(All animals I've seen in the city of St. Paul.)
Reposted by Susan Marie Swanson
The University of Minnesota’s Superior Fruit Innovations program, famous for creating the Honeycrisp apple, has launched six new varieties of apples and grapes that it’s licensing to growers.
U of M to license new fruit varieties, including a sequel to the Honeycrisp apple
The Superior Fruit Innovations program promises access to top-performing fruits, such as the Big Flirt Apple and the LumiGlo grape.
www.mprnews.org
November 28, 2025 at 5:32 PM
The University of Minnesota’s Superior Fruit Innovations program, famous for creating the Honeycrisp apple, has launched six new varieties of apples and grapes that it’s licensing to growers.
Patti Smith
The Roches
Dessa
Väsen
Dreamers' Circus
The Roches
Dessa
Väsen
Dreamers' Circus
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you’ve seen:
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
Cyndi Lauper
Brittany Howard
St. Paul and the Broken Bones
The National
Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
Cyndi Lauper
Brittany Howard
St. Paul and the Broken Bones
The National
Introduce yourself with 5 concerts you’ve seen:
Prince
Erykah Badu
Olodum
Lilith Fair
Rusted Root
Prince
Erykah Badu
Olodum
Lilith Fair
Rusted Root
November 28, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Patti Smith
The Roches
Dessa
Väsen
Dreamers' Circus
The Roches
Dessa
Väsen
Dreamers' Circus
Reposted by Susan Marie Swanson
I absolutely love this humane & moving essay on teaching close reading by @johannawinant.bsky.social; saving it for the dark depths of semester when I need a reminder of why it all matters
The Claims of Close Reading - Boston Review
Literary studies have been starved by austerity, but their core methodology remains radical.
www.bostonreview.net
November 27, 2025 at 4:38 AM
I absolutely love this humane & moving essay on teaching close reading by @johannawinant.bsky.social; saving it for the dark depths of semester when I need a reminder of why it all matters
Reposted by Susan Marie Swanson
The latest from MPR News including interviews with all three photojournalists, a response from the Mayor and no direct response to questions MPR News asked of the SPPD chief.
www.mprnews.org/story/2025/1...
www.mprnews.org/story/2025/1...
St. Paul Police use of force during ICE protests raises press freedom concerns
Three photojournalists hit by police munitions while covering an ICE protest Tuesday believe they were targeted by police while doing their jobs.
www.mprnews.org
November 27, 2025 at 1:42 AM
The latest from MPR News including interviews with all three photojournalists, a response from the Mayor and no direct response to questions MPR News asked of the SPPD chief.
www.mprnews.org/story/2025/1...
www.mprnews.org/story/2025/1...
Best part of the November day: stopping in at a branch of the St. Paul Public Library. I love "my" library so much.
November 26, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Best part of the November day: stopping in at a branch of the St. Paul Public Library. I love "my" library so much.
Reposted by Susan Marie Swanson
Rightwing MAGA Christianity has about as much relation to the gospels as MAGA politics does to the Constitution.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
They’re doing to America what they did to Christianity | Bill McKibben
Trump’s wrecking-ball approach to America has a precedent: the evangelical perversion of Jesus’s message of radical love to one of hate and aggression
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Rightwing MAGA Christianity has about as much relation to the gospels as MAGA politics does to the Constitution.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
Trying to read the books piled up over here. Lately, these three. I read them all with other people (one with a group, one with a class, one with a partner) because that's helpful to me in these days of how-can-I-possibly-concentrate.
November 22, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Trying to read the books piled up over here. Lately, these three. I read them all with other people (one with a group, one with a class, one with a partner) because that's helpful to me in these days of how-can-I-possibly-concentrate.
Reposted by Susan Marie Swanson
get a bigger imagination
November 21, 2025 at 8:24 PM
get a bigger imagination
Reposted by Susan Marie Swanson
there are all kinds of tiny actions, both activist and artistic, that go unseen or are purposely modest or have a narrow circumference and that does not change what they are and what effects they can have. effect is not a measure of volume. it is a measure of density
November 21, 2025 at 8:24 PM
there are all kinds of tiny actions, both activist and artistic, that go unseen or are purposely modest or have a narrow circumference and that does not change what they are and what effects they can have. effect is not a measure of volume. it is a measure of density
Well, considering how the tears streamed down my cheeks when I was listening to Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 3 on my laptop just now (for the first time), I'd better bring a packet of kleenex when I go to hear the Danish String Quartet play it on Sunday.
