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Anya Kirshbaum

@anyakirshbaum.bsky.social
351 followers 522 following 15 posts

Pacific Northwest poet, queer mama, somatic therapist, beekeeper, and lover of wild and tended gardens. anyakirshbaumpoet.com

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Reposted by Anya Kirshbaum
Whale Road Review @whaleroadreview.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
And Issue 44 ft. @anyakirshbaum.bsky.social @jamesdavismay.bsky.social @lesleymwheeler.bsky.social @readinstead.bsky.social @sjgrimm.bsky.social @sarahmillswrites.bsky.social @robbiegamblewriter.bsky.social @daniellelemay.bsky.social
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Bracken Magazine @brackenmagazine.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
"bivalves cracked at the spine plucked from seabed stripped for pearl’s iridescent light" Enjoy Leusa Lloyd's poem "I am oyster" in the current issue of Bracken: www.brackenmagazine.com/issue-xiv/i-...
brackenmagazine.com
I am oyster by Leusa Lloyd — Bracken
pried open, shucked bivalves cracked         at the spine
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Bracken Magazine @brackenmagazine.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
"We know you have collected rainstorms in soup bowls, coaxed hummingbirds to your bed-pillow." From @anyakirshbaum.bsky.social's "Forgetting the Constellations," one of two gorgeous poems featured in the current issue of Bracken: www.brackenmagazine.com/issue-xiv/tw...
brackenmagazine.com
Two Poems by Anya Kirshbaum — Bracken
Something in you breaks, then it breaks down. Night someplace —you comb the engine of stars, aching
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Bracken Magazine @brackenmagazine.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Going to AWP? Please join Bracken for our offsite reading with Passager on Friday, 3/6, 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Pratt Street Ale House across from the Convention Center. Readers: Sarah Browning, Julie Choffel, Julia Lisella, Diana Whitney, @karigunterseymour.bsky.social, and @anyakirshbaum.bsky.social.
Lake at dusk surrounded by dried reeds and cattails. The water reflects a wintry sky and bare cottonwood trees. Photo by Jed Meyers.
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West Trade Review @westtradereview.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
“How I dug and dug for them, their sharp-dirt scent. How much I craved holding those shrunken moons.” Excerpt of “Want of a Child” by @anyakirshbaum.bsky.social. It appeared in the Winter 2025 collection of Online Exclusives. buff.ly/t1Vwzn2 #writingcommunity
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West Trade Review @westtradereview.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
“A kind of wanting, written onto the rungs of my vertebrae— ancient, unsung.” Excerpt from “Want of a Child” by @anyakirshbaum.bsky.social. It appeared in the Winter 2025 collection of Online Exclusives. Read the full poem at the link below: buff.ly/UQN13dN #writingcommunity
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West Trade Review @westtradereview.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
We’re excited to present the Winter 2025 collection of Online Exclusives. It features poetry by Nathan Erwin, @ritamookerjee.bsky.social, @ewenglass.bsky.social, and @andhow.bsky.social among others; fiction by Janine A. Willis; CNF by @hillbillypilgrim.bsky.social Read it here:
buff.ly
West Trade Review Online Exclusives Winter 2025
West Trade Review: Fearless. Crafted. Authentically Human.
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Mississippi Review @mississippireview.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
@ancpoet.bsky.social @isadoravoid.bsky.social @suchveronica.bsky.social @pyontek.bsky.social @anyakirshbaum.bsky.social @courtneyduchene.bsky.social @tracyneiman.bsky.social @navelgayzer.bsky.social
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Anya Kirshbaum @anyakirshbaum.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
How wonderful that my poem found a home in @oneart.bsky.social, a journal I have loved for a long time!
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George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Direct evidence of criminal election bribery under Wis. Stat. §12.11: “‘My name’s Ekaterina Deistler,’ she said in a video posted Monday morning. ‘I did exactly what Elon Musk told everyone to do: sign the petition, refer friends and family, vote, and now I have a million dollars.’”
jsonline.com
Bice: Elon Musk group removes video from $1M winner after she says she got money to 'vote'
Elon Musk's super PAC removed an X video from a $1M giveaway winner in which she said she received the money, in part, to 'vote.'
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Anya Kirshbaum @anyakirshbaum.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
So excited to have a poem in this beautiful issue!
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Celeste Ng @pronounced-ing.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
Call this morning. 👇 A shutdown is better than caving.
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Tara Skurtu @taraskurtu.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
Poem by Sean Thomas Dougherty.
Why Bother?
Because right now, there is
someone
out there with
a wound
in the exact shape
of your words.
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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
some helpful reminders: -not all jews support israel -criticizing israel is not the same as being antisemitic -being pro-palestine does not equal being pro-hamas -arresting someone for being pro-palestine is a violation of the first amendment -violating someone’s first amendment rights is bad
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Brigid Alverson @brigidalverson.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Gonna stick this up over my desk and make it a daily affirmation.
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Orange Dick Tater Hater @realbiscuitspaw.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
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Anya Kirshbaum @anyakirshbaum.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
Damn. This poem.
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Litbowl @litbowl.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
From Sam Sax's book, Pig: bookshop.org/a/862/978166... #poem #poetry #books #writing
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Anya Kirshbaum @anyakirshbaum.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
I have a couple of poems out in the lovely journal: Sweet: A Literary Confection. Many thanks to @katierpoet.bsky.social and @chelsdingman.bsky.social and the rest of the team for their important work keeping the poetry fires burning. #poem #poetry sweetlit.org/anya-kirshba...
sweetlit.org
Anya Kirshbaum
Press Play to hear the author read their piece. Letter From the Edge of Every Known Thing Dear Ginkgo, are we so different? You at the edge of undress—I, undone, unkempt, infant at my breast. I hav…
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Alejandro Alvarez @aletakesphotos.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
Big, growing crowd just west of the U.S. Capitol protesting Trump, Musk and DOGE on President’s Day. “Hey Congress, grow a spine,” they shout, gathering for a rally around the reflecting pool.
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Hi that was a coup last night in case no one mentioned that to you. The executive branch seized the power of the purse the Constitution gave to Congress, which is a pretty authoritarian / illegal consolidation of powers move. Time to go yell at your reps, the media, etc.
Hey friends! We're seeing a lot of terrible things. We're not able to cover all of them, but we felt this latest one is a really big deal and needs much more awareness.

