Sign in

Gwen E. Kirby

@gwenekirby.bsky.social
1.5K followers 1.2K following 127 posts

author of SHIT CASSANDRA SAW // stories in One Story, Guernica, Tin House, Smokelong, and elsewhere // corgis, baking, knitting, swearing // she/her gwenekirby.com

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Courtney Milan @courtneymilan.com · 09/10/2026
There’s an argument in the comments about when public executions stopped, but like… State actors have been executing people in public, with little consequence or holding them accountable, for a very long time.
336464
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Butlerian Jihadist of House Dornick @shimminykricket.blacksky.app · 08/10/2026
Harvard just dropped a study AI productivity in software engineering and it found the average increase in productivity from using Claude code is.....zero and for exactly the reasons you'd think fion.ac/jellyfish.pdf
9963832494
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 04/10/2026
remarkable piece of journalism. really worth reading.
753560901
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @ocasio-cortez.house.gov · 02/10/2026
Big Tech companies like Flock Safety have built a mass surveillance system to harvest Americans’ private and personal data without their consent. I’m proud to introduce the Ban Flock Act with @sanders.senate.gov to enforce our constitutional right to privacy.
451338372
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Garth Marenghi's Catbus @catbus.phd · 30/09/2026
don't bother addressing a congregation unless you're in the baroque creature pulpit
Baroque pulpit ca. 1750, rebuilt 1856, Parish church in Dobroszów.

a fanciful scaled sculpture where the serpents open mouth serves as the pulpit
132500602
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 29/09/2026
"Can a rapist’s prose elicit remorse for sexual assault? What word count best equates to appropriate jail time? In this class, we will dissect what empathy and accountability might look like so undergrads may successfully mimic them on paper in pursuit of avoiding just punishment." buff.ly/5na4oMY
buff.ly
Announcing Cornell University’s Newest Writing Course: Rape Essays 101
“Can a rapist’s prose effectively elicit remorse for sexual assault? What word count best equates to appropriate jail time? In this class, we will dissect wh...
19831273
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Campus rape is really widespread; statistics suggest a significant percent of women who go to college will be raped there; feminism opened up a good conversation about it around 2012-13; it's weird when people treated Cornell like an isolated rather than dramatic example of a pervasive problem.
402411525
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
So much of schools "responding to rape" is preventing the legal system from doing so. This is a report on seven adults who committed serious felonies for which there is a legal system to remind them and their pals that they are felonies.
251375409
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
cait (and adonis) @cait.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
they are going to come for your contraception, it is literally only a matter of time. I just replaced my IUD and if you think any of the long-term methods of contraception would be a good fit for you and/or your partner, now is the time to do it
222302645
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 18/09/2026
i am genuinely bewildered by people who say that the rise of white nationalism in the republican party is a response to the "woke left." like, did the woke left cause pat buchanan's 1992 presidential campaign? is the woke left why steve king had a long career in congress?
430103831923
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
You don't have to wait for some next phase of AI. They are trying very hard to destroy the world right now.
5513156
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Remedios Varo @remediosvaro.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Sympathy botfrens.com/collections/69/content…
In Remedios Varo's painting "Sympathy," a fantastical creature and a flame-haired figure sit across from each other at a table, enveloped by ethereal, interconnected threads of light. The dreamlike setting exemplifies Varo's surrealistic style, blending the mystical with intricate detail to explore themes of connection and understanding.
0388
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Amanda Marcotte @amandamarcotte.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
One way to honor Dolly’s legacy: get your covid vaccine this year! www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/...
washingtonpost.com
Dolly Parton helped fund Moderna’s vaccine. It began with a car crash and an unlikely friendship.
“Without a doubt in my mind, her funding made the research toward the vaccine go 10 times faster than it would be without it,” physician Naji Abumrad said of his friend.
7564145
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
KJ Charles @kjcharleswriter.com · 05/09/2026
If you are agented by: The Wylie Agency, Malatesta Literary Agency, L. Perkins Agency, Global Lion Intellectual Property (formerly PMA Literary), Jeanne Fredericks Literary Agency, Sanford J. Greenburger, Dystel Goderich & Bourret, Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency ...read this and consider hard.
2467374
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
When I was volunteering at the COVID19 vaccine POD in 2021, people would say over and over again that they were getting vaccinated for the people they love. Last year, only 17.5% of American adults got the COVID19 vaccine. Please get one for the people you love. 💕
Photo of a brunette with a braid in her hair, standing in front of a sign that says Vaccinated with a count of 30,000. 

