kmstraum

Nationwide outcry over the killing of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE agent spilled into the streets of cities across the US, with protesters demanding the removal of federal immigration authorities from their communities and justice for the slain Renee Good. https://cnn.it/4sAhJj5

The way some organizations try to steadfastly gaslight their way out of paying an invoice THEY are on-written-record (in multiple places) asking YOU to send and saying (numerous times) THEY will repay is vewwy angwy siwwy-goose energy, IMHO.

People are out there flat-out lying (and acting like the rest of us don't keep receipts) or else presenting severe memory issues that should be checked by a neurologist. Politically and professionally speaking.

@lithub.com.web.brid.gy got the headline right.

Walz: "Do you have no decency? We have someone dead in their car for no reason whatsoever. I don't want to be right about this, but I said if they do this they're gonna create a chaotic situation where someone innocent is gonna get killed. And they did it."

The U.S. cannot keep it in its pants for a SINGLE DAY.

www.openletterbooks.org

2026 is feeling like a bit of drawing some boundaries, a tad of holding people accountable, a sprinkling of burning bridges 💅✨

incl. THE RIVER! open.substack.com/pub/abookfor...

This week's THE TUNNEL notes, no context.

@openletterbooks.bsky.social

Laura's THE RIVER means so much to me. To see it on the 2026 PEN Translation Prize longlist, and in such good company, is thrilling—and the cherry on top of this year!

(Drinking optional. Full cans fly harder)

(Already out of cans and TVs)

Drinking game for the president's live address: throw a can at the TV each time you catch yourself saying "this motherfucker..."

Turned on the radio to hear NPR news mid-sentence talking about how "Rudolph has been hit hard by tariffs on China" and, for more seconds than I am comfortable with, legitimately wondered how fucked things are that even reindeer are getting economically railroaded.

The Promise of the Backlist A new project that kicks off with Ingrid Winterbach's "To Hell with Cronjé."

Kicking off a deep dive into @openletterbooks.bsky.social’s backlist with this post about publishing strategies, looking at backlist trends, and Ingrid Winterbach’s TO HELL WITH CRONJÉ.

threepercentproblem.substack.com/p/the-promis...

I bought my own copy of OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE HUMAN CONDITION when Chad and I were first dating and I *still* have not read it.

I̶ ̵d̶o̶n̶'t̶ ̵k̶n̶o̶w̶ ̵w̶h̶o̶ ̵n̶e̶e̶d̶s̶ ̵t̶o̶ ̵h̶e̶a̶r̶ ̵t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̵b̶u̶t̶ you really should be proofreading your public-facing shit.

"The Ikon Maker" by Desmond Hogan A deeply sad book about parenting and sexuality.

Great chat with @chadwpost.bsky.social about this book and its author. And what to do with artists that do terrible things. And the time I conned my way into meeting Jeanette Winterson. dalkeyarchive.substack.com/p/the-ikon-m...

Scam me on a sunny day but in THIS weather?

Wherein I hope William Gass's German pronunciation in THE TUNNEL is just a bit and 100% Kohler. open.substack.com/pub/threeper...

. . . AGAIN Award-winning poet Mark Nowak returns with a harrowing documentation of the expansive landscape of MAGAmerica. Told through five abecedarian prose sections,

Giving Mark Nowak's . . . AGAIN a final proof and it is so hard to remember/believe he is writing about things that happened in 2021 and not 2025. coffeehousepress.org/products/aga...

A head-and-shoulders photo of an older man wearing glasses, a dark pinstripe suit, blue striped shirt and a patterned tie, smiling slightly while looking at the camera.

We're sad to hear of the death of David Bellos, a wonderfully witty writer, professor, translator and judge of the 2016 International Booker Prize.

Kicking off the Latvian Translator Triptych with "The River" by Laura Vinogradova Kaija Straumanis's triptych is finally here!

My Translator Triptych has released 2 of its 3 books! Who's ready for next week's gem? threepercentproblem.substack.com/p/kicking-of...

Our 6yo: So you know how everything is made of atoms? That means everything is always moving and we're never actually touching anything and that KINDA FREAKS ME OUT.

I miss the days when it was just about monsters under the bed 😵‍💫

TMR 24.2: "Trust Me, Nature Is Health" [Confidence-Man] Minerals?!? Get that outta here. Vegetable all the way . . .

And then we released the second episode of this season of the Two Month Review about Melville’s THE CONFIDENCE-MAN.

open.substack.com/pub/threeper...

Political Satire When We're Through the Looking-Glass Do Eimar O'Duffy's satires matter today? Are they "Essentials"?

And finally, I posted a piece on Dalkey Essentials and Eimar O’Duffy (mostly forgotten Irish satirist) and parody. Took me MONTHS to finally get this down. So much struggle and procrastination . . .

open.substack.com/pub/dalkeyar...