iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Remembering The Mighty Sparrow who just passed. I think I first heard him when I got a hold of this album in the mid 80s. www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOWu...

youtube.com

Mighty Sparrow - Capitalism Gone Mad

YouTube video by Edward Spencer

001

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

While we watch the new Korean series Wonderfools, this was an interesting book review to come across. Korea's emergence into the global cultural stage in the last few decades is a fascinating story. Glad to see this piece raise the issue of the role of translation.

000

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Very thorough, investigative story about a respected, famed Nepal scholar from the U.S. who stole historical treasures from Nepal. (I remember learning about one such respected man from the U.S. who stole in Bangladesh.)

011

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

Daniel Radosh @radosh.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Republicans have spent the last year trying to defund Dolly Parton

article about proposed GOP cuts to Imagination Library in Indiana

article about proposed GOP cuts to Imagination Library in Kentucky

article about proposed GOP cuts to Imagination Library in Missouri

iarticle about proposed GOP cuts to Imagination Library in Washington

7165572899

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

DELEGATE FROM RUSSIA: I propose a new initiative. Suppose different models of shoes from the same brand fit differently? ... Imagine a child whose current shoe is a size 2. Their next pair, from the same company, in the same size, should either fall off immediately, prevent circulation, or… both.

000

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Has our Chief Scientist Donald "Inject Bleach" Trump said anything about the illegal, bad air, swarming across our borders? Clearly it's too late to rake the forest floor up in Ontario but I would expect him to come up with other grand solutions only worthy of such a powerful true genius mind.

001

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Sudden, unexpected deaths of certain kinds of politicians take me back to Nelson Rockefeller's. I wonder why.

001

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Dhaka’s lost canals: "Their disappearance is a tale of negligence, greed, and weak enforcement. However, beneath the encroachment and lack of maintenance lies something older and more deliberate: an imported idea that water is a nuisance rather than an asset." www.thedailystar.net/slow-reads/b...

thedailystar.net

Dhaka: How a city was planned to drown

Dhaka waterlogging is driven by colonial urban planning that deliberately destroyed historic Dhaka canals and wetlands.

000

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

I had the good fortune of seeing him perform with Third Rail in the summer of 1997 in San Francisco. I'd just moved to the area a few months earlier. What he did with the guitar blew me away.

010

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

Abraham Gutman @abgutman.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Today, 230 years ago, while George and Martha Washington were having dinner, Ona Judge escaped from slavery. The first president attempted to recapture her relentlessly. But she outlived the Washingtons by 50 years. Read about those working to make Ona Judge a household name in America.

inquirer.com

At a partially restored President’s House, Philly honored Ona Judge’s daring escape from slavery

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker signed an executive order designating May 21 "Ona Judge Day" on the 230th anniversary of Judge's daring escape from George and Martha Washington.

042

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Many Black American writers found refuge in France and set stories and novels there. Richard Wright, James Baldwin, John A. Williams, William Gardner Smith. Was this Black expat scene in France reflected in French literature? Are there works of fiction from France that focus a lens on that world?

100

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 14/05/2026

"Many ideas that enjoy enormous popularity among billionaires—cryogenic immortality, disregard for punctuation, the Antichrist—have scandalously been excluded from our labs and classrooms."

buff.ly

We’re Diversifying the University by Hiring More Crackpots

“For too long, the university has ignored the wisdom of the donor class and hired based on academic excellence. Regrettably, this has led to the underreprese...

27323

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 07/05/2026

“Huck shows great disrespect for the Court’s precedent in Dred Scott when aiding the fugitive Jim, presumably due to liberal indoctrination by the Widow Douglas.” www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/exc...

mcsweeneys.net

Excerpts from Chief Justice John Roberts’ High School English Essays

“Huck shows great disrespect for the Court’s precedent in Dred Scott when aiding the fugitive Jim, presumably due to liberal indoctrination by the Widow Doug...

20710275

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Best not to monument men or any person no matter how much they might have historically meant for a movement. I wish all the memorials to Cesar Chavez, streets, parks, holidays, can be renamed for Farmworker Justice.

000

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Yes, "every man." Been grappling with this all day. It is only thanks to women speaking out, women accusing, women bringing out these stories that might possibly mean that the possibility of future abuse may be lessened. We have a long way to go.

