iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 17h

Dreamed I was working at a small, exquisite college in Ohio, where I was teaching in the rare book room, but things went askew and I lost both my top and my shoes during a swimming expedition - the rare book room had a swimming hole? I had to borrow a sweater from a baby. What does it mean?!?

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I love Where the Wild Things Are. I teach it all the time when I'm teaching fantasy lit. But damn, when you have teenagers, sometimes the wild things are in your house, roaring and gnashing, and it doesn't matter what kind of hot dinner you give them, they're still gonna eat you up.

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Ooooh I hate it when I get a book about folklore, wondering why I've never heard of this book before, something that is, in its description, totally my kind of thing, and then... Astoundingly bad writing, bad analysis, bad logic, bad everything. Whooof. No, I'm not gonna say it's name, but ?!??!?.

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Michael Jay McClure @mjmimages.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

WHAT: Saint Laurent (spring 2027) OCCASIONS: chic hopscotch or at a cocktail party you hear a ringing, a calling, & simultaneously 15 of you drop your champagne coupes & form a sisterhood—to OWN THE NIGHT IF IT WERE A SCENT: wheeled suitcase over cobblestone EMOTIONAL RANGE: 🔑/✨ #MJMfashionGuide

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Ask me how many times people who hear that I translated an Old English epic have insisted that Old English is just Shakespeare (whose plays are written in Early Modern English.) Note: someone just screwed up, it's not gonna be in Old English, folks.

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Just landed in boston for 24 hours. I have little bits of time available tomorrow. What should I do with my three rare and precious hours?

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Working on a story and the question is, should I keep on tonight until this story is done, despite the fact that I don't know how to get to the ending (which I know), or should I wait until I know how the damn ending happens. Ever thus.

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

This is the truth. Keep your brain happy. Read hard.

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Fuck's sake. When I was a kid in Idaho, there was lots of religious terror of vaccines in our rural area. Kids died often, of things no one needed to die of anymore. But we all knew rabies was a thing you didn't want to call to your side. I feel like maybe we need a national dose of Old Yeller.

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I just read this essay - it's beautiful and funny, and resonant for all - especially artists of every category. ❤️

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Tom Cox @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Almost certainly the best photograph I have ever taken from an Iron Age hillfort of the sun setting over an estuary as summer segues majestically into autumn.

The sun setting over the Severn Estuary, as viewed from the top of Uley Bury, Gloucestershire.

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Cats of Yore @catsofyore.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

A gem at the county fair art show. 🎨

Acrylic painting of an angry looking white cat staring at the viewer with one paw on a blue vase, about to push it off a mantle.

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Frivolous, but it's Sunday morning, & I have a story of small victory. I have a set of linen sheets that I've been battling for a good ten years. When I got them, I was very excited, and put them on the bed, but they were itchy & horrible. So bad they were capable of making both sleep and sex bad.

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Tonight, despite the chaos mess of my house after multiple suitcases and boxes of items from my mom's house arrived here, I made a panna cotta with peach nectarine compote, and it was easy, and soul restoring. You should make it too. It takes minimal ingredients, and it's ridiculously delicious.

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

There is no forestfall like the forestfall of the house occupied by a small dude who grows out of shoes daily and whose clothing is dropped every single place he walks. I feel like a nurse log.

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scarylawyerguy.bsky.social @scarylawyerguy.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

The entirely predicable result of having an anti-vaccine kook in charge of public health in America but Bill Cassidy couldn't work up the nerve to vote against his confirmation.

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Rik Worth 👻 @rikworth.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I think what’s important to remember about Dolly Parton’s philanthropy in the world of the wealthy is that she was a poor woman who became rich through talent rather than a rich guy who was born rich and got richer through failing up.

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Bebe Neuwirth (she/her) @bebeneuwirth.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Thank you Empire State Building. NYC ❤️ Dolly.

Empire State Building lit up in bright pink in honor of Dolly Parton. Beautiful.

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William Shakespeare @shakespeare.lol · 25/08/2026

[Exit Queen.]

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dan sinker @dansinker.com · 25/08/2026

it's possible to live a life where everyone grieves its end

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Dolly Parton was the best. Lots more to say about her, but that also covers it. I've got most of her catalogue memorized, like an ancient epic, except in country western twang, and keeping it in my mind brings me so much joy. What a magnificent force she was. ❤️

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Why aren't there night vision goggles that can detect missing children's glasses? I need a Spider-Man power that just applies to this task.

