iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by michael röbbins

michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

the English Graduate Studies board is getting a little too real

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Reposted by michael röbbins

michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 20h

J Mascis is trying to tell us something gunsnrobbins.substack.com/p/listening-...

gunsnrobbins.substack.com

Listening to Too Much Dinosaur Jr.

one notices patterns

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I asked a student how much she paid to see Harry Styles. She said, sheepishly, "Less than a thousand." You could go to Paris for less than a thousand, youngsters, come on

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

how on earth is J Macsis, of all the flanneled ‘90s burnouts, still writing great songs open.spotify.com/track/6duF3d...

open.spotify.com

No Friends

Dinosaur Jr. · There Near · Song · 2026

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

there are some insane Dinosaur Jr rankings on this planet, man, so for the record (new album has at least two great songs, but too early to rank): 1. Where You Been 2. Bug 3.. You're Living All Over Me 4. Green Mind 5. Hand It Over (for "Alone") or maybe Farm (for "Said the People")

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I asked a student how much she paid to see Harry Styles. She said, sheepishly, "Less than a thousand." You could go to Paris for less than a thousand, youngsters, come on

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I’m doing this tomorrow. Should anyone find themselves in Montclair with a hankering for classic Howard Hawks

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Granta @grantamag.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

‘Our parents / never had a clue where we were. / It’s not that they trusted the world / but they consented to live in it.’ Poetry by Michael Robbins. granta.com/people-keep-...

granta.com

People Keep Finding Bodies in Joshua Tree | Michael Robbins | Granta

‘The author claims that “bodies / don’t bury themselves” / but the late ’90s taught me / otherwise.' A poem by Michael Robbins.

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I’m doing this tomorrow. Should anyone find themselves in Montclair with a hankering for classic Howard Hawks

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Book Post @bookpostusa.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Michael Robbins reflects on several poems about our current moment in history. Read his review on our Substack! books.substack.com/p/review-mic... cc @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social @joriegraham.bsky.social

books.substack.com

Review: Michael Robbins on recent poetry

Raw bulletins addressing dark times

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

well, I’ve now read just about all of Ben Jonson’s poems

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Pope’s lines from “An Essay on Criticism” have been much misunderstood: Where'er you find "the cooling western breeze," In the next line, it "whispers through the trees." It’s not the predictability of rhyme pairs that is being censured (Pope used “trees | breeze” more than once) but (1/2)

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

“This poem more than any other makes me feel the totality and the weight of our historical moment, which is perhaps terminal. The rage of, the goodbye of it all” I wrote about some recent poetry for @bookpostusa.bsky.social cc @joriegraham.bsky.social books.substack.com/p/review-mic...

books.substack.com

Review: Michael Robbins on recent poetry

Raw bulletins addressing dark times

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

books.substack.com

Review: Michael Robbins on recent poetry

Raw bulletins addressing dark times

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

not long now till I can scavenge candy from the plastic pumpkins scattered around campus

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Granta @grantamag.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

‘Lisa told me the bully / I fantasized about taking apart / fell out of a tree, high, / and died, decades ago.’ Poetry by Michael Robbins. granta.com/people-keep-...

granta.com

People Keep Finding Bodies in Joshua Tree | Michael Robbins | Granta

‘The author claims that “bodies / don’t bury themselves” / but the late ’90s taught me / otherwise.' A poem by Michael Robbins.

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Query from my editor: “I can’t believe I’m asking you this, but do they style themselves Guns N’ Roses?” And they do. It’s just always annoyed me. Why isn’t there an apostrophe before the N? Why is the N capitalized?

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

it was thoughtful of Olivia Rodrigo to include a line of perfect iambic pentameter in "The Cure" ("I thought I found the antidote this time") to help out my prosody lesson today

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Every Monday in my class is Grindcore Monday (we listen to a little grindcore) & every Wednesday is Free Jazz Wednesday (we listen to a little free jazz). It’s unclear which the students hate more

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Listening to R.E.M. for the first time since college (because they’re so annoying) I notice that one of my old favorites begins “This flower is scorched, this film is on a maddening loop,” lines which take on a new resonance in our wildfire climate apocalypse. Crazy what we could’ve had

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

my relative (great-great-something) Nixey Callahan pitched the first no-hitter in American League (not just franchise) history for the Chicago White Sox on this date in 1902

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

the old Norton Critical Editions were endearingly ugly

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Camera Lucida print vs e-book … hmm

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I’m not a Dillard fan, but I read this to my students every semester: “As far as I was concerned, writing in college didn't consist of what little Annie had to say, but what Wallace Stevens had to say. I didn't come to college to think my own thoughts, I came to learn what had been thought."

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

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Granta @grantamag.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

‘Frosty, my grandmother’s horse, / was kind of a dick / and once bit her “on the tit” / as she liked to tell visitors.’ Poetry by Michael Robbins. granta.com/people-keep-...

granta.com

People Keep Finding Bodies in Joshua Tree | Michael Robbins | Granta

‘The author claims that “bodies / don’t bury themselves” / but the late ’90s taught me / otherwise.' A poem by Michael Robbins.

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

When exactly was the US committed to these values? How does any self-respecting author continue to write for The Atlantic

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

new poem in @grantamag.bsky.social f/ sonic youth, charli xcx, minutemen, eagles, joni, delines, mazzy star, the cure, sugarhill gang, geto boys, motley crüe, iron maiden, slayer, reo speedwagon, adrianne lenker, def leppard, gram parsons, ani difranco, n.w.a., et al. (free to read)

granta.com

People Keep Finding Bodies in Joshua Tree

‘The author claims that “bodies / don’t bury themselves” / but the late ’90s taught me / otherwise.' A poem by Michael Robbins.

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

When exactly was the US committed to these values? How does any self-respecting author continue to write for The Atlantic

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Granta @grantamag.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

‘You can see why all the freaks / end up in the desert. / Saint Anthony, Manson, / Brigham Young.’ Poetry by Michael Robbins. granta.com/people-keep-...

granta.com

People Keep Finding Bodies in Joshua Tree

‘The author claims that “bodies / don’t bury themselves” / but the late ’90s taught me / otherwise.' A poem by Michael Robbins.

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

granta.com

People Keep Finding Bodies in Joshua Tree

‘The author claims that “bodies / don’t bury themselves” / but the late ’90s taught me / otherwise.' A poem by Michael Robbins.

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michael röbbins @alienvsrobbins.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The room where John Keats died, in an apartment adjoining the Spanish Steps in Rome. These are not the original furnishings, which were burned for fear of contagion. I bought a little edition of his poems, though I already own all his poems several times over. This one came from this house.