Susan Kiyo Ito
@thesusanito.bsky.social
Writer, adoptee, author of memoir I Would Meet You Anywhere, National Book Critics Circle finalist. 🥚 website: http://www.thesusanito.com member of the Writers Grotto
Pinned
Susan Kiyo Ito
@thesusanito.bsky.social
· Aug 10
Heyyy I’m teaching a memoir structure class in the fall— love to see you there. writersgrotto.org/classes-and-...
I have a very limited number of discount codes available so if you need one, DM me. Priority for adoptees and/or BIPOC writers but all will be considered. 🥚
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
🥚 An adoptee scriptwriter calls it:
Hollywood stories reinforce damaging tropes of adopted people as imposters/ devil children with trauma used as a plot device for evil [Marvel’s Loki]
OR
as the grateful waif who graces the lives of others [Roald Dahl’s Matilda]
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Hollywood stories reinforce damaging tropes of adopted people as imposters/ devil children with trauma used as a plot device for evil [Marvel’s Loki]
OR
as the grateful waif who graces the lives of others [Roald Dahl’s Matilda]
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Hollywood must stop writing harmful stereotypes, says adoptee
Writers who use adopted children as plot devices for evil characters are "lazy", say adoptees.
www.bbc.com
December 7, 2025 at 10:32 PM
🥚 An adoptee scriptwriter calls it:
Hollywood stories reinforce damaging tropes of adopted people as imposters/ devil children with trauma used as a plot device for evil [Marvel’s Loki]
OR
as the grateful waif who graces the lives of others [Roald Dahl’s Matilda]
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Hollywood stories reinforce damaging tropes of adopted people as imposters/ devil children with trauma used as a plot device for evil [Marvel’s Loki]
OR
as the grateful waif who graces the lives of others [Roald Dahl’s Matilda]
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
$120/2000
Thank you everybody!! 🙏💚💚
If we can get $500 in a chunk, I can lower this goal to $1500 total, so please keep boosting and sharing- new eyes help!!
Thank you everybody!! 🙏💚💚
If we can get $500 in a chunk, I can lower this goal to $1500 total, so please keep boosting and sharing- new eyes help!!
Hello again.
We didn't make November's goal, so I'm afraid I still need the same goal in December. Heating fuel, bills, feed, and groceries, still. I'm sorry I have to ask.
Still an immediate $500 goal, and $2000 for the month. Apologies.
Venmo, cashapp, Paypal:
BurdockAndBramble
We didn't make November's goal, so I'm afraid I still need the same goal in December. Heating fuel, bills, feed, and groceries, still. I'm sorry I have to ask.
Still an immediate $500 goal, and $2000 for the month. Apologies.
Venmo, cashapp, Paypal:
BurdockAndBramble
December 6, 2025 at 4:11 PM
$120/2000
Thank you everybody!! 🙏💚💚
If we can get $500 in a chunk, I can lower this goal to $1500 total, so please keep boosting and sharing- new eyes help!!
Thank you everybody!! 🙏💚💚
If we can get $500 in a chunk, I can lower this goal to $1500 total, so please keep boosting and sharing- new eyes help!!
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
It’s unreal that we take children from their families and pay strangers to care for them, when the majority of removals are due to poverty in the first place
I'd add that in a humane system, the financial assistance we give to foster parents should also be available to bio-family.
Often $$$ is a huge hurdle for extended relatives, adult siblings, and yes, even parents to overcome in providing a safe and stable home.
Often $$$ is a huge hurdle for extended relatives, adult siblings, and yes, even parents to overcome in providing a safe and stable home.
December 1, 2025 at 7:59 PM
It’s unreal that we take children from their families and pay strangers to care for them, when the majority of removals are due to poverty in the first place
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
Thinking about shopping on Amazon for Cyber Monday?
Watch this first. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FaRBjqYsXRE
Watch this first. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FaRBjqYsXRE
Should You Boycott Amazon?
