Matt Lehman Wiens

Another fun fact - Abecedarians were also a group of early Anabaptists who rejected all sources of human learning, even including the ABCs. Hyperbole, of course, but as someone with Anabaptist roots it was a theme I kept in mind while writing this piece.

Abecedarian Lament by M.R. Lehman Wiens - The Metaworker Literary Magazine "...echoes of Sunday School pull me from my book to the unyielding curve of a church bench." - excerpt from "Abecedarian Lament", creative non-fiction by M.R. Lehman Wiens #MetaworkerMonday

My latest piece, Abecedarian Lament, was just published at @themetaworker.bsky.social! It’s an acrostic using every letter of the alphabet, a poetry form with roots all the way back to early Hebrew scriptures.

themetaworker.com/2025/10/13/a...

Someone just gave me two dimes and a nickel in exchange for my Aldi cart. Truly a lawless era.

A man of the people! Huzzah!

6 days after Soviet troops invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, a Prague paper published these “10 Commandments”:
‘When a Soviet soldier comes to you, YOU:
1. Don’t know
2. Don’t care
3. Don’t tell
4. Don’t have
5. Don’t know how to
6. Don’t give
7. Can’t do
8. Don’t sell
9. Don’t show
10. Do nothing’

TACO never fails.

How am I doing? Well in 2017 The West Wing was my comfort show, and now it’s Veep.

Go protest tomorrow!

And ALSO featuring:

A lovely magical realism short story by @mrlwwrites.bsky.social
Queer flash fiction by @leoastrum.bsky.social
Optimistic sci-fi by @element115.bsky.social
Reprint cozy fantasy by @rajivmote.bsky.social
A novelette about longing, wonder and nature by @clhellisen.bsky.social

The oil industry buys off Congress. No action on climate.

The NRA buys off Congress. No action on guns.

Insurance companies buy off Congress. No action on health care.

The list goes on and on.

Money in politics is the root of our dysfunction.

Over the Water M.R. Lehman Wiens is a Pushcart-nominated writer and stay-at-home dad living in Kansas.

My latest bit of flash fiction just went up at Wild Umbrella Literary Journal: www.thewildumbrella.com/post/over-th...

But what if we force people to care? Oh wait…

Tinned fish and drag shows: I can understand if it’s not your first choice, but until you’ve experienced a good one, I don’t think you get to have an opinion on the matter.

Also, if you try to take them from me I will be stabbing your hand with a sardine fork.

Another fun side effect of our hellish timeline: I started crying while reading The Lorax to my kid.

One thing I learned from the pandemic was that efficient systems aren’t very resilient, and resilient systems aren’t very efficient. Given the choice between an efficient government and a resilient one, I choose resilient every day.

I’m no political expert, but as the parent of a toddler…did the President skip his nap?

Advice for Submitting to Literary Magazines in the Coming Totalitarian Dystopia SOME BASICS ABOUT HOW LITERARY MAGAZINES WORK The most important thing to remember about the people who read your submissions is that they do not h...

"Most editors have second jobs, family lives, and their own creative projects. Also, many are busy preparing for the end-times by burying bags of rice in the fields, scavenging for copper, or selling their bodies for ammunition."

"MAGA is profoundly corrupt, unmistakably antidemocracy, and most importantly, MAGA is explicitly a Nazi movement. You may have replaced a swastika with a red hat, but that is what it is. I will now engage in the time-honored American tradition of peaceful civil disobedience.” Chris Kluwe

“Tyranny requires your fear and your silence and your compliance. Democracy requires your courage. So gather your justice and humanity, and do not let the tragic spirit of despair overcome us.” JB Pritzker

Some quotes:

US Congress: Fire Elon Musk Elon Musk is orchestrating a coup of the US government. In the past 48 hours he’s gained access to a vast range of sensitive information of millions of citizens, businesses, and foreign development pr

Elon Musk is orchestrating a coup of the US government.

In the past 48 hours he’s gained access to a vast range of sensitive information of millions of citizens, businesses, and foreign development projects.

This is as serious as it gets, and it puts the entire world in danger.

FireElon.org

We Choose To Fight: Action Call · Indivisible This Sunday night, February 2 at 8pm ET/5pm PT, you’re invited to join Indivisible, MoveOn, Working Families Party, and a coalition of other organizations for an action call. During the call, you will...

mobilize.us/s/gmNauD

In case you’re looking for a way to act:

I have called my congressional representatives every day since January 20th. Every time I've called, it's been about a different issue.

Do I think I'm changing their minds? Hell no.

Am I willing to be silent about denouncing transphobia, Nazi salutes, anti-vaxxers, or mass deportations? Hell no.

Short Circuit - Short Circuit #16 Short Circuit - Short Circuit #16. Write a short story and take part in the Short Circuit - Short Circuit #16 prize to share your taste for writing

Excited to have my latest piece of flash fiction published in Short Circuit #16! You can find it, and a lot of other fantastic writing, here:

short-edition.com/en/contest/s...