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Almost 3 months away, cleaning out my mom's house, making her memorial party, selling a lot of art... potentially more to sell, to an outside Boise audience if we can figure out how to ship it. It was months of grief & complexity, & I am so so happy to see my own bed again.

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Simon Spanton @simonguy.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

"Young-old woman hobbling. No one even looks at me. You don't really own anything. Nothing is yours forever, not your body, not your youth, not even your own mind." A wild novel from @mariadahvana.bsky.social. The story of Grendel's mother transplanted to the America of Desperate Housewives.

A photo of the 2018 Scribe edition of The Mere Wife by Maria Dahvana Headley. The cover art is by Miranda Meeks.

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Here's an obituary I wrote for my mom, trying to do her justice. There are a million stories, and about a million paintings. www.legacy.com/legacy/adria...

legacy.com

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Back in the old hometown, Boise, for my mom's memorial this week. I'm cheering myself by doing an event at Oldspeak. Not sure about ticket availability, but you never know! It's the 19th! www.eventbrite.com/e/beowulf-a-...

eventbrite.com

BEOWULF! A Reading & Conversation with Translator Maria Dahvana Headley

Step into the world of Beowulf with translator Maria Headley & discover why this thousand-plus-year-old epic is anything but ancient history

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Davoid (extra screams) @davoid.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

If a street sign says BLVD I automatically say "BELOVED" out loud

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Checking in for an Urgent Care appt (I'm okay) and they asked my language preference.

A list of preferred languages to be chosen on a medical intake form. Options include English, English, Middle and English, Old ( ca. 450-1100). English, Old has been circled in red, because hey, if I get to hear about a UTI in old English, that would be entertaining.

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

The way that sleeping in a bed that isn't your home bed, in your late 40s, can cause your whole body to turn into a toothpick village overnight, and then into a flaming heap of bad sticks.

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Alexander Chee @alexanderchee.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Mary Ruefle on The Odyssey.

Deconstruction
I think the sirens in the Odyssey sang the Odyssey, for there is nothing more seductive, more terrible, than the story of our own life, the one we do not want to hear and will do anything to listen to.

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

If you're part of the SFF Community you know Sheila - and if you don't know her personally, you know the work she's done. She's a kind and inspiring person who's been kicking ass editing and helping writers for years and years. If you've got some to give, give some. ❤️

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Clarkesworld @clarkesworldmagazine.com · 09/08/2026

Ok folks, Sheila and her family need our help. You might know her as the editor of Asimov’s, but she's also a good friend and one of the best people in the field. If you can, please... www.gofundme.com/f/help-irene...

gofundme.com

Donate to Help Irene's Parents Get Skilled Nursing Care, organized by Irene Bruce

Hi - This is Irene and Juliet, the daughters of Sheila and David. As many of… Irene Bruce needs your support for Help Irene's Parents Get Skilled Nursing Care

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 10/08/2026

I've donated and encourage other sf/f professionals and fans to do the same

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Here's a fundraiser for bridge care for Sheila Williams - the legendary SF editor. She had a series of bad health events in December & she's making major progress but...American healthcare! She was her husband's primary caregiver too. All of this is a lot. Help out if you can. gofund.me/309ee2b0c

gofund.me

Donate to Help Irene's Parents Get Skilled Nursing Care, organized by Irene Bruce

Hi - This is Irene and Juliet, the daughters of Sheila and David. As many of… Irene Bruce needs your support for Help Irene's Parents Get Skilled Nursing Care

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Endless Bookshelf @endlessbookshelf.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

John Crowley was a kind & generous man, one of a handful of really great writers I have been lucky enough to know. He showed up for the SF Symposium I organized for Grolier Club exhibition A Conversation larger than the Universe (2018). Here he is with @mariadahvana.bsky.social / it was a fun party

Maria Dahvana Headley and John Crowley at the SF Symposium for 2018 Grolier Club exhibition A Conversation larger than the Universe. Photo by Houari B

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Working, working & spending the whole summer cleaning out my mom's house & putting her to rest, while also traveling the whole west & never going home. We've been traveling since June 13. Her memorial is in Boise, 8/22, & then we fly. School starts for Grim on 8/24. I'm frriiiiiiiiiiied.

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jabbermaster.bsky.social @jabbermaster.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

The best way to honor John Crowley, take a couple minutes and read aloud the last paragraph of Little, Big.

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Matthew Cheney @melikhovo.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Farewell to John Crowley. Though he was respected and won awards, he's long seemed to me phenomenally under-appreciated for the level of his work. (The short stories alone would be enough to solidify any other career as that of genius.) One day maybe the world will catch up to his wonder.

