Nicole Byrne 🏳️‍🌈 they/she

Annual Swamp Ape sighting!!

@swampapereview.bsky.social #SwampApeReview #AWP26

Poetry reader Nicole Byrne with Editor-in-Chief Mauren Langloss and Fiction Editor Anna Cabe at the AWP book fair.

Poetry reader @nicolebyrnepoet.bsky.social with Editor-in-Chief @maureenlangloss.bsky.social and Fiction Editor @annablabs.bsky.social! 👏 Find us at Table T960.✨

A tree and a forest spirit rendered in flowing lines, white silhouettes against a simple palette of greens and blues. The background is richly textured, suggestive of tall trees, pitted boulders, and hair unfurling into mist.

A new year brings us new work to admire 💫 Help us welcome our JANUARY ISSUE: buff.ly/xnuvf6J

Major thanks to our contributors!
WORDS @esmepromise.bsky.social, Stephanie Meade Gresham, Lia Hagen, Joan Kwon Glass
ART Audrey Holmes
PLUS @rachellayown.bsky.social reviews @chriscampanioni.bsky.social

Portland Maine Every Saturday Protest in Monument Square · Mobilize We protest every Saturday against the multitude of destructive actions and policies of the Trump Administration, attacking the environment, immigrants, education, science, adversaries, blue cities, f...

#NOKINGS
#IceOUT
#Maine
Portland Maine
Every Saturday Protest in
Monument Square
Saturdays Jan 10 through
Mar 7
11am – 12pm EST
Monument Square
456 Congress St
Portland, ME 04101
www.mobilize.us/mobilize/eve...

Split Lip Magazine's Pushcart Nominations! Poetry: Ally Ang, "From Holes We Emerged, and into Holes We Shall Return." Mingyu Brian Chan, "Haiku Where I Lay / With OCD, Obsessing / Over Syllables." Fiction: Priyanka Champaneri, "Good Neighbor." Max Wheeler, "Abatement." Memoir: Monmita Chakrabarti, "Micro." Kimaya Diggs, "Jump In."

Without further ado, here are our wonderful nominations for the 2026 Pushcart Prize! ❤️ 👏 buff.ly/r1wftay

Front view: A worn and stained image of a pale blue Victorian house, fragmented and partly reconstructed on a birch sheet, laser-cut to the house’s shapes and into long strips intersecting with the architecture and an integrated frame.

Sit back and enjoy our OCTOBER ISSUE. 🎃 🍂

WORDS by @lynnebeckenstein.bsky.social, Priyanka Champaneri, @monmita.bsky.social, & Mingyu Brian Chan.
ART by Jean Shon.
PLUS Nicole Zhao interviews @cherrylousy.bsky.social.

buff.ly/B6xgDQJ

Donate to Help Complete the Album: Studio Headset Fund, organized by Bear Claw Billie Hi, I’m coming-and-up musician Bear Claw Billie! My headset broke while … Bear Claw Billie needs your support for Help Complete the Album: Studio Headset Fund

My studio headset broke while moving so my album is stalled! Care to support me by donating or sharing? The goal amount is for the tippy top of the line headset but even just $60 would help me get producing again! Thanks! 🙏

www.gofundme.com/f/help-compl...

Welcome to September FAM! 🍂 It's a new month, so here are some new updates:
1️⃣ Our FREE SUBS are now open!
2️⃣ Our SEPTEMBER ISSUE drops on the 15th
3️⃣ Our ART SUBS are OPEN!! So feel free to send some our way 🎨

I have reached the point in my work flow where I am seriously considering requesting a third monitor

Every time I snake the shower drain, I wonder how I would look with a shaved head

Abstract painting. Jewel-toned waves of color—black, blue, red, green, and white—band and blend together in streaks against an orange background. The effect is like a jagged puddle made of melting agates.

We're enjoying Summer with our brilliant new JUNE ISSUE 😎 Enjoy it at our website: buff.ly/M9YTorb

All the love to our contributors!
WORDS: Amelia Valasek, Jack Barrie, Ella Harrigan, Alex Bortell
ART: Jasper Glen
PLUS: @taniamalik.bsky.social interviews Esinam Bediako

We're heading on vacation for July, FAM. Subs close tonight at midnight!