021

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

Timothy Noah @timothynoah.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Shocking but not surprising to learn Cesar Chavez sexually abused underaged girls. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/18/u... Chavez was an organizing genius who became a deranged cult leader, leaving his union a shambles, as I explained 11 years ago in the NY Review: www.nybooks.com/articles/201...

nybooks.com

The Myths of Cesar Chavez | Timothy Noah

The civil rights movement of the 1960s gets a much better press than the labor movement. Yet the two causes were intertwined. Walter Reuther, president of

194

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

Marianna Suleymanova @marsnova.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

It was a joy to spotlight the Philly literary translation scene with my brilliant friends📚🖤🦅

022

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

Billy Penn at WHYY @billy-penn.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

We couldn't read the greats like Anna Karenina, The Metamorphosis or Don Quixote without literary translators. Philly's own are doing their part, translating anti-war journals from Russian, representing queer French texts and bringing new perspectives to the U.S. billypenn.com/2026/03/03/l...

billypenn.com

Philly’s literary translators want to increase visibility of their work

Philly has a broad translator community that allows English speakers to consume work from many different countries and cultures.

085

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

One of the exciting things about moving to Philadelphia was discovering the city's literary translation community. In this story BillyPenn at WHYY covers Philly's translation community focusing on those of us who are part of the network Transversal. billypenn.com/2026/03/03/l...

billypenn.com

Philly’s literary translators want to increase visibility of their work

Philly has a broad translator community that allows English speakers to consume work from many different countries and cultures.

010

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Been meaning to read Ryszard Kapuściński for a long time. Made sense to start with his book "Shah of Shahs" written when the Pahlavi monarchy was ousted. This is a different kind of book, the blurb is right that it brings a 'mythographer's perspective and a novelist's virtuosity.'

041

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

Hyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 21/02/2026

The 20th-century novelist Richard Wright and modern artist John Wilson shared a worldview that the violence they witnessed and heard stories about growing up wasn’t just about terror — it was a tool to control and exploit Black labor.

hyperallergic.com

How Richard Wright Shaped John Wilson’s Protest Art

Wilson, like Wright before him, wrestled with the psychic toll of racial violence on Black families in his paintings and lithographs.

12810

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

BeatGhoul @beatgrrrl.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

JΛZZ HΞΛVΞN: Happy birthday to the legendary singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and activist Nina Simone February 21, 1933–April 21, 2003 ❝What kept me sane was knowing that things would change, and it was a question of keeping myself together until they did. ❞

Image shows a moment in time featuring iconic musician Nina Simone wearing a plaid skirt and wool sweater and holding a cigarette looking pensive next to the lake in Central Park, New York City, in 1958.

image captures a moment in time featuring a smiling American singer and civil rights activist Nina Simone, photographed by Herb Snitzer.

Nina Simone wearing a head wrap with head rested in hand and smiling.

118175

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

Today marks the language movement of 1952 demanding official recognition of Bangla in then East Pakistan. Later the day was recognized as International Mother Language Day. I published an essay in 2018 on my journey crossing real borders, language borders. desiwriterslounge.net/articles/pap...

desiwriterslounge.net

CROSSING BORDERS, MAPPING TONGUES | DWL

010

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

I recall the Profumo affair. I was barely 10 in then East Pakistan & the news had arrived that our dictator Ayub Khan had attended one of the scandal-linked parties in Britain. His acolytes no doubt saw this as impressive. For me it was the first exposure to the nexus of sex, wealth, power.

020

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

On a visit to Dhaka, Bangladesh, last August, I met my 15 year old self and he reminded me how movements that shake a nation can influence children in schools. I tried to recall how our ideas got shaped at that moment. alalodulal.org/2026/01/29/j...

alalodulal.org

Remembering the Josephite Action Committee, 1969

During his visit to Dhaka in August 2025, writer Mahmud Rahman encountered a street art panel highlighting political discussions in schools. Reflecting on past student movements against dictatorshi…

010

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

Himal Southasian @himalsouthasian.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Calling all translators of Southasian languages! Original submissions for Himal Fiction Fest 2026: Southasian Fiction in Translation are now open. Please help us to spread the word to applicants. Deadline: 1 April. #SouthasianFiction #Translation #CallForSubmissions #SouthasianLiterature

066

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

'But “Someday at Christmas” ... arrives gently—strings, a winter hush—and then it does something that most Christmas songs refuse to do: it looks directly at the world’s violence and says, without metaphor, that it’s incompatible with the season’s promises.' www.kolumnmagazine.com/2025/12/25/t...

kolumnmagazine.com

The Christmas Stevie Wonder Wanted - KOLUMN Magazine

Inside Hitsville, a teenage prodigy, two Motown songwriters, and a producer with a clock in his head built an anti-war carol that still sounds like tomorrow.

010

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

"The Candy Lady was commerce braided into care—mutual aid with a price tag, childcare funded by snacks, block governance conducted in quarters. And like most infrastructure in Black America, she was simultaneously ordinary and heroic." www.kolumnmagazine.com/2025/12/21/t...

kolumnmagazine.com

The Candy Lady Was the System - KOLUMN Magazine

Across Black America, a front-room business became a neighborhood’s smallest, steadiest institution—priced in quarters and governed by respect.

