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Mark Dery

@markdery.bsky.social
575 followers 527 following 424 posts

Cultural critic. Author. Coined "Afrofuturism." Theorized "culture jamming." Antifascist AF. Editor/writing coach for hire: coaching.markdery.com. Read me: www.markdery.com/articles

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Reposted by Mark Dery
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Wtaf is this question my university just asked me about my project?
Does the project involve any work that could be interpreted as promoting DEIA, climate change research, or non-compliant to any Presidential Executive Orders?
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Dan Sinykin @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Working on this reported essay, just published, increasingly took over my life for the last two months. PEN America did a terrible disservice with its sloppy reporting about American Jews and Israelis in publishing in July. Josh Lambert and I tried to do better. jewishcurrents.org/what-pen-ame...
jewishcurrents.org
What PEN America Got Wrong About Antisemitism in Publishing
Misleading anecdotes, flawed data, and oversimplified analyses are at the heart of a narrative of Jewish exclusion promoted by the free expression…
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Harper’s Magazine @harpers.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
“Years of propaganda had prepared Americans to accept invasive state surveillance as a necessary evil. Since the jihadis were so widely hated, it was easy to manufacture consent.” Hari Kunzru (@harikunzru.bsky.social) on art and censorship after 9/11. buff.ly/Bh7iV5c
buff.ly
Stargazing, by Hari Kunzru
Art and censorship after 9/11
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Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
BREAKING: After the Washington Post fired me last year for speaking the truth in the wake of the Charlie Kirk killing, I fought back. And I'm happy to announce: I won my case against the Washington Post. They have been ordered to reinstate me immediately. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/24/b...
nytimes.com
Washington Post Ordered to Rehire Fired Columnist Karen Attiah
An arbitrator ordered the newspaper to reinstate Karen Attiah, who was fired after posting about “white men who espouse hatred and violence” following Charlie Kirk’s killing.
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Just when you thought the craven, capitulating, parasitic managerial class at Columbia couldn't get any more loathsome:
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Heba Gowayed هبة جويد @hebagowayed.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
When my father was faculty at Cornell he was stopped by the police chief in the street & asked who he was & where he was going. When he balked at the fact that no one but him, an Arab man, was being asked, the chief said “I’m just protecting students” Same guy failed to investigate 7 rapists.
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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Artificial Intelligence and Creative Writing: A Policy of Sorts. I've posted versions before, but I update this each term following conversations with students. Here's my Fall '26 edition. In no way definitive! Learning as I go.
ABBREVIATED FOR ALT TEXT
This is a course for those interested in writing not as means to an end but as an end in itself. Recently... I read a story in New York magazine titled, “Everyone is Cheating Their Way Through College,” by James D. Walsh....
I didn’t think AI would be a temptation for creative writing students. “Everyone is Cheating Their Way Through College” persuaded me that for many students of all sorts it’s not a temptation but a condition. You sleep in a bed, you wear clothes, you don’t scream at teachers. Just the way it is. Maybe AI is becoming that, too, part of “just the way it is.” Maybe it is that already. 
	My mind raced through ideas about how to “beat” AI. The article dismantled them. Then I thought, “That’s not my job.” I’m a writer and a teacher. I’m not a cop. If you want to work with me on writing, we can do that. If you want to cheat, you have the ability to do that, too, and the truth is, I probably can’t stop you.... Per Dartmouth’s policy: “Students may not use GenAI tools for submitted coursework unless expressly permitted.” I do not permit it....
I’m interested in working with students for whom writing feels, somehow, good. Even if sometimes it’s painful. Who seek that feeling anyway. A feeling of being, of alertness. Of purpose; of intention. Of practice.
This is a course for those who are interested in using writing to experience some variation of this feeling. Sometimes it comes in a moment of clarity, sometimes in the making of a lyrical juxtaposition. There are so many more emotional, intellectual, and spiritual possibilities that arise from the act of shaping language... There is no paycheck, or even a finished book held in hand for the first time, that has ever brought me as much complicated pleasure as the arrangement of words. Maybe you’re like this, too. Or maybe you want to be. If so, I designed this course with someone like you in mind.
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Thanks, Matt. Generous of you to say. Hope you're still hurling Molotovs of the Mind.
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
#UNABOMBER #TEDKACZYNSKI
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
John: Is there a non-paywalled version of this anywhere online? If not, I'll just subscribe to NYMag (whose fulsome, Page 6 fawning over the Sag Harbor 1% is odious, but whose cultcrit is, in this case, worth my dime). BTW, tried to check in/catch up by email but the pvt address you gave me bounced.
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I've *got* to grab this; thanks for the heads-up. Ever since I read Heidegger on this ontological brain-teaser ("Why are there beings at all, and why not rather nothing?"), I've been fascinated (and unsettled) by it. It *weirds* the world.