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Endless Bookshelf @endlessbookshelf.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

in memoriam : John Crowley 1 December 1942 - 8 August 2026 a great writer, a great reader, & a great friend endlessbookshelf.net/2022/12/10/s...

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Scott Edelman @scottedelman.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Sorry to learn we've lost John Crowley, seen here during happier times at Readercon 2007 with Paul Di Filippo. Readercon was where we had our best chats, which meant even while I enjoyed this year's gathering, I was still conscious at times of his absence, and the hole it left. He will be missed.

My photo of John and Paul at the 2007 Readercon. John's in a blue polo shirt, Paul in a red plaid short-sleeved shirt. John has books and papers under one arm. Paul is wearing a Readercon ID badge.

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

I'm sorry to hear that John Crowley has left the land of the living. Whenever we happened to meet, we talked about strange wonders and lost languages. He had a mind full of magical things, and was always delighted to discuss. May he travel to an interesting ever-afterlife.

Two authors at a panel discussion table, a microphone between them. One is me, in a gold brocade dress, smiling and looking down at a book, and the other is John Crowley, author of Little, Big among many other books. He's got glasses, white hair and a small white beard, and he's smiling and looking happy. This is 2018 at the Grolier Club, and we're talking about the history of fantasy literature, at the invitation of Henry Wessells.

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Here's a Women in Translation Month event with me, at Oldspeak in Boise Idaho, the bookstore bar with the Beowulf wallpaper in the bathroom! It's August 19, and it's going to be fabulous. Come!

Colorful medieval illumination graphics surround a picture of the ever fabulous cover of my Beowulf translation, a red B, a serpenty dragon, a graphic yellow crown, along with the announcement of an event at OldSpeak bar in Boise Idaho, August 19 at 7, a reading by me and a conversation with me and Alanna Love, about Beowulf.

This photo reads:

Wednesday, Aug 19, 7pm
{literary}
BEOWULF: Reading & Conversation with Acclaimed Author & Translator, Maria Dahvana
Headley
Join us for Women in Translation month for a very special event featuring the acclaimed author and translator, Maria Dahvana Headley in conversation with friend of the Lit Room, Alanna Love. Step into the world of Beowulf with translator Maria Headley & discover why this thousand-plus-year-old epic is anything but ancient history. Join us in the mead hall at Oldspeak and find out what all the hwæt is about.

Support Women in Translation

A photo of me - short black hair shaved on the sides but curling around my face, big smile, red lipstick, pointing at the bathroom wall of Oldspeak Books in Boise, Idaho, which is papered with pages from my Beowulf Translation.

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Porter Square Books in Cambridge & Boston @portersqbooks.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

August is #WomeninTranslationMonth We don't have an event tonight so have time for recommendations. Tell us what you like and we'll recommend a book written in another language than English by a woman!

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Spent part of the evening watching the Mines of Moria section of LOTR with a new generation of viewers aged 11, 12, 21 and 22, and man, drums in the deep continue to go very hard.

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Maria Dahvana Headley @mariadahvana.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Come take a class with me! Got a few spots left, and this one's gonna be extremely fun. Also extremely full of me and my red pen. Want my editorial attention? You can get it here. Link is in the bio.

Description of my August class at the Shipman Agency Workroom. link in the bio!

THE FIRST FIVE PAGES:
MAKING A BEGINNING THAT
SELLS YOUR BOOK
W/ MARIA DAHVANA HEADLEY
4 SESSIONS:
THURSDAYS, AUGUST 6, 13, 20, 27
6:00-8:00PM ET
$325
2000 F 8.0
THE BEGINNING ISN'T LUCK
- IT'S STONE COLD CRAFT.
THIS IS A CLASS ABOUT HOOKING READERS, WHETHER THEY ARE PROSPECTIVE AGENTS AND EDITORS, OR MEMBERS OF THE READING PUBLIC.
MARIA WILL BE SHARING
TECHNIQUES FOR CLARIFYING VOICE, STYLE, CHARACTER AND ACTION, AND WORKING WITH YOU ON YOUR FIRST FIVE, WHETHER THEY ALREADY EXIST, OR NOT.

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Alex Knapp @thealexknapp.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

*standing up on the plane* Bro! Tell me we still know how to speak of kings! In the old days, everyone knew what men were: brave, bold, glory-bound. Only stories now, but I’ll sound the Spear-Danes’ song, hoarded for hungry times...

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