iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Reposted by Robert van Vliet

I asked my creative writing students to anonymously share their thoughts about AI. www.chronicle.com/article/my-s...

chronicle.com

Opinion | My Students Hate AI. But They Can’t Stop Using It.

Big Tech has gotten them addicted to cheating, and they’ve internalized the blame.

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Reposted by Robert van Vliet

Claire Wahmanholm @cwahmanholm.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

What a thrill, gang!! "Overwinter" was written during Operation Metro Surge, when I was trying very hard to stay afloat. I reread it again just now and realized I've been using it every day since then, too. So grateful that it resonated with @ampoetryreview.bsky.social ❤️❤️

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Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 19/06/2026

Firefly, just outside the window!

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Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 09/06/2026

There is so much I love about this article. If I were returning to the classroom in the fall, I would make this Priority One.

Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 27/05/2026

Ouch. They both deserved it. I hate awards.

Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 25/05/2026

I’m about to have a lot of free time on my hands. Maybe I should submit some poems somewhere. It’s been over two years since I did that. I have almost fifty poems in my new weird project. A few of them are good. Some are okay. Most are stupid. But people like stupid poems, right? Gawd I hope so.

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Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 24/05/2026

Loyalty is a two-way street.

Into a Darker Wilderness @intoadarkerwilderness.com · 14/05/2026

Reposted by Robert van Vliet

We invite you to join us, and our sponsor Milkweed Editions, for our launch party at 6:00 pm on May 27th in the Open Book Performance Hall. Admission is free; light refreshments and beverages will be provided. @mkdordiggsy.bsky.social @davigray.com @milkweededitions.bsky.social

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Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 10/05/2026

The exact timing was a surprise, but its arrival was not. As for the time to read, that’s definitely a challenge. When I actually find time, I can concentrate and focus enough to read. But I haven’t had much time since August. Fifteen more days in the school year, then — nothing but open water.

Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 09/05/2026

Hey, look what I found on my doorstep: it’s a box of chapbooks from above/ground press! @robmclennan.bsky.social

An opened cardboard box showing stacks of poetry chapbooks.

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Reposted by Robert van Vliet

Mischief Toy Store @mischieftoy.com · 01/05/2026

Emily says we're wrecking the whole #SaintPaul scene. 🫠

A 1 star google review from Emily:

I can't help but feel like Mischief Toy Store has lost the plot a bit. The exterior of the building is covered in messaging that comes across more like virtue signaling than welcoming. It honestly feels like the building is yelling at you before you even walk in.
As a Minnesota native, it makes me sad to see the direction parts of the St. Paul scene seem to be heading. I understand the owner may feel strongly and might be defensive of this feedback, but I wish the focus stayed on what brings people in the door in the first place: kids, toys, and a sense of fun, rather than politics.

Our reply:

Emily,
Social justice has been our "plot" since we opened 10 years ago. Those signs aren't virtue signaling, they reflect the core values of our family and our business. Black Lives Matter. Protect Trans Youth.
No ICE. Resist Fascism. Build safer streets.
If those sentiments made you feel unwelcome, then we kindly encourage you to broaden your understanding and empathy of your fellow human beings. Until then, we encourage you to shop elsewhere.
Sincerely,
Abby, Millie, and Dan owners, Mischief Toy Store

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Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 01/05/2026

The moon through the trees.

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Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 29/04/2026

You're welcome! I posted a big-stack-of-books photo a month or so ago, and I know some of the folks whose books were in the stack found my post after searching for themselves. I was crap at actually tagging anyone, but I was thorough in my alt text.

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Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 29/04/2026

Protip: If you put the authors and titles into the alt text, they will show up in searches, so authors looking for any mentions of them or their books will find your post.

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Reposted by Robert van Vliet

Henry Gould @henryghenrik.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Good news from Contubernales. I should have the proofs by the weekend. *Shield of Mnemosyne* draws nigh, sounding ye trumpet.

