iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This full-page ad appeared in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal. What do you think about it?

Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

What would Burroughs say about Trump? That he is… - a Mugwump addict, a Reptile with a “little round disk mouth of brown gristle”; -a black marketeer of World War III; - a creature suffering from “unspeakable mutilations of the spirit”; - the source of a foul smell like tainted cheese. #NoKings

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

You mention pruning. I’m going to be pruning a grape arbor in Central Florida at my brother’s house next week. Then we’ll head north to hike the Appalachian Trail, starting in Northern Georgia. Here’s a shot from the Blood Mountain part of the trail rising to an elevation of 4,400 feet.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Refaat Alareer’s book “If I Must Die” is available on Amazon for $16.14. Let’s empty that shelf at the Amazon warehouse right now! If you need more motivation to shuck out the cost of a croissant and coffee, then you may recall that April is National Poetry Month in the United States. #NoKings

Black and white image of Refaat Alareer, Palestinian poet and professor. Alareer was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City in December of 2023; he was 44 years old. Though his body was found alongside his brother, sister, and nephews, he and his growing family live on through iconic poems like “If I Must Die.”

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

We remember similar comments made about South Africa in the 1980s. But strikes and protests, both within and outside of the country, combined with crippling international sanctions, brought the 46 year-old Apartheid System down in 1994. Zionism is not Judaism and hopelessness is not a plan.

Image of an October 1985 newspaper article titled “Is It Vassar’s Time to Divest?” from Unscrewed, the Vassar Student Newspaper. At first, the college attempted to follow the “Sullivan Principles” tantamount to complicity with the South African Apartheid regime. Yes, Vassar’s divestiture of all holdings in companies doing business in South Africa took years to accomplish, but by 1988 full divestiture had occurred.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

The “lostness” you speak of is profound, a malignancy far beyond machine translation. We live in a world where soulless machines — essentially psychotic wooden dummies — are being granted faux personhood and the authority to make life and death decisions about the rest of us. This is not a comedy.

Poster advertising the 1978 film Magic created by Sir Richard Attenborough. The ventriloquist dummy is named Fats. He is a foul-mouthed, sinister dummy who appears to control his magician master, Corky Withers, played by Anthony Hopkins. Fats is exactly as real as the various iterations of “machine intelligence” that we call A.I.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Stupidity is shitting on your friends and then pretending NOT to be surprised when they shun you. The orange thumb says it all. #NoKings

Image of the super-moussed, comb-lined U.S. President, Donald J. Trump floundering around in the dark with his thumb in the air.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Hubris is believing that no one is shooting at your B-52s because they can’t. Hubris is like adrenalin. It feels warm and buzzy and wonderful in your bloodstream…at first. Then the spigot cranks shut and you get a new feeling: the flush of humiliation combined with a stellar cold chill. #NoKings

Photograph of John Daniel "Raizin" Caine (born 10 August 1968), an American general and venture capitalist who became the 22nd chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was four years old when the U.S. lost the Vietnam War after 12 years of atrocities, bloodletting, occupation, napalm, and humiliation.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Alana Holmberg “Nerve Pathways of the Clitoris” Photograph: Oculi for The Guardian

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

“Persian / Taco / Loser” 30” x 40” Ink on Cardboard My sign from yesterday’s NO KINGS protest in Ann Arbor, Michigan. #NoKings

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

“We can sit like this You and me My baby boy For a few seconds longer Because what else is more Important to do?” —Erin O’Connor #Instagram #Censorship

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Fintan O’Toole in his latest piece in the NYRB (“Signifying Absolutely Nothing”) conjures a telling portrait of Trump making war. We see The Donald engaged in pure mental masturbation. Titillated by the killing, he grows ever more weightless, a hot air balloon rising over Mar-a-Lago. #NoKings #NYRB

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Hermione von Preuschen (1887) Mors Imperator (“Death is the Ruler”) Oil painting, 51” x 98” — or — “Welcome to Donald’s Ballroom” #NoKings

An ermine-wrapped skeleton wearing a steel crown rests his right foot on the globe.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Congratulations to Italian poet Pamela Proietti and my co-translator Donna Mancusi-Ungaro Hart! The latest issue of Denver Quarterly is out with two of our translations. Also many thanks to editor Jane Huffman! #DenverQuarterly #poetry #PoetryCommunity #poets