030

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

Ian Fleming's James Bond spurred numerous imitations, including East Pakistan/Bangladesh's Masud Rana Agent MR-9, still continuing from Dhaka's Sheba publishers. Here Andrew Nette explores the response from the Soviet bloc. Knew nothing of this until this piece.

073

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

"If there is a collapse in Western societies, it is not merely a collapse of media or political structures. It is much worse. It may well be a collapse of the human personality."

010

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

Very true. I just began to read it and I realized I'll have to read it slower since there's so much here. One thing I want to do in 2016 is read more Nigerian literature.

010

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

Public Books @publicbooks.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

“Nicaraguan poet and lover of French letters Rubén Darío declared in his autobiography, 'I dreamed of Paris since my birth.'” New at PB: Melanie Shi on the “Paris Latino.”

publicbooks.org

“Paris Latino”: How Latin America Migrated to Europe - Public Books

“Paris est la capitale de l’Amérique latine,” said Mexican essayist Carlos Fuentes

012

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

Chantal James @chantalalive.blacksky.app · 11/12/2025

Somalis are the best. They ain't scared, just clowning on Trump. Read this.

13111

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

American Library Association @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

NEWS: The Institute of Museum & Library Services has restored ALL previously canceled federal grants to libraries, following a ruling by a federal judge in Rhode Island last month. This is a massive win for libraries & communities in every state & territory! Learn more: www.ala.org/news/2025/12...

ALL IMLS grants restored in every state & territory.

In response to a ruling from a federal judge in Rhode Island, the Institute of Museum and Library Services reinstated all previously canceled grants in every state and territory. It's a huge win for libraries and our communities.

"The reinstatement of all IMLS grants means that libraries across the country will be able to resume vital services for learning, imagination, and economic opportunity. We are breathing a sigh of relief, but the fight is not over." ALA President Sam Helmick. Show up for our libraries, American Library Association.

2767582291

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

Daisy Rockwell @shreedaisy.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

My memoir-essay on growing up with Norman Rockwell Thanksgivings is up in Vogue this morning. Here’s a small extract: www.vogue.com/article/norm...

A 1971 Ladies’ Home Journal photoshoot of Norman Rockwell’s family at a Thanksgiving meal, recreating his 1943 painting “Freedom from Want”

714847

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

More than 20 years ago, after some family deaths, I visited Bangladesh and took a trip to our father's village home. Before we left, I learned something awful in his history as a colonial policeman. The visit gave me the chance to confront his legacy and reflect on what home has come to mean to me.

020

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 02/11/2025

"There are only so many selfies, photos of my dog, and funny-shaped carpet stains I can share before I come off as a shallow, boring influencer. So, I decided to post an image in my dump of a book a roommate left behind—The Picture of Dorian Gray."

buff.ly

I Started Reading Performatively, and Turns Out Books Are Pretty Good

It all started when Instagram introduced the twenty-slide photo dumps. Trying to post the correct ratio of photos to memes to appear both off-the-g...

07416

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 25/10/2025

A visit to my father's village in Bangladesh gave me the chance to confront my father's legacy and reflect on what home has come to mean to me. I wrote an essay about this that was just published in the Washington Square Review. www.washingtonsquarereview.com/mahmud-rahman

Image of the ruins of a village building and a page from the journal essay.

050

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

Kay Orchison @kayorchison.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

It's mechanical Turks all the way down

122

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

What goes on beneath the shine of AI, an army of raters and super raters working in isolation, without job security, facing the worst ills of the industrial economy: speedup, lack of quality control, and no doubt, in the future, replacement by new AI.

01910

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 20/09/2025

Is the third boom really over? Just as South Asian translations, long underrepresented here, were beginning to show up in a slight uptick? Did we miss the bus? Is the new isolationist U.S. culture in the making responsible for the downturn?

010

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

"The more fundamental problem, though, is that both diplomats and development workers refused to engage with South Sudan as it actually existed, rather than the place they wished it to be."

021

Mahmud Rahman @mahmudwriter.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

"On the surface, there is the drama and emotion of Leman’s story. Underneath, there is literal subtext concerning philosophy, literature, history and more. It is to Ypi’s credit that none of this is really signposted; the reader is free to dig as deep as they like, or not."

010

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

If you're an author and haven't yet signed up for the Anthropic settlement, do yourself a favor (and strike a blow against AI) by checking to see if any of your books were involved. www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

theatlantic.com

Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI

Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.

47575328

Reposted by Mahmud Rahman

Daisy Rockwell @shreedaisy.bsky.social · 30/08/2025

The University of Chicago has been invaded by Daleks! Read all about it 👇

1113