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JJ

@jjpena

I'm a second rate writer ๐Ÿšฎ from outer-space ๐Ÿš€ a burrito lover ๐ŸŒฏ queer ๐ŸŒˆand a human disaster| jjpena.com

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09.09.2023
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Latest posts by JJ @jjpena

More people are going to be murdered by ICE. Itโ€™s clear. The tactics ensure it, ICE is getting more furious and being disagreed with or resisted in any way, the verminous administration supports them and has shown they will tell any lie to support ICE murdering people.
/1

09.01.2026 15:45 ๐Ÿ‘ 6687 ๐Ÿ” 1704 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 159 ๐Ÿ“Œ 101

losing my mind at the "she should have followed directions" people

really? really? you're cool with "if you don't follow directions, they get to kill you"? that seems like a good state of affairs to you? that seems like how law enforcement ought to work: instant obeisance or death?

07.01.2026 18:25 ๐Ÿ‘ 17326 ๐Ÿ” 4077 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 363 ๐Ÿ“Œ 215

congrats!

07.01.2026 20:19 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

happy birthday

05.01.2026 00:56 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

"There are things that are easier to say in the dark. Things that bubble and ferment inside until weโ€™re drunk with distended stomachs" โœจโœจโœจโœจโœจ

05.01.2026 00:51 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Love Can't Feed You, a novel by Cherry Lou Sy.

Love Can't Feed You, a novel by Cherry Lou Sy.

"What is the responsibility of a 'feminist' when the power swings their way?"

Nicole Zhao chats with author @cherrylousy.bsky.social about immigration, feminism, and gender roles. Read it all here! buff.ly/vA6BRk5

22.10.2025 13:31 ๐Ÿ‘ 7 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
A variety of LGBTQ+ flag pins on a table.

A variety of LGBTQ+ flag pins on a table.

Celebrating the work of our trans and queer contributors today and every day! Check out a few pieces from our archive we hope stay with you beyond the blog. buff.ly/554vznz

22.10.2025 15:15 ๐Ÿ‘ 37 ๐Ÿ” 14 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 4

New Melissa piece!!!!!! " and I want to tell you stop, but itโ€™s not my place to say anything because I know what hurting yourself means and how it feels as I dig my nails into my legs, my arms, in hidden places to shut out the you are never going to be anything from my father"

05.05.2025 22:36 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

"The snow is a soft comfort, a cocoon. He feels a surge of heat, a pilot light about to ignite. And whoosh, he burns into life, limbs hot as blood returns. Music strums through him, the tapping foot of the banjo player like his glorious heart."

14.04.2025 18:20 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

"Maybe it was all that beauty, open and exposed. The land flat on each side until you stumble upon this secret so massive in scale it seems unreal. But itโ€™s real. It was there before us and it would be there after"

09.04.2025 19:15 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

"I pray for her to say it was boring, that it was over fast, that it felt like nothing and shouldnโ€™t it feel like something, like everything? Shouldnโ€™t it? But before Bernice can answer, Gladys rolls back her eyes, slaps the ground with her free hand, and, I swear, all three of us shudder."

07.04.2025 22:41 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
How to Live
by Todd Dillard

Depravity begins with thinking of love
as a radical act. I quit loving 
with difficulty. I love 
easy now. Two parakeets on my shoulders.
They'll fly away if I move. So I move.
I love flight. I love cages 
left wide open. I am not a window.
I could be a window. Open me,
you'll find a dense wood,
children wandering inside it.
Not lost children. They know the way.
They live the way horses run.
If they each had a bird in hand
they would open their hands.

How to Live by Todd Dillard Depravity begins with thinking of love as a radical act. I quit loving with difficulty. I love easy now. Two parakeets on my shoulders. They'll fly away if I move. So I move. I love flight. I love cages left wide open. I am not a window. I could be a window. Open me, you'll find a dense wood, children wandering inside it. Not lost children. They know the way. They live the way horses run. If they each had a bird in hand they would open their hands.

here's an excerpt from my chapbook, which you should buy so I can afford childcare while I go into the fields and harvest fresh fruits and vegetables for my children to eat

asterismbooks.com/product/ragn...