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Omar is a fighter. I’m so proud of her! I knocked on 2,589 doors in four MI counties for 40 consecutive days for the Harris campaign. And Somalis? My god, they were always my favorite houses to visit. Friendly, kind, gracious, unforgettable people! #NoKings #SomaliDiaspora

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

“Last night I dreamed we flew down there,” Emily says. Intrigued, Reverend Wadsworth pours her a glass of red currant wine and slides it across the bar. “We crawled inside one of those toppled steeples of frozen methane. And gamboled and laughed and made love on our knees under stars I cannot name.”

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

VERY excited because this arrived on my doorstep today — the brand new English translation of Inga’s book. #AI #GenerativeAI #MachineLearning #AIRegulation

DISCLAIMER NOTICE
This communication was created solely by a human being to be shared with one or more other human beings. It does not contain any text originating from, or edited by, a machine intelligence (A.I.).

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Highly recommended! New play by Matthew Libby. Topic: AI and the surveillance state. Now playing at the Lucille Lortel Theatre at 121 Christopher Street, NY, NY. #stochasticparrot #NoAI

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Stephen Eric Berry “The Dressing Room” (Nikon P510, f3.3, 1/13,)

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Here is Mrinank’s letter of resignation.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Excited to finally get my hands on the Russian TV series THE MASTER AND MARGUERITA. Now that we live in a police state in America and they’re shooting us in the streets, Bulgakov’s work could not be more timely!

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Diane Aronoff “Overture” Fujicolor 35mm negative film Nurturing flowers she grows in Michigan, Aronoff constructs surreal underwater gardens and photographs them with macro lenses. She has exhibited her work at fine art shows across the United States.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

John Elkerr "Minotaur Cabaret" 30" x 22" Quill and ink on paper To see more of John Elkerr’s work, please visit: JohnElkerr.com #SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Full image and three details from John Elkerr’s “Love the Monster, Feed the Monster.” This piece intrigues me, stitched together with the flailing of a vulva-eared horse. A multi-headed grim reaper shakes a tambourine. A cute monster on a bike races forward. A penis is about to flood the zone.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

John Elkerr “Love the Monster, Feed the Monster" 30" x 22" Quill and ink on paper Please visit: johnelkerr.com #SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

This is John Elkerr. John is holding a quill and ink drawing that we will explore this week. To see more of Detroit-area artist John Elkerr’s work, go to: JohnElkerr.com #SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

John Elkerr “When Pasiphae Dreams” 12” x 18” Ink on paper To see more of Detroit-area artist John Elkerr’s work, go to: JohnElkerr.com #SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

Death may answer many questions. But whatever the answers may be, only a monstrous universe, one ruled by devils, would allow torturers to be absolved of their crimes. Dick Cheney died today. It is time to remember what America remains desperate to forget: the acts committed in his name.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

John Elkerr “Hooded Man, Leashed Man - Abu Ghraib Study No. 2" 9.5" x 7.5" Colored ink on cardboard meatbox #SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

John Elkerr "Torture By Any Other Name - Abu Ghraib Torture Study No. 1" 9.5" x 7.5" Colored ink on cardboard meatbox #SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

John Elkerr "Meet Me At Temple Bar" 26" x 22" Colored ink on paper To see more of Detroit-area artist John Elkerr’s work, go to: JohnElkerr.com #SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

This striking piece depicts a Dionysian night of dancing at Temple Bar, a beloved all-inclusive LGBTQ nightspot in the Cass Corridor neighborhood of Detroit, MI.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

John Elkerr “Capture of the Minotaur” 30” x 40” Acrylic and Oil Pastel on Canvas To see more of Detroit-area artist John Elkerr’s work, go to: JohnElkerr.com #SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

John Elkerr “The World Is an Asylum with Guns” 8.25” x 11.25” Collage with ink on paper To see more of Detroit-area artist John Elkerr’s work, go to: JohnElkerr.com #SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

John Elkerr “Circe’s Cabaret” 19” x 24” Colored ink and graphite lighter burns on paper A jitterbugging enchantress snaps her partner into an animal. Blue tears. A spasm of joy. Please visit: johnelkerr.com #SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

John Elkerr “Medusa” 7.75” x 10” Ink on ruled paper With phalluses for hair, this Gorgon reminds us of the addicting fluid secreted by Burroughs’ Mugwumps in “Naked Lunch” (1959). Please visit: JohnElkerr.com #SurrealArt #FineArt #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

We just saw Hadestown on YouTube. Superb musical! Couldn’t resist picking up one of their t-shirts. You can literally sit in the audience with this link: youtu.be/Jk7BCMZ_C2g?...

