Gabriel Furshong's Avatar

Gabriel Furshong

@gabriel-furshong.bsky.social

I'm a father, writer, and teacher from Montana. Journalism and commentary at The Nation, High Country News, and elsewhere. My poetry collection Around the Country a Chasm won the 2025 Slapering Hol Press Chapbook Prize and will published by SHP in 2026.

60 Followers  |  51 Following  |  39 Posts  |  Joined: 08.05.2025  |  2.1303

Latest posts by gabriel-furshong.bsky.social on Bluesky

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So no terrorism then?

18.10.2025 20:26 β€” πŸ‘ 15637    πŸ” 3995    πŸ’¬ 433    πŸ“Œ 229
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Worms Some days he'd rub two pegs together

A #poem from 1998 by Sandra Alcosser about cycles of injustice and retribution. Never more current than now.

"I know this world, said the farmer,
I've listened to worms my whole life
stirring in slime. I know where
we come from, and despite all our slick
designs, I know where we return."

17.10.2025 15:38 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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For Many Indigenous People, Voting Is Getting Harder A century after the Indian Citizenship Act made their ancestors US citizens and acknowledged their right to vote, Indigenous Americans still face barriers to casting their ballots.

For decades Indigenous people have used the Voting Rights Act to fight for equal access to the ballot. Without the VRA, there won't be a fight. There will just be discrimination.

Resurfacing my story for @thenation.com as a reminder of what's at stake if SCOTUS rolls back voting rights 60 years.

16.10.2025 14:25 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

So nice to see someone @nytimes.com investigating why Mamadani has been so successful instead of reporting on why centrists and conservatives have been so freaked out by his success.

15.10.2025 16:27 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Missing from this insightful column is any mention of Independents' success in #Alaska: 2 current state reps, former Gov. Walker (2014-18), etc. Ds and Rs tend to agree on erecting obstacles for Indys because their coalitions depend on boxing flexible voters in with inflexible views.

15.10.2025 13:03 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Government protection for American citizens abroad is nowβ€”like so many other privileges of U.S. citizenshipβ€” selective. If your politics align, you have protection. If they do not, you have none.

14.10.2025 16:58 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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From the Dept. of Good News, via @billmckibben.bsky.social:

Over the first half of 2025, fossil fuel emissions for producing electricity actually fell, which means "the clean energy transition is not destined to be the slow, dragged-out affair most analysts would have predicted even 5 years ago."

13.10.2025 13:22 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Sonya Posmentier: β€œPeaceful action” A poem by Sonya Posmentier: β€œis / sitting in is / riding the bus is not / riding the bus is not eating / grapes is picking up a small handful of salt /…

From @posypoet.bsky.social. Written after her arrest at protests against the #genocide in #Gaza. A poem that gets underneath obvious questions and looks at them in a way you can't forget. And a reminder that nothing frightens violent power quite like nonviolent power. @yalereview.bsky.social

11.10.2025 18:18 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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2025 SHP Chapbook Contest Results The editors of Slapering Hol Press are proud to announce Gabriel Furshong's AROUND THE COUNTRY A CHASM as the winner of the 2025 Chapbook Contest. Here is a complete list of honorees from this year's ...

I'm excited to share that my small #poetry collection "Around the Country a Chasm" has won the 2025 Slapering Hol Press Chapbook Prize @hvwriterscenter.bsky.social. And, oh my, the finalists. Congratulations to @timraphael.bsky.social, Chris Lisieski, Zachary Bos, James King, and Lisa Rosinsky. πŸ™

10.10.2025 13:03 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

A classic cartoon STILL illustrates the main issue here . . .

09.10.2025 11:11 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Civilians Killed & Displaced People in war zones are killed in their homes, in markets, and on roadways, by bombs, bullets, fire, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and drones.

The number of people murdered in the War on Terror, cited above, is from The Watson School of International Affairs at Brown University.

03.10.2025 17:32 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

One of the most disorienting dimensions of the Trump era is the prominence that violators of human rights have suddenly gained as defenders of human rights. This is especially true of officials in the Bush II administration, which waged a War on Terror that killed 433,000 civilians.

03.10.2025 17:27 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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For a stubborn magazine that refuses to enter the digital world, I profiled a stubborn #GOP Governor who refuses to enter Trump's world. Marc Racicotβ€”friend of G.W. Bush & former #RNC chairβ€”contends there's no connection between our past and present troubles. But #history, too, is rather stubborn.

03.10.2025 14:39 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

My interview with Michael Workman about his documentary on the #Gaza Solidarity Encampment is up at @theprogressivemag.bsky.social.

Also, a quick reminder: 61% of all Americans and 77% of Democratic voters now support halting U.S. military funding to Israel. - August 2025 Quinnipiac University.

02.10.2025 15:25 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Things have escalated, considerably, since @nickbowlin.bsky.social wrote about the paucity of affordable housing in MT's wealthiest city for @highcountrynews.org

01.10.2025 16:16 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Documenting the Power of the Pro-Palestine Student Movement Michael T. Workman, director of β€˜The Encampments,’ speaks about the Columbia encampment, its historical connections, and the power of truth-telling.