Robert Reich
www.youtube.com
December 1, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Thinking about shopping on Amazon for Cyber Monday?
Watch this first. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FaRBjqYsXRE
Watch this first. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FaRBjqYsXRE
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
Literally buying one copy of a book at your local indie bookstore can mean the difference in whether they buy future books from that author.
November 24, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Literally buying one copy of a book at your local indie bookstore can mean the difference in whether they buy future books from that author.
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
ICE DETAINED MARILYN. Fuck these people. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
‘Northern Exposure’ actor gave ICE agents in Redmond her tribal ID. They called it ‘fake,’ she says
Indigenous actor Elaine Miles of "Northern Exposure" was detained by ICE at a Redmond bus stop. When she showed them her Tribal ID, they told her it was fake.
www.seattletimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:35 PM
ICE DETAINED MARILYN. Fuck these people. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
As you’re preparing for your Thanksgiving meal, remember the skilled work it took to get that food to your grocery store.
Tell us your favorite Thanksgiving dish, and we can share some of what we know about the work behind the ingredients.
Tell us your favorite Thanksgiving dish, and we can share some of what we know about the work behind the ingredients.
November 26, 2025 at 6:03 PM
As you’re preparing for your Thanksgiving meal, remember the skilled work it took to get that food to your grocery store.
Tell us your favorite Thanksgiving dish, and we can share some of what we know about the work behind the ingredients.
Tell us your favorite Thanksgiving dish, and we can share some of what we know about the work behind the ingredients.
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
I was just thinking about contributing to the "charity" Feeding America. Until I discovered that the salary for its CEO, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, was approximately $949,866 in 2024, with her total compensation being $1,113,502. Apparently, feeding America isn't her top priority.
November 26, 2025 at 1:52 AM
I was just thinking about contributing to the "charity" Feeding America. Until I discovered that the salary for its CEO, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, was approximately $949,866 in 2024, with her total compensation being $1,113,502. Apparently, feeding America isn't her top priority.
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
The CDC has turned off its vaccine search tool.
The vaccines.gov site now gives an error when you enter a valid zip code.
They also removed text saying “Vaccines can help you stay healthy” and added a banner saying the site is being updated.
The vaccines.gov site now gives an error when you enter a valid zip code.
They also removed text saying “Vaccines can help you stay healthy” and added a banner saying the site is being updated.
November 26, 2025 at 5:50 AM
The CDC has turned off its vaccine search tool.
The vaccines.gov site now gives an error when you enter a valid zip code.
They also removed text saying “Vaccines can help you stay healthy” and added a banner saying the site is being updated.
The vaccines.gov site now gives an error when you enter a valid zip code.
They also removed text saying “Vaccines can help you stay healthy” and added a banner saying the site is being updated.
Ughhh I wish I’d done this the past 15 years 😭
Just a gentle reminder to save PDFs of the work you published this year especially in digital publications because you could look up one day and find that that pub doesn’t exist anymore and isn’t archived anywhere and is just gone
Ask me how I know!
Ask me how I know!
November 25, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Ughhh I wish I’d done this the past 15 years 😭
It’s just cruel to students and faculty that colleges only give Thursday and Friday off this week. 😫
November 25, 2025 at 4:01 PM
It’s just cruel to students and faculty that colleges only give Thursday and Friday off this week. 😫
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
"I’m thinking about the bleached bones O’Keeffe collected as her symbols of the desert. I’m remembering that, like O’Keeffe, my parents initially came to the desert from the East Coast hoping for a kind of renewal." @jennyqi.bsky.social
therumpus.net/2025/11/18/p...
therumpus.net/2025/11/18/p...