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Reposted by Robert van Vliet

Samuel Day Wharton @fakeourway.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Claire Wahmanholm from 32 Poems No. 45

Claire Wahmanholm
Come In, Come In

Stars are stars especially when they're dim.
I am faithless, but make an exception
for them; I make like deep space and trim
their hydrogen shells with endless, open-
work lace. I am nothing like them, and so
love them best of all. or next-to-best. after
my own wretchedness, which 1 am trying
to soften. Stars are soft. What is softer
than dving light? Softer than letting ga
ot yourselt and trusting that something
will call you home when it's time? I listen
so hard sometimes that all I can hear
is my own ringing. Come in, come in
clearly (star, savior). Rhyme me firmly here.

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Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 21/04/2026

Oh look! It’s @janezwart.bsky.social and @djvorreyer.bsky.social! My actual poetry TBR pile is *two* shelves long. But almost everyone in this stack is about to cut in line (just as soon as I finish Mirror Lake by @henryghenrik.bsky.social)

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Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 21/04/2026

I can’t wait to get to it! (And I meant to tag people when I made the original post, but my work schedule is so consuming that I put it off, then never got back to it…)

Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 14/04/2026

Same here! And the other 5% are on Ayn Rand.

Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 11/04/2026

I regularly refer to Next Chapter Books in St Paul as “Next Chamber.” (iykyk as the kids say)

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Nah, no worries! It let me make that stupid “vessel with the pestle” joke (aaand to point people to the REAL reason why I gave the book that title…)

Many thanks to @mitchnobis.bsky.social for highlighting this poem from my book, Vessels. Fun fact: that last phrase (“Seeds return to roots, return to seeds”) is the refrain to an old song lyric of mine that never went anywhere, and had to wait about thirty years to land in this poem.

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Also, my wife wanted to know if that’s as far as you’ve read. I know the first two are real humdingers, but she wants you to know that there are some good poems further on that you might like if you just stick with it.

Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 29/03/2026

Thank you for this! Now, I don't want to embarrass you, but you misspelled the title of the book. It's actually spelled “Vestles” as an allusion to one of my favorite movies, The Court Jester. (My *favorite* movie is, of course, Koyaanisqatsi.)

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So what have I learned from this? Fuck the 21st century. I’m all in with my typewriter and a filing cabinet.

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Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 28/03/2026

What a day. It looked like I’d lost the last six years of documents from my computer, and that my back-ups had lost them too. All my writing. Everything. I spent some time letting it all go. A cleansing house fire, ash under a clear sky. Now? I’m restoring all of it from a secondary back-up.

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Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 20/03/2026

Okay, I think I’m going to write a cookbook. (But I’ll have to test the recipes first.)

Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 15/03/2026

The poetry they publish is TIMELESS

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Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 27/02/2026

I think I’m finally someone else now.

Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 25/02/2026

I’ll look for it around the house, but I think you took it with you when you left. Have you checked under the seat of your car? Also, the fridge. I found my car keys in the fridge once.

Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 24/02/2026

This means more to me than I can say.

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Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 17/02/2026

Of all the bad music puns in this thread, that might be at the top of the Liszt.

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Reposted by Robert van Vliet

Mischief Toy Store @mischieftoy.com · 17/02/2026

Please keep in mind that ICE still hasn't left Minnesota and many of our neighbors are still living in fear. If you're able, please consider donating to one of the many aid funds listed at standwithminnesota.com. Thank you again! 💖

standwithminnesota.com

Stand With Minnesota

Stand With Minnesota is a hub for supporting, learning, and taking action to support Minnesotans impacted by ICE and federal enforcement.

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Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 17/02/2026

More like “Presidunce Day”

Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 05/02/2026

Unfortunately, when it comes to the internet, there’s always more.

Robert van Vliet @letterspace.org · 05/02/2026

I agree with you, Han, that maybe J-T could have reached out directly to the Ogre folks first for clarification, but every step the Ogre guy has taken since then is a study in the exact opposite of what to do when spotlighted on social media.