John Madera
@johnmadera.bsky.social
Author of 𝘕𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 (Anti-Oedipus Press, 2024). Editor of @BigOtherMag.bsky.social. Find more at http://johnmadera.com.
Stay tuned for a new poem by Martine Bellen in BIG OTHER! In the meantime, read Bellen’s “The Doctrine of Notions,” a brilliantly inventive reimagining of a certain fairy tale as a meditation on confinement, self-invention, and freedom!
bigother.com/2025/10/04/t...
Cc: @bigothermag.bsky.social
bigother.com/2025/10/04/t...
Cc: @bigothermag.bsky.social
The Doctrine of Notions, by Martine Bellen
Left alone, an empty jug will replenish, so it has been written; mirrors will cast flashes from one’s past; an apple will bleed; an acorn will swell into a giant. How dependable is the behav…
bigother.com
October 3, 2026 at 2:31 AM
Stay tuned for a new poem by Martine Bellen in BIG OTHER! In the meantime, read Bellen’s “The Doctrine of Notions,” a brilliantly inventive reimagining of a certain fairy tale as a meditation on confinement, self-invention, and freedom!
bigother.com/2025/10/04/t...
Cc: @bigothermag.bsky.social
bigother.com/2025/10/04/t...
Cc: @bigothermag.bsky.social
Life doesn't have chapters; it’s not even a book, and if it were, it would be a messy text with missing pages, heavy redactions, flip-flopping footnotes, no discernible plot, and no index.
October 2, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Life doesn't have chapters; it’s not even a book, and if it were, it would be a messy text with missing pages, heavy redactions, flip-flopping footnotes, no discernible plot, and no index.
Wallace Stevens on Art, Poetry, the Imagination, and More
Happy birthday, Wallace Stevens!
bigother.com
October 2, 2026 at 11:46 PM
"We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world. To make injustice the only measure of our attention is to praise the Devil."
—Jack Gilbert
—Jack Gilbert
October 2, 2026 at 11:38 PM
"We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world. To make injustice the only measure of our attention is to praise the Devil."
—Jack Gilbert
—Jack Gilbert
"How can we live without the unknown in front of us?"
—René Char
(Images: On the left, my daughter somewhere in Scotland's misty highlands two years ago, unknowingly also "echoing" Caspar David Friedrich's Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog (1818) on the right.)
—René Char
(Images: On the left, my daughter somewhere in Scotland's misty highlands two years ago, unknowingly also "echoing" Caspar David Friedrich's Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog (1818) on the right.)
October 2, 2026 at 3:32 PM
"How can we live without the unknown in front of us?"
—René Char
(Images: On the left, my daughter somewhere in Scotland's misty highlands two years ago, unknowingly also "echoing" Caspar David Friedrich's Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog (1818) on the right.)
—René Char
(Images: On the left, my daughter somewhere in Scotland's misty highlands two years ago, unknowingly also "echoing" Caspar David Friedrich's Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog (1818) on the right.)
Happy birthday, BIG OTHER contributor Heller Levinson! Celebrate by reading these five Levinson poems I published in the journal in 2024! The poems were subsequently featured in Levinson's CROSSFALL (Black Widow Press) in 2025!
bigother.com/2026/10/01/f...
Cc: @bigothermag.bsky.social
bigother.com/2026/10/01/f...
Cc: @bigothermag.bsky.social
From the Archives: Five Poems, by Heller Levinson
Happy birthday, Big Other contributor Heller Levinson! Celebrate by reading these five Levinson poems, which we published in 2024! The poems were subsequently featured in Levinson’s Crossfall…
bigother.com
October 1, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Happy birthday, BIG OTHER contributor Heller Levinson! Celebrate by reading these five Levinson poems I published in the journal in 2024! The poems were subsequently featured in Levinson's CROSSFALL (Black Widow Press) in 2025!
bigother.com/2026/10/01/f...
Cc: @bigothermag.bsky.social
bigother.com/2026/10/01/f...
