Words are powerful and ubiquitous, and sometimes downright dangerous. For many literary, political, and religious reasons, I've been meditating on them. Hence this very long, geeky blog that some of you may enjoy. Thanks for reading, if you do! joansowhat.substack.com/p/there-are-...
While Delphine Horvilleur is a rabbi, I think some of what she says about living our lives in the wake of the death of loved ones will resonate with and console people affiliated with many different faith and wisdom traditions. If you decide to read it, hope you enjoy it.
In honor of Black History Month, but not just in honor of Black History Month--Omo Moses' The White Peril is out in paperback.
A poem for our season of snow and cold that's also about public meetings where all voices must be heard, even when weather outside is frightful--or maybe not.
When I first started blogging on Substack, I only had partial understanding of why I would appreciate Substack.
Do you have centenarians in your life? I did, until my father-in-law died on the same day The New Yorker published Calvin Tomkins' journal chronicling his hundredth year. Hence this post: joansowhat.substack.com/p/as-if-he-d...
My most recent Substack shares others' poems appropriate to this dark December. Wishing you light in darkness, especially on the shortest day. joansowhat.substack.com/p/the-poems-...
In my ongoing quest to get people to read Claire Keegan's heart-penetrating novella Small Things Like These, a blog from months past. Photo is from last December's Mt. Auburn Cemetery (Cambridge) light show joansowhat.substack.com/p/reading-cl...
My latest Substack newsletter/blog is very seasonal, though it does mention the discontinuation of US penny production, and a maypole that's bound to conjure images of May, not November. Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone! joansowhat.substack.com/p/penny-walk...
Check out my latest So Already Substack newsletter--about Claire Ackroyd's latest mystery novel! I’m not a regular reader of murder mysteries, but I love the way this one captures character & place, not to mention the love of animals and nature. joansowhat.substack.com/p/body-in-th...
Is my most recent blog/Substack newsletter something to crow about? You decide! joansowhat.substack.com/p/because-th...
Reading this this morning made me feel hopeful! How to Find the Good Right Now | Greater Good greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item...
My latest blog post--what's on my mind as I make my way toward the Jewish New Year. Possibly a good read for poets, Jews, Jewish poets, and anyone who's navigated the first year of life after the death of a parent. joansowhat.substack.com/.../the-cons....
My latest Substack (joansowhat.substack.com) presents an original poem about Israel & Gaza as considered just before Tisha B'Av, the holiday commemorating the destruction of both Temples. But this link to my original Blogger blog preserves the form of the poem. soalready.blogspot.com/2025/07/so-a...
My latest Substack post. 'Tis the season of summer reading. joansowhat.substack.com/.../the-unli....
My long teaching career is definitely shaping my responses to the Department of Education cuts, the 3 Weeks of Mourning on the Jewish calendar, & an Arthur Sze poetry reading.
The hot, humid weather has me Substack news-lettering again--this time about that very famous final line of many stories: "And they lived happily ever after." Do you have to be married to live happily ever after? And how often you need to be happy (enough) to claim to be living "happily ever after"?
@msnbc.com The sign that should hang in every lobby, waiting room, cafeteria, restroom in America, given today's vote in House. The sooner the better.
The sign I'm suggesting should in lobbies, waiting rooms, cafeterias, restrooms etc. in #healthcare facilities, #hospitals & #communitycenters should the House pass the bill the Senate passed yesterday.
As the 2nd half of 2025 begins for #young & #old, my most recent #Substack blog post/ newsletter, including my thoughts about #ArthurSze's poem in the July issue of The Atlantic. @theatlantic.com @poetrysociety.bsky.social #Supermoon joansowhat.substack.com/p/as-far-and...
Joy Harjo's "Overwhelm" in @newyorker.com is a straight-shooting #poem that gives hope. Harjo is a #poet & #truth-teller, a #prophet in the biblical tradition—she warns about the scarily imminent but possibly avoidable, if we root ourselves in our wisdom traditions www.joyharjo.com/overwhelm-by...
“The unspoiled land in question includes millions of acres of the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho…”
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/c...
My latest #Substack post, about #revelation, #inspiration, & #action. If you enjoy it, please subscribe--for free! Even if Substack suggests you pledge to subscribe, I will not. Thanks for reading, if you do. #Deuteronomy #Shavuot joansowhat.substack.com/p/revelation...
My most recent Substack newsletter, "Of Horses, Peaches, Pears, and Poems." I've been thinking a lot about the kinds of language, & the amounts of them, we need in our lives to live happily and healthily during trying times. joansowhat.substack.com/p/of-horses-...
Portrait of a Blogger as a Substack Transplant--everh blogger owes it to her audience to say who she is--but how? #poetry #ScottKetcham #figurativeart #Substack #Blogger #writing open.substack.com/pub/joansowh...
My first post on Bluesky! I love #poetry, & it's not always easy to write it--which is why I'm posting this poem I read yesterday: poets.org/poem/my-unwr...