12.03.2025 13:39 ๐Ÿ‘ 133 ๐Ÿ” 16 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4 ๐Ÿ“Œ 4

CALLS ARE WORKING - it has bought us precious time, but we NEED to keep the pressure up.

Tomorrow is the cloture vote.

KEEP CALLING: (202) 224-3121 โ˜Ž๏ธโ˜Ž๏ธโ˜Ž๏ธ

Tell your Dem Senator to vote NO on Cloture and NO on the Republican spending bill.

Do NOT assume your Senator will be good on this. Trust me.

13.03.2025 18:54 ๐Ÿ‘ 33321 ๐Ÿ” 11478 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1437 ๐Ÿ“Œ 725
Free offsite reading at AWP: Fri March 28 5:30 PM at First Draft Taproom and Kitchen. 1230 Olive Street. Reading: M Aliberto, J Bassett, M Czyzniejewski, ML Brownlee, C Monpere, JJ Pena, and PQ Bidar!

Free offsite reading at AWP: Fri March 28 5:30 PM at First Draft Taproom and Kitchen. 1230 Olive Street. Reading: M Aliberto, J Bassett, M Czyzniejewski, ML Brownlee, C Monpere, JJ Pena, and PQ Bidar!

Announcing the lineup for Smokelong's #AWP25 #AWP Offsite Reading on Friday March 28, 5.30pm, First Draft Taproom & Kitchen (10 mins walk from convention center). Say hi at Booth 656 (take part in our famous Bookfair Micro Contest!)

13.03.2025 16:22 ๐Ÿ‘ 18 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 2

thanks for reading!

26.02.2025 18:31 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Congratulations! So cool!

26.02.2025 18:24 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

"Weโ€™ve said our goodnight moons and goodnight rooms, started the white-noise machine so heโ€™ll drift off in sweet, sanguine sleep while halfway across the world a distant cousin nestled in his motherโ€™s lap startles from slumber as the buzz of drones enters the room..."

25.02.2025 19:36 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

the breathlessness in the ending โœจโœจโœจ"...you and Julie running, running, then leaning against the school wall, all those bricks between him and you, gasping for breath, and then Julie saying it wasnโ€™t so bad because at least when you start middle school next year you can say youโ€™re experienced."

25.02.2025 19:33 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

"what if you, without glancing behind you to see if anyone was looking, had sashayed right up to him and put your hands into his long, curly, presumably permed, Poison-inspired rocker hair and run your fingers through it until you reached his chest"

25.02.2025 19:31 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

thank you for reading ๐Ÿ™

25.02.2025 19:30 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

thank you for reading and for your words ๐Ÿฅน

25.02.2025 19:26 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

gah! thank you for reading ๐Ÿ™

25.02.2025 19:18 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

congrats!!!!

25.02.2025 19:17 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

thanks for reading!

25.02.2025 19:08 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

thanks for reading!

25.02.2025 19:08 ๐Ÿ‘ 0 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
Smoke & Mirrors with jj peรฑa - SmokeLong Quarterly Wowโ€”what a gorgeous piece. Take me through the process of creating a work so perfectly compressed. I think about Ezra Pound who famously carved away at โ€œIn a Station of the Metroโ€ until he had those g...

This week's interview is the first of two with @jjpena.bsky.social, who was both a finalist and first prize winner in the SmokeLong Grand Micro Contest 2024. Here jj talks about "strangers breathe air into you", finalist in the competition:
www.smokelong.com/interviews/s...

25.02.2025 02:19 ๐Ÿ‘ 16 ๐Ÿ” 6 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Reposting with alt text.

19.02.2025 01:40 ๐Ÿ‘ 712 ๐Ÿ” 740 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4 ๐Ÿ“Œ 16

CONGRATS!!! so cool

19.02.2025 19:25 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
Etymology - Exposition Review by Dare Williamsย ย ย |ย ย ย  Poetry ย  it starts in phoenix growing in the dark moves its way to you then leaves me breathless in hollywood where we laid our heads there was a break & I said ok let you driv...

Inspired to listen to @dare-williams.bsky.social read his poem ETYMOLOGY (bit.ly/ExpoEtymology) in #Transposition, our podcast, born out of COVID & the need to celebrate our 2020 annual issue writers in a bigger way than sheltering in place allowed. Listen here: expositionreview.com/issues/vol-v....

19.02.2025 17:55 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0