Cc: @bigothermag.bsky.social
Dive into Beyond the Zero’s great interview with Lance Olsen on An Inventory of Benevolent Butterflies, his marvelous novel-length portrait of Henry Darger! Along the way: memory, memoir, historiographic metafiction, and much more!
open.spotify.com/episode/34WG...
Cc: @beyondthezero.bsky.social
open.spotify.com/episode/34WG...
Cc: @beyondthezero.bsky.social
Lance Olsen - AN INVENTORY OF BENEVOLENT BUTTERFLIES
Beyond The Zero · Episode
open.spotify.com
September 29, 2026 at 5:57 PM
Dive into Beyond the Zero’s great interview with Lance Olsen on An Inventory of Benevolent Butterflies, his marvelous novel-length portrait of Henry Darger! Along the way: memory, memoir, historiographic metafiction, and much more!
open.spotify.com/episode/34WG...
Cc: @beyondthezero.bsky.social
open.spotify.com/episode/34WG...
Cc: @beyondthezero.bsky.social
One practice for being happier: laugh at yourself throughout the day. And if you can't find something to laugh about yourself, that's hilarious!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKTT...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKTT...
The Mirror Scene - Duck Soup (7/10) Movie CLIP (1933) HD
YouTube video by Movieclips
www.youtube.com
September 29, 2026 at 4:44 AM
One practice for being happier: laugh at yourself throughout the day. And if you can't find something to laugh about yourself, that's hilarious!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKTT...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKTT...
Enter your book[s] published in 2026 for a chance to win a 2026 BIG OTHER Book Award! The awards aim to recognize excellence in literature and to promote and support the work of innovative writers and adventurous presses. Deadline is January 31, 2027.
bigother.com/2026/07/27/a...
bigother.com/2026/07/27/a...
Announcing the Deadline and Guidelines for the 2026 Big Other Book Awards!
We are excited to announce the deadline and guidelines for the 2026 Big Other Book Awards! This marks the eighth annual presentation of the awards, which aim to recognize excellence in liter…
bigother.com
September 28, 2026 at 6:42 PM
Enter your book[s] published in 2026 for a chance to win a 2026 BIG OTHER Book Award! The awards aim to recognize excellence in literature and to promote and support the work of innovative writers and adventurous presses. Deadline is January 31, 2027.
bigother.com/2026/07/27/a...
bigother.com/2026/07/27/a...
Received today: Karen An-hwei Lee's MARIMO, MON AMOUR (Fiction Collective 2), which features "Einspänner," which I published in Big Other in 2025! Ka-pow!
Cc: @fictioncollective2.bsky.social and @bigothermag.bsky.social
Cc: @fictioncollective2.bsky.social and @bigothermag.bsky.social
September 23, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Received today: Karen An-hwei Lee's MARIMO, MON AMOUR (Fiction Collective 2), which features "Einspänner," which I published in Big Other in 2025! Ka-pow!
Cc: @fictioncollective2.bsky.social and @bigothermag.bsky.social
Cc: @fictioncollective2.bsky.social and @bigothermag.bsky.social
Acquired today: Rae Armantrout's SAFE ROOMS (Wesleyan University Press), which includes several poems I originally published in BIG OTHER! Ka-pow!
Cc: @weslpress.bsky.social and @bigothermag.bsky.social
Cc: @weslpress.bsky.social and @bigothermag.bsky.social
September 23, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Acquired today: Rae Armantrout's SAFE ROOMS (Wesleyan University Press), which includes several poems I originally published in BIG OTHER! Ka-pow!
Cc: @weslpress.bsky.social and @bigothermag.bsky.social
Cc: @weslpress.bsky.social and @bigothermag.bsky.social
167,000 people die every day. Millions from preventable causes. Yet a minor celebrity dies of a fentanyl overdose and suddenly it’s wall-to-wall coverage, tributes, and “gone too soon.”
Every death is tragic. Why does fame determine which ones matter?
(Image: Gustav Klimt's Death and Life (1915))
Every death is tragic. Why does fame determine which ones matter?