I interviewed Michael Workman, Director of "The Encampments" @theprogressivemag.bsky.social. "Change happens when people put themselves in the crosshairs of the state," he told me, "which is what these students did [and] what the Civil Rights Movement did." #palestine #freepalestine bit.ly/42i7jsV

01.10.2025 12:24 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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The Montana Moms Who Decided Refugees Will Be Welcome in Their City - YES! Magazine Solutions Journalism Discover insightful articles on The Montana Moms Who Decided Refugees Will Be Welcome in Their City. Join us in exploring solutions for a just, sustainable, and compassionate world. #The Montana Moms ...

Lifting up this storyβ€”one of several I wrote for @yesmedia.bsky.socialβ€”about a MT mom who teamed up w/ @rescue.org after seeing NilΓΌfer Demir's photo of Alan Kurdi's body on her phone. Responsible media helps us see & respond w/ empathy. Goodbye & TY to the YES! team. bit.ly/2tqbd19 @truthout.org

30.09.2025 12:43 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Breathing with the Forest – by Marshmallow Laser Feast An immersive experience of shared breath with the Amazon rainforest.

Okay, everyone. It's time to do this and only this because this is who we are. @emergencemagazine.bsky.social #nature

28.09.2025 13:47 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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A few (rare) moments of pure comedy from the #UnitedNations general assembly. Even funnier because when I try to imagine the videographer, he appears as John Cleese silly walking escalator stairs three at a time. TY Farnaz Fassihi & @nytimes.com

25.09.2025 16:50 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

"Because here in Gaza, sometimes the only choice left is not where to goβ€”but how to face the end."

24.09.2025 20:01 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Nothing Survives Without Food

. . . how to listen to wailing . . .

24.09.2025 17:56 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

"As we take a stand to unequivocally condemn political violenceβ€”including Kirk’s killingβ€”we must also recognize that the rhetoric which Kirk and the MAGA movement have championed and profited from has exacerbated the violence woven into the fabric of American society."

18.09.2025 19:14 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Congratulations Emelie! And TY @blacklawrence.bsky.social for working so hard to give small collections a larger life. @booksky.club

18.09.2025 17:47 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Vance, White House promise to β€˜go after’ left-leaning organizations The vice president suggested targeting the Ford Foundation and the Open Society Foundations, the nonprofit run by George Soros.

How do you know you're #reading (and #writing for) a principled publication? When the #VicePresident calls it out by name. For 160 years, @thenation.com has defended
free speech for heads of state & for everyone else. Subscribe now: bit.ly/4moTZtL And TY @politico.com for telling the story.

18.09.2025 14:40 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

This month marks the 60th anniversary of the National Endowment for the #Arts + #Humanities, founded to sustain "freedom of thought, imagination, and inquiry". The operative word here is #freedom. To think. To ask. To disagree. In social democracy, an asset. In competitive autocracy, a threat.

17.09.2025 15:45 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Rana Dasgupta: Trump Is Only a Symptom of a Deeper Problem This analysis of the changing American nation-state argues that Trump's presidency is a distraction from bigger problems.

Thank you @yalereview.bsky.social for providing revelatory analysis of the social system rather than redundant criticism of the individual operator. bit.ly/4nxrATk

16.09.2025 15:31 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Spring 2025 Black River Chapbook Competition Finalists & Semifinalists! - Black Lawrence Press | Black Lawrence Press Today’s the day: here are the semifinalists and finalists of the Spring 2025 Black River Chapbook Competition! We’ve narrowed it down to 10 finalists and 11 semifinalists, which was not easy! We recei...

Very grateful to @blacklawrence.bsky.social for listing my small #poetry collection "Around the Country a Chasm" among nine other finalists for the 2025 Black River Chapbook Competition.

09.09.2025 15:32 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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And Hunger Was Given Dominion over Us, by Ezzideen Shehab Ezzideen Shehab wrote the following poem based on his work as a doctor in the Alrahma Medical Center in Jabalia, Gaza.

"They are unleashed. 'Go.' A single syllable that tears them open like wolves. Five hundred boxes. Ten thousand men. And they fight. Not out of cruelty, but because hunger is older than kindness."

Please read & share Shehab's poem on the genocide in Gaza with an intro by β€ͺ@carolynforche.bsky.social

26.08.2025 13:40 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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And Hunger Was Given Dominion over Us, by Ezzideen Shehab Ezzideen Shehab wrote the following poem based on his work as a doctor in the Alrahma Medical Center in Jabalia, Gaza.

Please take some time to read this poem, written by a doctor working in Gaza.

15.08.2025 13:42 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
How Jeffrey Goldberg and β€œThe Atlantic” Blew β€œthe Biggest Story of the Year” Given advance warning of an impending war crime, the former cheerleader for the Iraq war decided his priority was to protect his scoop.

Whether reasonable or not, most #commentary amounts to #complaint. Elsewhere, JoAnn Wypijewski reminds us why the word 'incisive' can be used to describe what happens on a butcher block and on a blank page. For the @thenation.com on how "Empire disfigures every American . . ."

04.08.2025 17:30 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

@gabriel-furshong is following 19 prominent accounts