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
That's nice. Where did MbS plant Jamal Khashoggi's dismembered remains?
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Raider @iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
This guy is a hero 👏 That ending was peak unnecessary police overreach.
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Karen Attiah @karenattiah.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Mike Pompeo has been rewarded with a teaching fellowship at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. The same school that canceled my class on media, race and international affairs. @columbiasipa.bsky.social share.google/KEvTy5yER71U...
share.google
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to join SIPA faculty
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will join the School of International and Public Affairs as a fellow at SIPA’s Institute of Global Politics in March, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
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Newshound411 @newshound411.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
It’s corruption on steroids in plain sight. He doesn’t even try to hide that he’s looting US and cashing in on insider trading. He’s the most corrupt president in American history.
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 03/10/2026
“There may come a time where we are one of the only, if not the only, option for the nation.”
motherjones.com
Inside the clandestine network of abortion-pill mules
“There may come a time where we are one of the only, if not the only, option for the nation.”
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Unless Congress reclaims its power, this will just become the new normal. A good first step would be to impeach Vought. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/02/u...
nytimes.com
National Science Foundation Diverted $1.4 Billion in Science Funds Mandated by Congress
The move, affecting about one-fifth of the National Science Foundation’s primary research budget, is the latest sign of how the White House is asserting more control over grants.
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 02/10/2026
Calling all NYC artists — painters, filmmakers, poets, musicians and more! Did you know our city provides grants to support your work every year? And this year, we're DOUBLING the amount — from $5,000 up to $10,000 per artist! Deadlines are approaching fast — apply today at nyc.gov/artistgrants.
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Everyone involved in this process — including the Palantir employees — have to be investigated and probably go to jail.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
With this monopolized media empire comes not just size but unprecedented power. The power to throw workers under the bus. The power to price-gouge because consumers have few alternatives. The power to decide which stories get told, but more importantly, which stories DON'T get told.
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Rebekah Modrak @rebekahmodrak.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
U-M has posted Orwellian signs on the public square this semester, cautioning against public protest. This week, the real leaders of U-M are GEO, @reprashida.govpeeps.us, and Amir Makled, speaking loud and clear on our Diag: “you can’t policy us from free speech” www.facebook.com/share/v/1Euj...
facebook.com
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Add to that "hails from," "helmed," and "the likes of." Public advisory: All three will be classified as Class A Literary Felonies when I become God Emperor of the Universe (any day now).
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Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
the experience of COVID really drove this home for me. It wans't the apocalypse, life went on, but a million people died and there were enormous social costs, some of which continue to this day and then when it was done most people were like "let's never think about that again"
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Joel Pinckney @jpinckney.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
On a walk this morning, my kid and I watched from the sidewalk as an unmarked car cut off a driver, another unmarked car behind, three masked ICE agents got out, removed the driver from his car and put him in theirs, left his car on the side of the road. As if nothing had happened in five minutes.
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Welcome to the Misanthropocene. #MISANTHROPOCENE
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Culture jamming lives! #CULTUREJAMMING
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Mind Cleanse for Summer's End. Edward Gorey, Cape Cod, July 1961. In my Gorey bio Born to Be Posthumous, I note that he began summering on the Cape in the 50's, "having great fun observing Old New England in the person of my fantastically typical relatives." Photo (c) Ken Morton. #EDWARDGOREY #GOREY
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darren32359.bsky.social @darren32359.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Holiday tips for the Zone of Interest.
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𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕖 𝔾𝕦𝕣𝕝 @sundaedivine.lol · 09/09/2026
Even the crickets were embarrassed.
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Backrooms, Herb Caen edition.
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Joan Hawkins @joanh.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
My book on 68 is out! Wounded Galaxies 1968 Geopolitics and Culture Wars by Joan Hawkins now out via IU Press iupress.org/978025307607...
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
"And you think you're so clever and classless and free But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see." - John Lennon, "Working Class Hero" (1970) Happy Labor Day, comrades. Class War Now! #LABORDAY #WORKERSOFTHEWORLD #WORKINGCLASS
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
New post on my Insta channel, markderywritingcoach: www.instagram.com/p/Dc6GlwiEfC... #PAULWILLIAMS #PHANTOMOFTHEPARADISE #WRITING #WRITERS #WRITINGCOACH
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Daniel Ahmad @zhugeex.com · 04/09/2026
If you're wondering what the actual crux of the article is, it's this. "The administration regularly sends the influencers memos on the mayor’s priorities" The mayor sends out press releases... That's it. That's where taxpayer money is going supposedly. On writing press releases. How terrible.
