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Rilla Askew

@rilla-askew.bsky.social
258 followers 222 following 68 posts

Writer, fiction & nonfiction. Recent titles: THE HUNGRY AND THE HAUNTED: Stories (Belle Point 2024) PRIZE FOR THE FIRE (OU Press 2022)

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Rilla Askew @rilla-askew.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Jeff Tweedy: Woody Guthrie Was Right About Us www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Jeff Tweedy: What Woody Guthrie Knew About Us
The lead vocalist in Wilco reflects on what Guthrie wrote in The Times in 1943.
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Congratulations to Elizabeth Acevedo, winner of the 2027 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s and Young Adult Literature! Kathy Neustadt made the announcement tonight at the Neustadt Lit Fest after a jury of 9 writers and illustrators chose Acevedo. worldliteraturetoday.org/blog/news-an...
A photo of Elizabeth Acevedo
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Rilla Askew @rilla-askew.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Thursday, 9.24, 7 PM, Green Feather Book Company, Norman, OK
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Rilla Askew @rilla-askew.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
This is going to be a terrific reading 9.24 at Green Feather Book Company in Norman.
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Save the date for a panel on Middle East Politics and Culture! It’s part of the Neustadt Lit Fest, which runs Sept. 28–30. Here’s the full schedule: www.neustadtprize.org/the-2026-neu.... All events are free. Join us!
This graphic has photos of the four panel participants: Mohammad Almasri, Joshua Landis, Waleed F. Mahdi, and moderator Samer Shehata. The event is on Sept. 28 from 2:15 to 3:30 pm in the Scholars Room, Room 315 of the Oklahoma Memorial Union at the University of Oklahoma.
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Save the date for Ibrahim Nasrallah’s Neustadt Prize lecture and join us! You’ll find details about this and all other Neustadt Lit Fest events here: www.neustadtprize.org/the-2026-neu...
This image is a photo of Ibrahim Nasrallah sitting in a chair with an open book. The text repeats text in the post and link: Sept. 30, The 2026 Neustadt Prize Lecture from 11am to 12pm at the Meacham Auditorium of the University of Oklahoma Memorial Union. Save the date!
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
“I hope I’m bearing witness to what it’s like to belong to a community that is changing very quickly but is still tight-knit.” Renee H. Shea interviews Edwidge Danticat about her new novel, Dèy. worldliteraturetoday.org/2026/septemb...
The cover of Edwidge Danticat's novel Dèy sits next to a photo of the author.
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Libro.fm @libro.fm · 20/08/2026
We should all read more. And shop at indie bookstores more. And support public libraries more. And discuss books together more.
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
“When a war starts, it doesn’t matter whether you run a bookstore or a hardware store. War means shortage for all businesses.” The owner of a Tehran bookstore describes staying open through war—and the books to which people turn, now sold out. worldliteraturetoday.org/2026/july/bo...
A blurred photo of books on shelves
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Meyer "uses this opportunity to explore a most contested subject: ways to love deeply while remaining completely free.” Elizabeth Fifer reviews a book that “attempts the impossible—to be both a romance and an antiromance at the same time.” worldliteraturetoday.org/2026/july/en...
The cover of The End of Romance
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University of Oklahoma Press @oupress.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Out Now! "We Fought Back: The Black Legal Struggle for Education in Oklahoma Territory" by Sara Doolittle. www.oupress.com/978080619721...
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
“Well researched and compelling, Kurt Vonnegut in the USSR provides valuable insight on the relationship between a writer and his translator, both striving to create cultural bridges during adversarial times.” – Chuck Augello worldliteraturetoday.org/2026/july/ku...
The cover of Kurt Vonnegut in the USSR shows Vonnegut and one other person.
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
“I recently developed a new form: fifty-word poetry. Each poem is exactly fifty words, structured into ten lines of five words each.” Up on the WLT Weekly, Ozichukwu Ifesie interviews poet and picture book author Saumiya Balasubramaniam. worldliteraturetoday.org/blog/intervi...
A photo of Saumiya Balasubramaniam sits to the left of the cover of her book Two Drops of Brown in a Cloud of White.
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
“The fact of his writing this novel over two hundred years after independence suggests that language is as powerful as ever and the children do remember. Readers will too.” M. S. Adamska reviews this “unforgettable” novel. worldliteraturetoday.org/2026/july/du...
The cover of the novel Duels
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
“Baldwin’s importance and relevance today rest on his immense ability to identify and flay the key racial sociopolitical vices inherent in American society.” Keith Garebian reviews Nicholas Boggs’s “generally wonderful biography.” worldliteraturetoday.org/2026/july/ba...
This biography of James Baldwin has a photo of Baldwin on the cover.