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

John Elkerr “Phoenix Draws Mars Into the Habitable Zone” 5.5” x 6” Colored ink on paper Here’s another piece demonstrating the comic genius of Elkerr. Please visit: JohnElkerr.com #ArtistonBluesky #SurrealArt #FineArt #SurrealismToday #drawing #art #ArtBrut #OutsiderArt #RawVision #Juxtapoz

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 24/10/2025

John Elkerr “Epiphany of the Minotaur” 19”x24” Quill, ink and graphite on paper To see a short film exploring the Minotaur in the work of John Elkerr, go to: vimeo.com/596984370?sh... #art #surrealism #drawing #surreal #ArtistonBluesky #SurrealArt #FineArt #SurrealismToday #drawing

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

John Elkerr “My Days Are Wind” 8”x10” Quill and colored ink on cardboard meatbox For more information about Detroit-area artist John Elkerr and his work, go to: johnelkerr.com #art #surrealism #drawing #surreal #ArtistonBluesky #SurrealArt #FineArt #SurrealismToday #drawing #BookofJob #JobBible

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

Quill and ink drawing by Detroit-area artist John Elkerr. To see more of John’s work, go to: JohnElkerr.com #artbrut #outsiderart #Detroitartists #surrealism

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

Love our fall tradition of making Sugarless Peach Ice Cream. This batch has background notes of orange, lemon, and caramel from roasting our peaches into powder. This may seem sacrilegious to some of you, but this dessert is richer and creamier than anything that rolls out of Haagen-Dazs.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

Tonight at midnight we will be lighting this Yahrzeit for Paul Celan (23 November 1920 - 20 April 1970).

Yahrzeit candle ready to be lit for Paul Celan. The candle sits alongside three essential books by or about the poet: Threadsuns, Under the Dome, and Lightduress.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

Yesterday, I studied Dali's "Feminine Nude" (1928) and tried an exercise "copying" elements of the work on 11" x 14" watercolor paper -- for example, the distressed ivory and blue-tinged background and the variously translucent-to-opaque black and gray shadows. My shadows need work.

Dali's 1928 painting "Feminine Nude" showing stark and surreal shadows around what appears to be two pink-tinged surfaces of rock fitted into one another and pitted with holes.

A drawing of a cholla skeleton with various shadows around it. The main shadow on the left appears to outline a human face looking skyward.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

In November, I fell under the spell of this haunting book by Fritzche. This book is a wormhole of slow thunder, jackboots on cobblestones, candle-lit brews of marching faces...a haunting and eerily familiar blueprint to the most popular dictatorship of the 20th century.

A massive arena of Nazi's saluting Adolf Hitler.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

In Dec. I finished Plotkin's unforgettable portraits of the lives of Berliners (circa 1933) amid the cudgel of Hitlerfaschismus. Plotkin suggests a vocabulary for the future: Casernas (detention barracks outside the control of the army or the police) and Beseitzung (occupations of bldgs) we see now.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Just lately I've devoured this book by Ryback, exploring the gritty backroom politics that swept Hitler into power, how Little Hitlers preceded the Real One, and how the 84-year old Hindenburg was squeezed into a nightmarish corner by a man garnering only 37 percent of the vote.

Takeover bookcover by Timothy Ryback, showing Hitler shaking Hindenberg's hand.

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Stephen Eric Berry @stephenericberry.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

Today I spent hours pouring over Nordland's book. Lovely, for me, not so much for the abstract paintings but for Diebenkorn's figurative period in the 1950s. My sense is Diebenkorn was a collagist & just didn't know it. Collage could've saved him countless hours of painful surgeries and repaintings.

Image of Gerald Nordland's book "Richard Diebenkorn," depicting rectangular color fields of blues, greens, and grays.

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