She is wearing glasses, a Sun Studio t-shirt, and an orange high vis vest.
752175717
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Ellie Mae O'Hagan @elliemaeohagan.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I love the dedication in My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinhem
10385241964
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Micah @rincewind.run · 02/09/2026
this is a common question and the answer is that a lot of companies actually do track piracy numbers when it comes to gauging interest in an IP so if you really want to send the message that Harry Potter is toxic: no, you should not pirate it either
221536583
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Anna Holmes @annabookwriter.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Had no idea that Wedgwood, much beloved in the UK, was an abolitionist.
A white porcelain teapot painted with letters framed by red designs. They read “health to the sick, honour to the brave, success to the lover and freedom to the slave.”
16508111
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Mary @mfbrodie.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Texans check your voter registration, especially those in Dallas, Collin, Denton, and Tarrant counties. From the article: Suspended voter registrations span the whole state, but these Blue/Blue leaning counties are targets: Dallas: +129,000 Collin: 56,000 Denton: 56,000 Tarrant: + 73,000
newrepublic.com
Texas Has Suspended More Than 1 Million Voters Ahead of Senate Race
If you’re one of the people who had their voter registration suspended, there’s still time to fix it.
22942163179
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Amanda in Atlanta (she/her) @atlnewsgirl.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Georgia folks: Check your voter registration here. Frequently. mvp.sos.ga.gov/s/ If you aren’t already, REGISTER TO VOTE! The registration deadline for the November 3 election is October 5. georgia.gov/register-vote
mvp.sos.ga.gov
GA My Voter Page
Use the Georgia My Voter Page (MVP) to check your voter registration status, find your polling location, view your county's early voting locations, review your sample ballot for upcoming elections, an...
03233
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
The "constant roaring"... "It's like you're in the middle of the airport where the planes are taking off, but they never take off," she said. www.cbsnews.com/news/elon-mu...
cbsnews.com
Elon Musk's data centers are pushing out a family that's owned land since "before people of color were allowed to"
A plant in Southaven, Mississippi, that powers Elon Musk's SpaceXAI data centers in the area has sparked backlash from residents concerned about noise and air pollution.
711986988
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Avitus B. Carle @avitusbcarle.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
OH HEY ITS ME AGAIN! This time joining a flash fiction panel all about POV with the incredible talents of @sbgriffiths.bsky.social, @tommydeanwriter.bsky.social, @gwenekirby.bsky.social, and @sfreligh.bsky.social!!! Can’t wait to say all the things with my fellow flash writers at #AWP27!
172
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Alexandra Petri @petridishes.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
the year is 2027. gas costs $83 and lettuce is at war with us. however every location on every map now says AMERICA
227147262819
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
W.E.D.em Boyz @leftistwonk.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
ICE has fallen out of the headlines but July marked the largest number of migrant detentions ever on record. Five migrants have died in ICE custody in the last two months. It's also currently impossible to legally migrate to this country, as 100% of visa applications have been paused.
4049152534
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
M. Belanger @sethanikeem.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
“How will we ever replace them?” FUND. THE. ARTS.
2294783249
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Stacey Burns @wentrogue.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Jennifer Nelson’s entry to this year’s Minnesota State Fair crop art
A localized version of Guernica with a loon at the center and a person holding an ICE OUT sign 

“My piece was inspired by Picasso's Guernica, a work that was his response to the Nazi's bombing of the Basque town. I thought there was a fitting parallel between these incidents about the high price paid by ordinary people when aggressive regimes try out new tactics of war, as well as a fitting juxtaposition of the darkness of living such an experience and the light we shone through it in our own resistance and care for one another. The patterns near Renee Good and Alex Pretti’s mouths are actually their last words in Morse code: ‘I’m not mad at you,’ and ‘Are you okay?’” 

