Maud Newton

Fascinating to see these types lay the blame for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—both originating in the George W. Bush administration—outside their ever-redrawn definition of conservatism.

Opinion | The Cerebral, Bach-Loving Patrician Who Wrote Trump’s Playbook

This is fairly emblematic of the thinking of the sector of Trump apologists who argue that the culture itself *forced* conservatives to hold their noses and watch Trump deliver the crackdown McCarthy started.

Nice! I only lived in Brooklyn before Queens (Williamsburg, 1999-2003; Greenpoint, 2003-2008; Kensington, 2008-2016).

I've lived in Queens since 2016!

(I mean, apart from all the other things 2025 is known for around here that are considerably more dystopian.)

Thank you, Don! I appreciate this so much.

An Ice-Cream Parlor Where Time Stands Still (Published 2021)

This is not only the oldest surviving ice cream shop in NYC, it's also the best ice cream I've ever eaten. Around here, summer 2025 is known as hot fudge sundae summer.

me, starting Lonesome Dove on wednesday: can’t wait to settle in and slowly read this gigantic book all summer long
me, emerging 96 hours later, wild-eyed, weeping, twigs in my hair: hey cowboy you ever think about how everyone you’ve ever met carries with them some enormous unspeakable loss

Conversations You Have at Twenty | Narrative Magazine Conversations You Have at Twenty by Maud Newton — Jake and I w...

“He moved me around like a rag doll, twisted me like a flex toy. I handled him like I was taking revenge on everyone who’d ever wronged me.” —excerpt from “Conversations You Have at Twenty” by Maud Newton

Join us in celebrating Narrative Prize winner Maud Newton’s @maudnewton.bsky.social birthday!

Image reads Researching Your Family History, McNally Jackson Festival, Lee Hawkins & Maud Newton, June 3, 6:30 PM, South Street Sea Port, Preservation of Record. Image also shows the authors Lee Hawkins and Maud Newton, a black man and white woman.

I'm looking forward to talking with Lee Hawkins, author of I AM NOBODY'S SLAVE: HOW UNCOVERING MY FAMILY'S HISTORY SET ME FREE, for the @mcnallyjackson.bsky.social festival! Tuesday 6/3, 6:30 pm, South St Seaport. Would love to see you fellow family historians! www.mcnallyjackson.com/event/resear...

I so resent that they have claimed "Make America Healthy Again." I also like foods without toxic chemicals, herbs as medicine, etc. And vaccines.

Image shows the back of a greige Nissan Sentra with a busted taillight and bumper stickers reading Department of Peace, Tibet, Kennedy for President, Kennedy for President (another, this one round and with a photo), United States Department of Peacebuilding, and Make America Healthy Again.

Kew Gardens, Queens (NYC)

Opinion | There’s a Link Between Therapy Culture and Childlessness

"Adult children seem increasingly likely to publicly, even righteously, cut off contact with a parent, sometimes citing emotional, physical or sexual abuse they experienced in childhood... This cultural shift has contributed to a new, nearly impossible standard for parenting." Yeah how unreasonable.

Are you struggling with your novel? It's okay. It happens to ALL of us. My 3-week course, Getting Your Novel Unstuck, returns next month. It's designed to get your novel draft moving again with a fresh charge of energy and a solid plan to carry you forward to the end.
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Enjoyed it tremendously and will be thinking about it for a good long while!!

Unboxing FINISHED COPIES of Misbehaving at the Crossroads! I can’t believe it’s here! PS Shameless plug: Have you pre-ordered your copy? 😊

I recently read @iamlisako.bsky.social's MEMORY PIECE. A good companion read to PARABLE OF THE SOWER, with Y2K era art, tech, and activism storylines that extend to the future. Recommended.

It is TENACIOUS!

Eventually I'll remove the non-native roses and lilac. And as you can see (first in second set of photos) I'm still battling some ivy at the top of the slope. But the pollinators are happy. Two other slope sections to go.

Image shows a chain-link fence and chain-link gate, a non-native climbing rose, some remaining ivy, a New England aster, butterfly milkweed, late purple aster, another butterfly milkweed, part of a carolina rose, a lot of yarrow, and in front if the rose and ivy a small black chokeberry, and a small northern bayberry.

Image shows a chain-link fence, a non-native climbing rose, some remaining ivy, a New England aster, butterfly milkweed, late purple aster, part of a carolina rose, a lot of yarrow, showy goldenrod, slender mountain mint, native climbing honeysuckle.

Image shows a chain-link fence, a non-native climbing rose and lilac, smooth blue aster, slender mountain mint, part of a virginia rose, a lot of yarrow, showy goldenrod, slender mountain mint, two common yarrow, false indigo, blavk-eyed susan sprouts, a crowded black chokeberry, fragaria virginiana, some heuchera cultivars, a creeping serviceberry, virginia clematis, some blueberries, a lot of creeping phlox.

My strategy was to plant vigorous natives in the hope that they'd outcompete any remaining ivy, honeysuckle, etc. I'd do some things differently, and the aesthetics might not impress the neighbors at present (if ever), but: triumph.

Image shows a lot of English ivy on a slope, with a huge root in the center. Also shown: butterfly milkweed, late purple aster, common yarrow, heuchera, a non-native climbing rose. and a lilac.

Image shows a lot of English ivy on a slope, with roots visible in the center. Also shown: butterfly milkweed, late purple aster, common yarrow, a rose and a lilac.

Image shows a lot of English ivy on a slope. Also shown: butterfly milkweed, late purple aster, common yarrow, a rose and a lilac.

Last year I removed the rest of the English ivy and Japanese honeysuckle from this slope in front of my house to plant natives. The ivy roots were intense. The slope is kinda treacherous when wet.

Thank you, Narrative!

Thank you, S! ❤️

Also relatable!

Relatable.

NY4P | Testify at the May 13 Executive Budget Hearing Testify at the 5/13 NYC Parks Executive Budget Hearing with the Play Fair coalition.

NYC park and nature lovers: you can submit written testimony here for the city budget hearing on parks, to ask the mayor to restore funding for our wild and green spaces. There's a script if you're pressed for time. www.ny4p.org/general/test...

Hey NYC, get ready to Get Lit! @lailalalami.com will be joining @allofitwnyc.bsky.social and @nypl.bsky.social on Tuesday, May 6, for a fantastic book club event celebrating The Dream Hotel. Get your tickets here: bit.ly/42OHGiY

Ordinarily I would be anxiously ruminating over X but am distracted by the implosion of Y.

Excellent.

Thanks for reading (and for the recommendation)!