Matt Briggs

Only humans can make excellent typis.

He felt the sadness of riding a tandem bike alone.

The air smells like jam.

Close Reading for the Twenty-First Century A user’s guide to the fundamental practice of literary studies, providing context, examples, and practical exercises

You can now, at last, pre-order CLOSE READING FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY directly from Princeton UP. It's at the printer and is likely to arrive in September, though the official pub date is October 21. Can also preview TOC and intro at this link
press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...

If you don't get the occasional, “That cover letter put it all into perspective, man," then you need to up your cover letter game. I have a sweet, $497.50 Zoom class and PDF reading packet for you. Write cover letters that kick open doors!

The Parrot in the Machine | James Gleick The artificial intelligence industry depends on plagiarism, mimicry, and exploited labor, not intelligence.

“Chatbot ‘writing’ has a bland, regurgitated quality…. No chatbot could ever have said that April was the cruelest month or that a fog comes on little cat feet (though they might now, because one of their chief skills is plagiarism).” — @around.com

Why are you not writing? It has become so easy these days. You just say computer I have this idea, and it writes it for you.

Martin Creek passes over a bridge on the Taylor River Road about 3 miles from the trailhead

This is the Martin Creek Bridge about 3 miles from the trailhead. It’s not as impressive as the otter creek bridge which is made of cement and improbably in the middle of the forest.

This is a view West on the Martin Creek Bridge

A walk yeaterday to Martin Creek Bridge on the Snoqualmie Lake Trail in the Middle Fork. It was 90 degrees and then drizzling this morning.

@nicholsonbaker.bsky.social converted me long ago to the em dash comma and the em
dash semicolon combo. I'm glad ChatGPT is bringing back the em dash. But we should revive true, hairy Victorian punctuation.

R.I.P., Alice Notley Here are some quotes from the superb writer’s oeuvre:   “Writing is not therapy. That’s the last thing it is. I still have my grief.”   “I think I try with my poems to c…

R.I.P., Alice Notley.

bigother.com/2025/05/20/r...

The pixels have become so small. Progress.

Fantagraphics Bookstore observes Seattle Indie Bookstore Day on April 26 with periodic “Speed Readings” from SPREAD contributors including Stacey Levine, Willie Smith, Cristie Coffing, Hamish Todd, Matt Briggs, Eric Acosta, L.E. Cornelison, David Post, and more.

www.seattlebookstoreday.com

A watermelon with a hole bursting from inside out indicating an eruption of gas or animal from the melon flesh.

Something escaped from "inside" the watermelon. The Alien is real.

that's not an RL Burnside lyric?

Bacon wrapped in a pancake. Lived on Morgan Wallet in the summer of 84. Corey Hart and Morgan Wallet.

The Polymath of Pittsburgh Garielle Lutz is one of America’s great writers. Why has her literary genius gone unnoticed?

Garielle Lutz (author of Future Tense books, Partial List of People to Bleach and Assisted Living) is featured in The Nation. An amazing and moving profile.

Blueing the thread.

“Gulf of America” is the name of a phenomenon where reference material, encyclopedias, maps, and indexes bend away from their subject to support the edict of the authoritarian. Hurricanes are directed by Sharpies, historic names become bowdlerized, and the nuance of gender becomes castrated.

Do you remember when he complained about Kurt Cobain’s pants?

Deleted google maps and its “gulf of america” bs.

she hears what she wants to hear.

This offering of food on the Interurban Trail in Auburn sums up my 2024. Taken in July.

I think because of spellcheck, I confused an editor at a tech company when I asked which dictionary do
we use? I wanted to have the
paper edition. I look up words all of the time, and often get distracted by words that are new to me.

I really like spellcheck and the ability to click a word to get its definition. This is very useful to me. I wrote by hand, and when I can't spell a word I just scribble in the wordshape. When typing, I can always find the right word or commit to a made up word.

If this practice enforces eternal love, when your eternal love ends, do you return to the lock to cut it free?

www.thestranger.com/books/2012/1...

I guess the turkey never had a chance.

New York Journal of Books posted my review of Susanne Clarke’s wintertime booklet, The Wood at Midwinter. Her book had me thining about fantasy and anthropomorphism. #books #bookreviews

www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/...

It’s helpful they labeled the handrail with an imperative direction. Stairs are not intuitive and require some clarification.