(Image: Gustav Klimt's Death and Life (1915))
September 22, 2026 at 6:03 PM
167,000 people die every day. Millions from preventable causes. Yet a minor celebrity dies of a fentanyl overdose and suddenly it’s wall-to-wall coverage, tributes, and “gone too soon.”
Every death is tragic. Why does fame determine which ones matter?
(Image: Gustav Klimt's Death and Life (1915))
Every death is tragic. Why does fame determine which ones matter?
(Image: Gustav Klimt's Death and Life (1915))
I’m delighted to be part of Seven Spouting Devils—One Night, an evening of fiction and poetry presented by Spuyten Duyvil Press at this year’s Brooklyn Book Festival. The free event is at Young Ethel’s in Brooklyn tonight at 8:00 p.m.
brooklynbookfestival.org/event/seven-...
brooklynbookfestival.org/event/seven-...
brooklynbookfestival.org
September 21, 2026 at 6:40 PM
I’m delighted to be part of Seven Spouting Devils—One Night, an evening of fiction and poetry presented by Spuyten Duyvil Press at this year’s Brooklyn Book Festival. The free event is at Young Ethel’s in Brooklyn tonight at 8:00 p.m.
brooklynbookfestival.org/event/seven-...
brooklynbookfestival.org/event/seven-...
"You can’t depend on your judgment when your imagination is out of focus."
—Mark Twain
—Mark Twain
September 20, 2026 at 5:20 PM
"You can’t depend on your judgment when your imagination is out of focus."
—Mark Twain
—Mark Twain
Lance Olsen’s An Inventory of Benevolent Butterflies (Dzanc Books) gets an enthusiastic review in Publishers Weekly, which calls it “admirable” and an “arresting portrait of a troubled figure.”
(Message me for a review copy, etc.)
www.publishersweekly.com/9781938603921
@publisherswkly.bsky.social
(Message me for a review copy, etc.)
www.publishersweekly.com/9781938603921
@publisherswkly.bsky.social
An Inventory of Benevolent Butterflies by undefined
Olsen (Absolute Away) gives voice to outsider artist Henry Darger, who died in 1973, in this admirable narrative. From a Chicago...
www.publishersweekly.com
September 19, 2026 at 5:41 PM
Lance Olsen’s An Inventory of Benevolent Butterflies (Dzanc Books) gets an enthusiastic review in Publishers Weekly, which calls it “admirable” and an “arresting portrait of a troubled figure.”
(Message me for a review copy, etc.)
www.publishersweekly.com/9781938603921
@publisherswkly.bsky.social
(Message me for a review copy, etc.)
www.publishersweekly.com/9781938603921
@publisherswkly.bsky.social
"The everyday practice is simply to develop a complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions, and to all people, experiencing everything totally without mental reservations and blockages, so that one never withdraws or centralizes into oneself."
—Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
—Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
September 19, 2026 at 2:38 AM
"The everyday practice is simply to develop a complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions, and to all people, experiencing everything totally without mental reservations and blockages, so that one never withdraws or centralizes into oneself."
—Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
—Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
"Chaos should be regarded as extremely good news."
—Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
—Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
September 19, 2026 at 2:38 AM
"Chaos should be regarded as extremely good news."
—Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
—Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
"Utopia signifies not the unrealizable, but the unrealized. Yesterday’s utopia could turn into today’s reality."
—Théodore Monod
—Théodore Monod
September 19, 2026 at 2:37 AM
"Utopia signifies not the unrealizable, but the unrealized. Yesterday’s utopia could turn into today’s reality."
—Théodore Monod
—Théodore Monod
"Images contaminate us like viruses...They are not informative images which inform us in the sense of feedback, and of comprehension, but in the sense of the epidemic, in the sense of contamination."
—Paul Virilio
—Paul Virilio
September 19, 2026 at 2:37 AM
"Images contaminate us like viruses...They are not informative images which inform us in the sense of feedback, and of comprehension, but in the sense of the epidemic, in the sense of contamination."