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Rilla Askew, WLT editor in chief Daniel Simon, and more on why WLT's home city, Norman, Oklahoma, is a lit city!
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Rilla Askew @rilla-askew.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Take a lit trip to Norman, Oklahoma, to hear why it’s such a 🔥 city. urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
urldefense.com
Norman
Near the geographic center of the United States, within the Osage Plains, rises Norman, Oklahoma, a city whose significance in literature extends throughout the nat…
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Rilla Askew @rilla-askew.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
For poets and aspiring poets who’re looking to wrestle in words with the world we’re in now, here’s a workshop offered by the amazing Cassie Primo Steele. loft.org/classes/writ... @cassiepremosteele.bsky.social
loft.org
Writing Poetry Under Traumatic Fascism
Writing Poetry Under Traumatic Fascism is a three-hour class led by an award-winning poet and scholar of trauma that will introduce students to an innovative method of using poetry as a way of witness...
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randy r. potts @thephatic.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Nina Simone: "can't afford any more losses, oh no, oh my god They're shooting us down one by one Don't forget that Because they are Killing us one by one Well all I have to say is that those of us who know how to protect those of us that we love Stand by them and stay close to them"
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Rilla Askew @rilla-askew.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Glad to be in this good company. @agnimagazine.bsky.social @kbassiri.bsky.social
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Rilla Askew @rilla-askew.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
An honor to write of this writer’s extraordinary work.
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
The May issue is out with a cover feature ,"Reading in Egypt," + a diary from Iran, reading recs from the Philippines, and much more. Check out the table of contents here: worldliteraturetoday.org/2026/may.
An oil on canvas, The Cafe, by Reda Khalil Amin, shows musicians playing in a cafe alongside a woman reading a newspaper.
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PEN America @penamerica.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
Cannupa Hanska Luger won the 2026 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award for SURVIVA: A Future Ancestral Field Guide. We spoke with Luger at the #PENLitAwards about his reaction to winning the award, his perspective on the state of free expression, & the unrealized power of make-believe. pen.org/cannupa-hans...
pen.org
Cannupa Hanska Luger, Winner of the 2026 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, Knows the Power of Make-Believe
We spoke to 2026 PEN/Jean Stein winner Cannupa Hanska Luger about free expression and the unrealized power of make-believe.
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Rilla Askew @rilla-askew.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
The University of Oklahoma Department of English is excited to welcome National Book Award Finalist and Guggenheim Fellow Brandon Hobson as the new David A. Burr Chair in Letters; he’ll teach fiction writing in our dynamic, and growing, creative writing program, beginning Fall 2026.
Photo of author Brandon Hobson.
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
April 16 is National Librarian Day in the US. To celebrate this day, we offer fifteen books and one film for those who love libraries and the people who make them places for everyone: the librarians. worldliteraturetoday.org/blog/booklis...
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Rebecca Makkai @rebeccamakkai.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
In the country of my ancestry and my heart, my books have been shrink wrapped and considered pornography because they contain gay characters. He controlled books and the media, shuttered universities, and was a foot on the country’s neck. There’s a long road ahead — de most, a pezsgő. 🍾 🇭🇺
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Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 12/04/2026
The pro-democracy movement is already flexing its power in the streets and the voting booth. Now we need to harness our collective power as workers and consumers to demand an end to the oligarch-enabled Trump regime. Join us for the nationwide day of economic disruption on May Day: maydaystrong.org
SAVE THE DATE
MAY DAY 2026
A nationwide day of collective action
Friday, May 1, 2026
WORKERS OVER BILLIONAIRES
MAYDAYSTRONG.ORG
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Victor Orbán’s removal sends a timely signal. Corrupt kleptocratic Christian nationalism was on the ballot in Hungary today — just as it will be on the ballots that Americans will cast in November. It was repudiated abroad — may it be repudiated here in November (and beyond).
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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Hungarians showing how to win big in an unfair election: organize AND protest AND vote AND demand profound change.
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Art Candee 🍿🥤 @artcandee.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sánchez: “The Government of Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket.” 🍿
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University of Oklahoma Press @oupress.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Nothing but love for Jeff and the whole team at @magiccitybooks.bsky.social! www.nytimes.com/2026/04/02/b...
nytimes.com
Meet the ‘Literary King of Tulsa’ (Before He Moves to Seattle)
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Rilla Askew @rilla-askew.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
May Day!
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
On Tuesday, May 12 at 6pm CDT, join U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze, Noh Anothai, Wendy Call, Kola Tubosun, and Daniel Simon for a Zoom convo about their new books, with a focus on the urgency of literary translation. Link to register and more details here: worldliteraturetoday.org/blog/news-an...