Picking Up Bones - The Rumpus
“During all the years I’d lived in Las Vegas as a child, I’d felt like an animal trying to escape the harsh environs. In addition to the physical harshness, the desert represented, for me, the city’s ...
therumpus.net
November 22, 2025 at 9:30 PM
"I’m thinking about the bleached bones O’Keeffe collected as her symbols of the desert. I’m remembering that, like O’Keeffe, my parents initially came to the desert from the East Coast hoping for a kind of renewal." @jennyqi.bsky.social
therumpus.net/2025/11/18/p...
therumpus.net/2025/11/18/p...
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
LP Kindred is a non-traditional student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in need of help with tuition.
They're in their 40s & working on a BFA in Writing. Their work has appeared on LeVar Burton Reads podcast, Carnegie Hall's Afrofuturism Festival & they're a 3x Ignyte Award nominee.
They're in their 40s & working on a BFA in Writing. Their work has appeared on LeVar Burton Reads podcast, Carnegie Hall's Afrofuturism Festival & they're a 3x Ignyte Award nominee.
to stick with it!
Anything you could share is welcome! Any sharing with your network also helps! And I'm already grateful! Thank you so much!
gofund.me/ce21d48c2
Anything you could share is welcome! Any sharing with your network also helps! And I'm already grateful! Thank you so much!
gofund.me/ce21d48c2
Donate to Keep LP in School Spring 2026, organized by LP Kindred
Hey y'all,
I'm LP Kindred, a Chicagoan-Angeleno writer/editor/teaching artist/culture work… LP Kindred needs your support for Keep LP in School Spring 2026
gofund.me
November 24, 2025 at 1:46 AM
LP Kindred is a non-traditional student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in need of help with tuition.
They're in their 40s & working on a BFA in Writing. Their work has appeared on LeVar Burton Reads podcast, Carnegie Hall's Afrofuturism Festival & they're a 3x Ignyte Award nominee.
They're in their 40s & working on a BFA in Writing. Their work has appeared on LeVar Burton Reads podcast, Carnegie Hall's Afrofuturism Festival & they're a 3x Ignyte Award nominee.
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
This colonial horror is happening now in Denmark.
Greenlandic families fight to get children back after parenting tests banned
Greenlandic families fight to get children back after parenting tests banned
The Danish government has banned the use of parental competency tests, known as FKUs, on Greenlandic families after decades of criticism.
www.bbc.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:24 AM
This colonial horror is happening now in Denmark.
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
I tried to do what my good friend LP is doing and finish my bachelors degree as a working professional. I failed, but if I’d had this community back then, it would have meant everything to have this happen. It would mean everything now to see my friend get to do this. Let’s share far and wide, ok?
to stick with it!
Anything you could share is welcome! Any sharing with your network also helps! And I'm already grateful! Thank you so much!
gofund.me/ce21d48c2
Anything you could share is welcome! Any sharing with your network also helps! And I'm already grateful! Thank you so much!
gofund.me/ce21d48c2
Donate to Keep LP in School Spring 2026, organized by LP Kindred
Hey y'all,
I'm LP Kindred, a Chicagoan-Angeleno writer/editor/teaching artist/culture work… LP Kindred needs your support for Keep LP in School Spring 2026
gofund.me
November 20, 2025 at 3:38 AM
I tried to do what my good friend LP is doing and finish my bachelors degree as a working professional. I failed, but if I’d had this community back then, it would have meant everything to have this happen. It would mean everything now to see my friend get to do this. Let’s share far and wide, ok?
In a mad attempt to stave off the AI beast, i introduced my students to letterpress printing this week.
November 20, 2025 at 12:55 AM
In a mad attempt to stave off the AI beast, i introduced my students to letterpress printing this week.
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
it’s been a while since I mentioned that i created a feed for posts by people who are adopted/trafficked/purchased out of their original families. please consider adding it. And if you would like to post to it, please let me know in a reply. 🥚
November 16, 2025 at 8:33 PM
it’s been a while since I mentioned that i created a feed for posts by people who are adopted/trafficked/purchased out of their original families. please consider adding it. And if you would like to post to it, please let me know in a reply. 🥚
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
US citizen Maria Greeley, a Latina who was adopted, was walking home from work downtown when masked agents zip tied her. They said she “doesn’t look like a Greeley.” This is how the government treats people under current deportation policies.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/15/l...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/15/l...