But we'll be back open for submissions on August 15! If you're wondering what we're looking for:

⭐ Voice-driven writing

⭐ Pop culture twist

⭐ The kind of honesty that gets you right in the kidneys.

✏️ Opportunity for educators: CAT's Poetry Inside Out Teaching Fellowship is a 2-year funded program that supports U.S.-based educators in grades 3–12 interested in expanding their teaching practice through poetry, translation, & inquiry-based learning. Apply ➡️ www.catranslation.org/about/opport...

RIP Jonathan Joss (December 22nd 1965 - June 1st 2025).

I fucking love this lmaooo

BECOMING SAM by Samodh Porawagamage, recommended by Nicole Byrne. Nicole is holding the book against air olive and cream background to match the book's cover.

We are back with another staff book recommendation! Thank you to Poetry Reader @nicolebyrnepoet.bsky.social for this great pick!

The fresh horror btw: the US is becoming a net importer of food.

Which is wild, because the US has probably the most high-quality farmland per person of any country on the planet. WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE FOLKS???

www.ers.usda.gov/data-product...

Small fluffy dog with big sweet eyes wearing a white and red striped sweater and looking up at the camera

We have to admit that January was a thorny start to the year… but the wonderful news and publications from the SLM FAM brought us solace and inspiration. https://buff.ly/4idMQuD

Kept getting responses like this when I posted about cut services for disabled students. One person demanded to know who their parents voted for. 1) idk and idgaf; all students have educational rights no matter the politics of their families; 2) ZERO children voted for Trump; 3) ffs fix your hearts

Donate to Musical Family in Crisis: Legal Fees Needed, organized by Jenny Van West On February 10, 2025, the brother of a close musical colleague was arrested… Jenny Van West needs your support for Musical Family in Crisis: Legal Fees Needed

CALL FOR RESISTANCE ACTION

On 2/10/25, G, who has no criminal background & in the US legally, was arrested by ICE in Portland, Maine. He is being detained without clear cause.

Donations towards legal fees & shares are greatly appreciated. Please join us in helping G!

It's so wonderful to experience a little more activity on here. The community vibes are rising 💜💜

A Facebook post from Tupelo Press criticizes the NEA's updated literature grant guidelines, calling them "appalling." The post states that Tupelo Press will not alter its 25-year mission of promoting contemporary poetry and literary prose by diverse writers, including women, writers of color, LGBTQ+, immigrant, and Native American communities. It emphasizes a commitment to publishing multicultural, innovative writing and enhancing the reading experience through well-designed books. The post concludes by stating that if their principles make them ineligible for NEA grants, they accept that consequence, as compliance with the new regulations would be "immoral."

thanks @tupelopress.bsky.social for setting an example & articulating your thoughts on the NEA's new position for art grants. would love to see more orgs speaking out.

a handful of comments on @beckyltuch.bsky.social's recent post but not nearly enough.

litmagnews.substack.com/p/q-how-will...

the famous "LBGT: lets go birds transsexual" t-shirt by toxicfemme

now more than ever, it must be said: let's go birds transsexual

One robin sitting on a branch with red berries against a blue sky with some white clouds in the background

One robin sitting in a leafless with red berries against a blue sky with some white clouds in the background

This morning I was watching robins and now its snowing, which just makes me feel I'm being set up for a joke I don't want to be involved in

Just watched a small child insist she should be allowed to buy "1 Magic Tree House book for every inch of snow tomorrow" which seems like a reasonable demand

I am really fighting the urge to throw myself into the sea today 😫

Black Farmers Index

List of black farmers by regions

blackfarmersindex.com/the-index

Additional scripts for cis het white men who want to be better allies:

“What a weird thing to say”

“Do you hear yourself right now?”

“You shouldn’t say shit like that to people”

“I won’t let you talk to them that way”

“That’s a disgusting opinion to have”

“Shut the fuck up, dude”

PLEASE READ ATTENTIVELY!
From an employee at OPM to HR. This person used a burner account so she/he wouldn't face repercussions after sounding the alarm.

Make no mistake peeps, this only happens with authoritarian regimes.

FOTUS is taking over the Federal Civil Service.

Thank you whoever you are.

California DOE fires back against Trump's executive order:

"It does nothing"

"It is against federal law for the White House to dictate what educators can and cannot teach"

Will not comply.