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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 04/09/2026
NEW: The federal prosecutor who charged ICE agent Christian Castro for lying about shooting Sosa-Celia has now been FIRED. He objected to the DoJ stopping him from charging a civil rights violation. And now he’s fired. www.cbsnews.com/news/ice-min...
cbsnews.com
Federal prosecutor fired after investigating ICE officer for civil rights offenses in Minnesota shooting, sources say
A federal prosecutor in Minnesota who was investigating an ICE officer for possible civil rights crimes has been fired, four sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Fetterman text to aide: “Why do I have to keep having to meet with [Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia]?” Aide: “Because they are worried about vaccines and Medicaid cuts.” Fetterman: “Well I’m not.” @wsj.com #PAsen www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Exploring Sir John Soane's Museum, London, is like walking around in his head. Full up to the rafters with Greek, Roman, and Egyptian antiquities; works by Hogarth, Turner, Fuseli, and Piranesi; and Soane's collection of some 30,000 architectural drawings, it's a cabinet of wonders. #SOANEMUSEUM
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 03/09/2026
The right claims Abdul El-Sayed's past comments constitute evidence of him being a “terrorist” and “radical Islamist” or a “jihadist sympathizer” who is “infiltrating from within”. It has also targeted El-Sayed’s family.
motherjones.com
The right is targeting Abdul El-Sayed's family members
The war on "woke" never ends.
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Forbes @forbes.com · 01/09/2026
“Potentially millions of American voters may not receive their mail-in ballot this election cycle in a timely manner, or at all,” the whistleblower warned.
forbes.com
USPS Whistleblower Warns New Rule Could Keep Voters From Getting Ballots—What To Know
“Potentially millions of American voters may not receive their mail-in ballot this election cycle in a timely manner, or at all,” the whistleblower warned.
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Raider @iwillnotbesilenced.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
ICE went to a nightclub in Memphis around 1 AM and reportedly loaded more than 100 people onto buses and vans.
We are at the point where federal immigration agents can descend on a space in the middle of the night, detain masses of people, and leave families scrambling to figure out where their loved ones were taken.
This is what authoritarianism looks like.
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Your Daily Negatiion. #DailyNegation #DailyAffirmation
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Margot Mifflin @mmifflin.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
“At the Harvards and Yales of the world, mostly wealthy students earn degrees that help them mostly stay wealthy. But with its quarter of a million students—many of whom come from households that earn less than $30,000 a year—CUNY is a one-of-a-kind mobility machine.” www.nytimes.com/2026/07/08/n...
nytimes.com
Can America’s Best Engine of Social Mobility Weather a Bad Job Market?
New York City’s public universities propel young graduates into the middle class. But some worry that a bleaker early career job market has added hurdles.
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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I got tired of waiting for the journalists at @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social to cover this (it IS summer), but this is to say that ALL the staff members in Women & Gender Studies here were laid off last week, on the top of the cutting of 5 lecturer positions in the program last year.+
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
#Pathocracy.
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Baffling the masses isn't the *goal* of art (after modernism), though trolling the bourgeoisie is a fringe benefit of the avant-garde's mission to challenge the status quo. Sometimes, that mission needs explaining (as in Duchamp's readymades, Beckett's Godot, Basquiat's hi/low hybrids, etc.).
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Yes, when art exclusively adorned cathedrals and the pleasure domes of the rich; when its role was to serve power, not baffle the masses with avant-garde self-expression. In public museums, texts provide context essential to public understanding. Which is why they shouldn't be encrypted in artspeak.
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Mark Dery @markdery.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Angela Su, "Wicked Wiccan Wicker Wish" (2019), ink on drafting film. "New Humans" show at the New Museum, NYC, 2026. Fascinating work, irritating wall text. The curatorial class really does need to jackhammer the baroque bric-a-brac of artspeak off its prose. #ANGELASU #NEWMUSEUM
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
NEW: Evidence filed in a Colorado case reveals how ICE officers are arresting people without a warrant, which is illegal unless ICE determines the person is a flight risk. A man was dragged from his car after ICE showed him a warrant for someone else and refused to check his ID to see his identity.
NEW: Evidence filed in a Colorado case reveals how ICE officers are arresting people without a warrant, which is illegal unless ICE determines the person is a flight risk.

A man was dragged from his car after ICE showed him a warrant for someone else and refused to check his ID.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 28/08/2026
NEW: We obtained recordings of 160+ emergency calls made from or about an immigration detention center where three people died within six weeks. “They will not give them medical treatment,” one caller said, seeking help for a detainee with kidney stones.
propublica.org
Listen to 911 Calls From Inside an Immigration Detention Center: “We Just Need to Take Him to the Hospital”
Reporters don’t have access to Camp East Montana, one of the largest immigration detention centers in the country. Emergency calls from the Texas facility offer a glimpse of unfolding crises faced by ...
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