Our summary is this: It's an administrative coup. Trump has ordered tens of billions (maybe up to $3 trillion) of budget halted indefinitely in a blatantly illegal move. He's claiming power to halt and potentially redirect funding that's already been authorized by Congress — a classic authoritarian move.

Here's what we know. And we're doing our best to catch up with this story, because it's moving fast.

There's a memo from Matthew Vaeth, the acting head of the Office of Management and Budget. (That's the same government entity who set-up the DEI "snitch" line, that's now been spammed by tens of thousands of our fellow residents.)

In typical Trump-style, the memo gets its facts wrong. It claims in FY2024 the US government spent $10 trillion (actually it was $6.8 trillion). It says money should be used for the administration's priorities — "The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve." (Again, it's very fact deficient.)

The memo says a pause will begin at 5pm on January 28th where, "Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal."

Anyone promised federal grants might have their money at risk, even states. This is Congressional directed spending and Trump is ordering people to not do it. This funding includes universities for education and research programs, nonprofits, local and tribal governments, disaster relief aid, e…So what can we do?

It's been a lot. And the shock approach of this administration is to overwhelm us with nonsense and a state of paralysis. We continue to believe the best thing is to stay grounded and keep yourself sane amidst insanity.

At this juncture, three actions we suggest that make sense to us:

1) Urge media to cover this story properly

This is not "possibly illegal" — it's "patently illegal." You can read notes on that here.

It's not "temporary" — it's "indefinite." There's no timetable for ending it.

It's not just a memo — it's an administrative coup.

2) Urge your Representatives to act like this is a big deal

If you know us, this isn't a knee-jerk action we suggest. We think this is a strategic because it's Congress that's being violated — their power is being directly undermined.

3) Continue to support ACLU and Democracy Forward

These groups have been preparing litigation for some time. Unless Trump revokes this, this will certainly make its way through the courts. Our read is even the biased courts will have trouble swallowing this — so it may end up being shut down.



Keep breathing. “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again," Nelson Mandela.

Warmly,

- Choose Democracy
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The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 21/01/2025
From “Bargaining with the Palisades Fire, I Buy a Pack of Edible Flowers,” by Anna Journey. Read it in full: nyer.cm/E1juqln
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Anya Kirshbaum @anyakirshbaum.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Thanks so much to @sarah-salcedo.com for all her extraordinary work on my beautiful new website! It was a great experience collaborating with her!
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