November 17, 2025 at 1:08 PM
US citizen Maria Greeley, a Latina who was adopted, was walking home from work downtown when masked agents zip tied her. They said she “doesn’t look like a Greeley.” This is how the government treats people under current deportation policies.
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/15/l...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/15/l...
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
There is no such thing as unskilled labor, only devalued labor.
“Ale" works in the carrot harvest in CA. She earns $3.05 for every box of carrots she packs. One box has 24 bunches of 7 carrots each. To earn $100 she has to pack 34 boxes or 816 bunches which represents over 5000 carrots picked in a day. #WeFeedYou
November 16, 2025 at 7:40 PM
There is no such thing as unskilled labor, only devalued labor.
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
I invented a thing called Admin Night and I've come to recruit for it. Get hip to the tiny obligations grinding us down, isolating us and stealing our time! Wake up to the structural reasons why! Get shit done! Admin Night is fun and funny and helpful! Start your own!
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/re...
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/re...
Essay | How to Turn the Bureaucratic Grind of Life into a Party
We all feel it: the growing stream of administrative tasks sapping our time, spirits and social lives. Admin Night represents a tiny, nerdy resistance.
www.wsj.com
November 14, 2025 at 9:02 PM
I invented a thing called Admin Night and I've come to recruit for it. Get hip to the tiny obligations grinding us down, isolating us and stealing our time! Wake up to the structural reasons why! Get shit done! Admin Night is fun and funny and helpful! Start your own!
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/re...
www.wsj.com/lifestyle/re...
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
‘Death remains my intimate shadow partner. It has been with me since birth, always hovering close by. I understand one day we will finally waltz together into the ether. I hope when that time comes, I die with the satisfaction of a life well-lived, unapologetic, joyful, & full of love.’
—Alice Wong
—Alice Wong
November 15, 2025 at 6:12 AM
‘Death remains my intimate shadow partner. It has been with me since birth, always hovering close by. I understand one day we will finally waltz together into the ether. I hope when that time comes, I die with the satisfaction of a life well-lived, unapologetic, joyful, & full of love.’
—Alice Wong
—Alice Wong
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
Reinstate Sarah Kendzior
November 12, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Reinstate Sarah Kendzior
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
A classic example of the inversions of settler colonialism: the settler becomes the native and the Indigenous person becomes an outsider on their own land.
The woman's family had to scramble to prove she was Indigenous and shouldn't be turned over to federal immigration authorities
story via @glorihuh.bsky.social
story via @glorihuh.bsky.social
Arizona tribal member nearly deported after Iowa jail issues ICE detainer by mistake
Native American ICE detainer mistake nearly leads to deportation of Arizona tribal member after Iowa jail clerical error
azmirror.com
November 13, 2025 at 1:02 AM
A classic example of the inversions of settler colonialism: the settler becomes the native and the Indigenous person becomes an outsider on their own land.
Reposted by Susan Kiyo Ito
An M.I.T. study found that 95% of companies that had invested in A.I. tools were seeing zero return. It jibes with the emerging idea that generative A.I., “in its current incarnation, simply isn’t all it’s been cracked up to be,” John Cassidy writes. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/mlYgP3
The A.I.-Profits Drought and the Lessons of History
Like the steam engine, electricity, and computers, generative artificial intelligence could take longer than expected to transform the economy.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 12, 2025 at 4:00 PM
An M.I.T. study found that 95% of companies that had invested in A.I. tools were seeing zero return. It jibes with the emerging idea that generative A.I., “in its current incarnation, simply isn’t all it’s been cracked up to be,” John Cassidy writes. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/mlYgP3