November 21, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Well, considering how the tears streamed down my cheeks when I was listening to Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 3 on my laptop just now (for the first time), I'd better bring a packet of kleenex when I go to hear the Danish String Quartet play it on Sunday.
Reposted by Susan Marie Swanson
It’s been almost 48 hours and we still don’t know with certainty how many people were detained on Tuesday, the grounds (if any) on which they’re being held, or what will happen next for these members of our community—all of whom have families and friends and people who love them.
This isn’t normal.
This isn’t normal.
November 20, 2025 at 1:05 PM
It’s been almost 48 hours and we still don’t know with certainty how many people were detained on Tuesday, the grounds (if any) on which they’re being held, or what will happen next for these members of our community—all of whom have families and friends and people who love them.
This isn’t normal.
This isn’t normal.
Reposted by Susan Marie Swanson
I am devastated that this happened today. I don’t want to live in a country where the federal government is a threat to our community. And I am committed to working every day to build a better world for the people of Saint Paul.
November 18, 2025 at 9:01 PM
I am devastated that this happened today. I don’t want to live in a country where the federal government is a threat to our community. And I am committed to working every day to build a better world for the people of Saint Paul.
Reposted by Susan Marie Swanson
Today, our community experienced what too many across the country have been forced to endure in recent months. Federal agents from multiple law enforcement agencies, including ICE, came into our neighborhood and have detained and arrested multiple individuals.
Immigration Resources
Though the City Attorney’s Office does not represent or provide legal guidance to residents, we have compiled a list of community partners and other resources that may help during the immigration proc...
stpaul.gov
November 18, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Today, our community experienced what too many across the country have been forced to endure in recent months. Federal agents from multiple law enforcement agencies, including ICE, came into our neighborhood and have detained and arrested multiple individuals.
Gift link to Star Tribune article from Louis Krauss and
Josie Albertson-Grove:
Josie Albertson-Grove:
November 18, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Gift link to Star Tribune article from Louis Krauss and
Josie Albertson-Grove:
Josie Albertson-Grove:
Reposted by Susan Marie Swanson
An absolute powerhouse of a @propublica.org team has done what U.S. officials refuse to do: identify the men and women swept up in that midnight raid in Chicago. Life in the building was not perfect, but reporters found little evidence to back up government claims: www.propublica.org/article/chic...
“I Lost Everything”: Venezuelans Were Rounded Up in a Dramatic Midnight Raid but Never Charged With a Crime
Authorities said Tren de Aragua “terrorists” had taken over the building. A ProPublica investigation found little evidence to back up the government’s claims. For the first time, the Venezuelans arres...
www.propublica.org
November 13, 2025 at 4:23 PM
An absolute powerhouse of a @propublica.org team has done what U.S. officials refuse to do: identify the men and women swept up in that midnight raid in Chicago. Life in the building was not perfect, but reporters found little evidence to back up government claims: www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Reposted by Susan Marie Swanson
These emails are horrifying.
November 12, 2025 at 11:59 PM
These emails are horrifying.
The Dyani White Hawk exhibit at Walker Art Center is warm and welcoming--a good activity for a November day. I am looking forward to going back several times while it is up at the museum. (More information about the exhibit in the thread with this post.)
Gift link to the StarTribune review of the wonderful exhibition of Dyani White Hawk's artwork at Walker Art Center. Recommend!
Acclaimed artist Dyani White Hawk’s ‘Love Language’ exhibition comes home to Minnesota
The MacArthur “genius” winner’s Walker Art Center show includes 15 years of artwork.
www.startribune.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:38 PM
The Dyani White Hawk exhibit at Walker Art Center is warm and welcoming--a good activity for a November day. I am looking forward to going back several times while it is up at the museum. (More information about the exhibit in the thread with this post.)
Hey MSP, head over to the Walker Art Center to see the beautiful, welcoming exhibition of work by Dyani White Hawk! Admission to the museum is free on Thursday evenings.
walkerart.org/calendar/202...
walkerart.org/calendar/202...
November 6, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Hey MSP, head over to the Walker Art Center to see the beautiful, welcoming exhibition of work by Dyani White Hawk! Admission to the museum is free on Thursday evenings.
walkerart.org/calendar/202...
walkerart.org/calendar/202...
Reposted by Susan Marie Swanson
Kaohly Her will be the first Hmong mayor of St. Paul. We asked her how she wants people to pronounce her name.
November 5, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Kaohly Her will be the first Hmong mayor of St. Paul. We asked her how she wants people to pronounce her name.