—Paul Virilio
—Paul Virilio
"It is, in fact, impossible clearly to distinguish economic war from information war, since each involves the same hegemonic ambition of making commercial and military exchanges interactive."
—Paul Virilio
—Paul Virilio
September 19, 2026 at 2:36 AM
"It is, in fact, impossible clearly to distinguish economic war from information war, since each involves the same hegemonic ambition of making commercial and military exchanges interactive."
—Paul Virilio
—Paul Virilio
"All of us are already civilian soldiers, without knowing it…The great stroke of luck for the military class’s terrorism is that no one recognizes it. People don’t recognize the militarized part of their identity, of their consciousness."
—Paul Virilio
—Paul Virilio
September 19, 2026 at 2:35 AM
"All of us are already civilian soldiers, without knowing it…The great stroke of luck for the military class’s terrorism is that no one recognizes it. People don’t recognize the militarized part of their identity, of their consciousness."
—Paul Virilio
—Paul Virilio
"When you invent the ship, you also invent the shipwreck; when you invent the plane you also invent the plane crash; and when you invent electricity, you invent electrocution...Every technology carries its own negativity, which is invented at the same time as technical progress."
—Paul Virilio
—Paul Virilio
September 19, 2026 at 2:34 AM
"When you invent the ship, you also invent the shipwreck; when you invent the plane you also invent the plane crash; and when you invent electricity, you invent electrocution...Every technology carries its own negativity, which is invented at the same time as technical progress."
—Paul Virilio
—Paul Virilio
Delighted to publish Ann Lauterbach's "Prelude & Consequence" in BIG OTHER today! It's a marvelous poem where shifting clauses generate and disrupt meaning within a world of historical rupture and uncertainty.
bigother.com/2026/09/18/p...
Cc: @bigothermag.bsky.social
bigother.com/2026/09/18/p...
Cc: @bigothermag.bsky.social
Prelude & Consequence, by Ann Lauterbach
1. Looming the dark riddle repeated harbor sky an episode gradual but less than as if scooped from blue neither recollected nor answered as if a laminate hovers over the dark ridd…
bigother.com
September 18, 2026 at 5:44 PM
Delighted to publish Ann Lauterbach's "Prelude & Consequence" in BIG OTHER today! It's a marvelous poem where shifting clauses generate and disrupt meaning within a world of historical rupture and uncertainty.
bigother.com/2026/09/18/p...
Cc: @bigothermag.bsky.social
bigother.com/2026/09/18/p...
Cc: @bigothermag.bsky.social
"I write, as I said before, to untie myself, to stand clear.
To extricate an absence,
The ultimate hush of language,
(fricative, verb, and phoneme),
the silence that turns silence off."
—Charles Wright
To extricate an absence,
The ultimate hush of language,
(fricative, verb, and phoneme),
the silence that turns silence off."
—Charles Wright
September 18, 2026 at 4:02 AM
"I write, as I said before, to untie myself, to stand clear.
To extricate an absence,
The ultimate hush of language,
(fricative, verb, and phoneme),
the silence that turns silence off."
—Charles Wright
To extricate an absence,
The ultimate hush of language,
(fricative, verb, and phoneme),
the silence that turns silence off."
—Charles Wright
Happy birthday, William Carlos Williams, whose radical proposition placed imagination at the heart of reality: a way of seeing the world with greater intensity.
bigother.com/2026/09/17/w...
bigother.com/2026/09/17/w...
William Carlos Williams on Language, Writing, Reading, Poetry, and More
Happy birthday, William Carlos Williams, whose radical proposition placed imagination at the heart of reality: a way of seeing the world with greater intensity. For Williams, poetry describes the w…
bigother.com
September 17, 2026 at 10:58 PM
Happy birthday, William Carlos Williams, whose radical proposition placed imagination at the heart of reality: a way of seeing the world with greater intensity.
bigother.com/2026/09/17/w...
bigother.com/2026/09/17/w...