Kristen Lillvis

On April 29, 1986, I stood on the corner of Fifth Street and Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles and watched black smoke pour from the windows of L.A.'s Central Library. The big library, which I loved, and in which l wrote my first novel, was a victim not only of arson, but of years-decades-of neglect, political bickering, and short-term think-ing. Ironically, by the time of the fire, the building's long-needed renovations had finally been scheduled. This year, those ren-ovations, made all the more urgent by the fire, will be com-piete-Just in time for another, broader library crisis. All over the country now, public libraries are in as much danger from shortsighted budget cuts, political expediency, and neglect as the old firetrap Central Library ever was from fire. The L.A. Library fire was a metaphor for what's happening to libraries in Some libraries have al- ready been closed. Others have had to cut hours, staff, services, and acquisitions. This is not sensible! We Americans of the 1990s are sending our unskilled and semiskilled jobs away to low-wage countries just as fast as we can. We're hoping that the long-term result of this will be to stimulate enough of an increase in trade to create new, better-paying jobs. Of course new workers will need more education to get those jobs, and displaced workers will need job-market information and retraining. But meanwhile, we're saving money by cutting school budgets, closing school libraries. raising university tuitions and fees, and diminishing or closing public libraries In my most recent book, my main character, who lives in a poorer, dumber near-future time, writes, "Intelligence is ongoing, individual adaptability." And "Civilization is ... a means of combining the intelligence of many to achieve ongoing group adaptability." Just so. And in the present time of great change, public libraries, like public schools are among the best tools of adaptation and civilization that our society has. Public libraries in parti…

In 1993, Octavia E. Butler wrote a defense of public libraries.

“Public libraries in particular are the open universities of America. They're free; they're accessible to everyone… I'm a writer at least partly because I had access to public libraries.“

Tomorrow’s front page of the Minnesota Star Tribune: Jan. 23, 2026

I ❤️ E-Poetry I ❤️ E-Poetry

After a catastrophic site crash in January 2024, I ❤️ E-Poetry is back online!

Please remember that it's no longer a .com site, but a .org: iloveepoetry.org

Read all about it here:
iloveepoetry.org/news-2/i-lov...

#elit #DH

Photo, digitally horizontally reflected for readability, of letterpress wood type arranged to say "Infrastructure is something we owe to one another -Meg Smith" that's been inked in a pink to blue gradient. The first and last letters in "Infrastructure" (I and E) are much taller than the other letters, so they look like they're infrastructure holding the quote up

Photo of a letterpress print on chipboard that says "Infrastructure is something we owe to one another -Meg Smith" that's been inked in a pink to blue gradient. The first and last letters in "Infrastructure" (I and E) are much taller than the other letters, so they look like they're infrastructure holding the quote up

Printed one of my favorite #ACH2025 statements, by @megsmith.bsky.social: "Infrastructure is something we owe to one another" #DHmakes

So sorry to see this option disappear!

Hey #DigitalHumanities and #AmLit folks! @recoveryhubaww.bsky.social is offering free summer workshops to support DH projects that center the work of (global) American (trans-/queer-inclusive) women writers. If that sounds like you, register here! recoveryhub.siue.edu/2025/05/14/s...

Want to see the scope of what the NEH grant terminations is? The ACH ( @ach.bsky.social ) has compiled a database: impact.ach.org

Yes! Hi!

My former home! Enjoy Marshall and WV, Dene.

inventory

"The Liberatory Legacy of bell hooks: Pedagogies and Praxes that Heal and Disrupt"—You can read and annotate articles and works featured in the JITP Issue 23 at cuny.manifoldapp.org/projects/jit... / edited by Nikki Fragala Barnes, Summer L Hamilton, Asma Neblett, @danicasavonick.bsky.social, and me

And back on here to announce that DEBATES IN THE DIGITAL HUMANITIES 2023 is now available open-access online. Read about neoliberalism in DH, Indigenous protocols, actual fleshy bodies transformed into code, and more:

dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/read/debates...

Thank you! Just added.

Loving all the accessibility and inclusivity content at Pinball Expo this year. Played pinball with a handheld controller and also with foot pedals. One panelist, speaking about his ability to play pinball from his wheelchair, said, "Inclusivity is about a desire to have me there." Yes!

Today, we honor Marjorie C. Luesebrink, who died on Oct. 4. Marjorie was a pioneering creator of born-digital literature as M.D. Coverley and a beloved teacher and mentor to many. Much of her fascinating work is available at The Marjorie C. Luesebrink Collection: recoveryhub.siue.edu/2022/08/28/s...

Presented on assigning AI writing tasks and my students' reactions today. Lots of conversation about time and fear as motivators for students both using/not using AI and how educators can use that info to cultivate a different (not fear-based) space.