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Join us Thursday and Friday (April 2–3) when writer, performance poet, and Rumi translator Haleh Liza Gafori headlines the 2026 Puterbaugh Lit Fest at the University of Oklahoma. Bring all your Rumi fans and join us! Event details here: www.puterbaughfestival.org/events/event/
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Rilla Askew @rilla-askew.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Bruce Springsteen Brings Fiery Speeches and Songs to Minneapolis www.nytimes.com/2026/04/01/a...
nytimes.com
Bruce Springsteen Brings Fiery Speeches and Songs to Minneapolis
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
“I learned to connect with the people of the 1948 Nakba—the style of language they spoke, the proverbs they used.” In our March issue, Shereen Malherbe interviews Liana Badr. worldliteraturetoday.org/2026/march/i...
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50501: The People’s Movement ❌👑 @50501movement.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Holy New York.
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Rilla Askew @rilla-askew.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
#nokings Norman OK
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Rilla Askew @rilla-askew.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
#nokings No Kings Oklahoma City 3.28.26
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Julie Cohen ❌👑 @filmmakerjulie.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Now THAT’S what I call a special guest! Bruce Springsteen joins Amy Goodman on stage to perform Streets of Minneapolis and celebrate @democracynow.org 30th Anniversary.
2 icons side by side on a church stage.
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Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
If we made the green energy transition this war would be unthinkable and these authoritarians wouldn’t be in power — not in the US, not in Iran, not in Saudi Arabia, not in Russia. Hydrocarbons are killing our freedom and just plain killing us.
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
“A good translation appeals to our ears, eyes, and heart; it is a singular endeavor and is a humanizing act.” From our March issue, enjoy an excerpt from US Poet Laureate Arthur Sze’s latest book + his conversation with Allison Adelle Hedge Coke. worldliteraturetoday.org/2026/march/b...
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Andrew Berzanskis @aberzanskis.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Let's talk book history! Next week I will give a talk on the history of @oupress.bsky.social (coauthored with Tom Kahle), "Book Publishing and the American West, Then & Now." It's part of the American West & the Humanities series at OU. Wednesday, 3/4, 1pm @ the Charles Russell Center.
Books from L-R, top row then second: Folk-Say, We Pointed Them North, Oklahoma: Foot-Loose and Fancy-Free, John Joseph Mathews, And Still the Waters Run, and Ned Christie
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AGNI @agnimagazine.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
We're in Baltimore! Join us TOMORROW NIGHT at 7pm for our AWP off-site reading, Boathouse Extravaganza: Writers (and Editors) on the Waterfront! Lia Purpura, @rika99.bsky.social, @samuelkolawole.bsky.social, and Athena Nassar will be reading for AGNI. See you there! #awp2026
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
“As I sleep, half-awake, I dream that I crack open my thorax with a surgical crowbar.” Read Catalina Infante Beovic’s short story, “A Nostalgia for Desire,” translated by Michelle Mirabella, in our March issue. @michellemirabella.bsky.social worldliteraturetoday.org/2026/march/n...
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Yesterday, ASME announced its finalists for the 61st National Magazine Awards and included WLT’s July 2025 “Gaza Voices” issue as one of five magazines in the Single-Topic category alongside The Atlantic, Bloomberg Markets, New York Magazine, and Orion! worldliteraturetoday.org/blog/news-an...
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Cassie Premo Steele, Ph.D. @cassiepremosteele.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
My daughter took this photo of me during my #vss365 livestream celebration yesterday when I was talking about how our everyday creativity can contribute to the ultimate downfall of tech bros and patriarchy. That’s why I was smiling.
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World Literature Today @worldlittoday.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
“A richness of language and vision pervades the entire collection, stories that ask us to consider the role of a caretaker.” Geri Lipschultz reviews these eleven stories in Josefowicz’s third book of fiction. worldliteraturetoday.org/2026/january...
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Okla City Free Press @freepressokc.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
NEW — With police empowered to assist or carry out immigration enforcements, Oklahomans report fear and confusion, including during a recent raid in OKC's Asian District. | Ben Fenwick, Oklahoma Watch reports:
freepressokc.com
More than 30 Oklahoma agencies sign immigration enforcement agreements
With police empowered to assist or carry out immigration enforcements, Oklahomans report fear and confusion, including during a recent raid in OKC's Asian District.
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University of Oklahoma Press @oupress.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Out Now! "Reasons We Fight: Tejanos and American Wars, 1836-1972" by Alex Mendoza documents the circumstances that shaped military attitudes among Mexican Texans, along with their shifting ideas about identity, community, nationalism—and America itself. www.oupress.com/978080619654...
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