Jennifer Nelson
6342561314
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
I had to say thank you.
meditationsinanemergency.com
In Praise of Dolly Parton, 1946-2026, Our Goddess of Kindness
We will always love her, and there will never be another like her, this artist who came out of deep rural poverty in the 1960s to become not just a staggeringly great performer and songwriter but phil...
432844578
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Chiara Di Lello @chiaradilello.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
a poet writing poems (spotted in Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day, 1968)
A poet cat holds a feather pen and looks pensively upward in their garret room, window grille swung open, on the title page of What Do People Do All Day by Richard Scarry; 1968 edition
2207
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
jordan @jordantyranny.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
50/60 REMEDIOS V. Remedios Varo trained as an artist in Spain before moving to Paris, where she exhibited with the Surrealists. Fleeing war and persecution, she reached Mexico in 1941, where she developed a visionary art of magic, alchemy, and psychology before her death in 1963, aged 54.
remedios varo portrait!Character (originally titled Personaje), a surrealist painting created in 1935 by the Spanish-Mexican artist Remedios Varo.
129319
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Greg Pak @gregpak.net · 19/08/2026
This is genuinely great - thank you, @aft.org! Would love to see a similar statement urging teachers and students to cancel their ChatGPT accounts due to OpenAI's support of ICE! www.technologyreview.com/2026/02/10/1...
technologyreview.com
A “QuitGPT” campaign is urging people to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions
Backlash against ICE is fueling a broader movement against AI companies’ ties to President Trump.
015370
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
I am filled with anger at what our government is doing. It’s just 10 arrests so far, yes; not a mass pogrom. But the fear is real and this is actual people who didn’t DO anything (except not immediately return to a country in the throes of danger).
Reporters visited the Springfield addresses.
Residents and neighbors were unavailable or unwilling to talk. One neighbor, who declined to speak on the record, praised all the Haitians who live around him for their work ethic. He said it is a shame to see them targeted after coming to the area for a better life.
Nine of the 10 Haitians identified at the Butler County Jail were booked following the a federal judge's order on Aug. 5 formally lifting a stay on the revocation of TPS for Haitians - giving the Trump administration the green light to arrest and deport Haitians previously protected by TPS.
251121455
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
The end of Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow depended upon the exact type of elite consensus that non-white folks had gone too far in calling for equality, that we are living through. It does not bode well for the future, even if the GOP is routed in the next couple of elections.
14946285
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Haus of Decline @hausofdecline.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
A man says "it's time to settle the score once and for all." He picks up a jar of pro biotics. He picks up a jar of anti-biotics. He consumes the entire contents of the jars by pouring them down his throat with a GARBL. He bears a look of extreme determination.
6158821206
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
BOMB Magazine @bombmag.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
@elisafaison.bsky.social and Linea Maja Ernst discuss their respective novels “Skin Contact” (Cardinal, 2026) and “Waist Deep” ( @summitbooks.bsky.social, 2026), that riff on marriage, with characters who ask for more than what they're used to getting. bit.ly/4c6ATGB
bit.ly
BOMB Magazine | Elisa Faison and Linea Maja Ernst
Two new novels that riff on marriage, with characters who ask for more than what they're used to getting.
032
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 29/07/2026
Dead or alive, Mitch McConnell is on extended medical leave — on your dime. This is the same Mitch McConnell who voted against: paid family and medical leave for everyone else.
969225497554
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Alexander Chee @alexanderchee.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
‘Anthropic described the project as “our effort to disruptively scan all the world’s books” in an internal memo, which noted “we do not want it to be known that we are pursuing this project”.’
731718904
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Ygrene @ygrene.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
hey, remember: don't eat anything and don't breathe
12899262192
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
the babahuck @tylerhuckabee.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
RIP
Sam Neill on why 'The Piano' (1993) is an important movie in cinema history: 

"I don't think I can overestimate how important 'The Paino' is for me in hindsight. it sits on my funny old CV like a medal on my chest. It wasn't my film. It Jane Campion's. I wasn't the star of the film. That was Holly Hunter. But there is honour to be found in the second fiddle. Or fopurth. No one notices you much, you don't get nominated for things. But you served. I was there in an important feminist film. I was there on the front line in an important New Zealand film. Neither of those labels does the film justice. It's a work of art. And look, that tiny little figure in the fabric—see down there on the right—that's me. It's a film that will always have a place in cinema history. And I served in it."

("Did I ever Tell You This: A Memeoir", Sam Neill)
274664845
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Molly Ploofkins @mollyploofkins.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
I think we all share Sam's dream.
725093
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Asawin Suebsaeng @swin24.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Don’t look away from Memphis. Don’t look away from Houston. Don’t look away at the nationwide ICE surge. The trump administration is counting on you losing interest and falling for its tweak in tactics. zeteo.com/p/trumps-vio...
zeteo.com
🆘 Trump’s Violent Crackdowns on U.S. Cities Are Still Happening. Don't Look Away
Horror in Minneapolis caused a reset of attacks on immigrants and liberals but the administration remains fascistic and lethal. In Maine, meanwhile, Graham Platner confirmed he'll withdraw Monday.
14800443
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Raider @iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Houstonians marched through the streets of Downtown demanding: ICE OUT OF HOUSTON, ICE OUT OF EVERYWHERE! JUSTICE FOR LORENZO!
6031381116
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 10/07/2026
Reminder: Memphis is still “under full-blown occupation” by ICE. Task force members have reportedly killed at least two people in four days.
motherjones.com
Memphis is “under full-blown occupation” by ICE. Here’s why you may not know that.
Community members face retaliation for trying to spread the word out, a lawsuit alleges.
4827641741
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Soraya Nadia McDonald @soraya.press · 11/07/2026
Memphis is under siege from the federal government. This is hideous.
nytimes.com
Second Person in a Week Killed by Federal Task Force in Memphis
Tennessee authorities are investigating both shootings involving agents working with the task force in Memphis.
5244181995
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Thomas Ha @thomasha.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
not saying anything new, but if these folks actually believed in genAI writing, they'd disclose it, tout it, and build their own audiences elsewhere and leave others be. hiding and sneaking it to markets who want no part of it doesn't prove you're good at writing. just proves you're good at fraud.
21779522
Reposted by Gwen E. Kirby
Leah Greenberg ❌👑 @leahgreenberg.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
This is absolutely devastating and infuriating. ICE officers in an unmarked car shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a father of three, on his way to work. Then the smear machine immediately kicked in. Read the words of his son, and demand accountability: www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
washingtonpost.com
He saw a video of a Mexican man shot by ICE. It was his father.
The eldest child of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo said his father was “a family man” who was likely frightened by the unmarked vehicles following him.
16617258