Carlos A. Pittella
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pittella.bsky.social
Carlos A. Pittella
@pittella.bsky.social
620 followers 500 following 440 posts
latinx poet haunted by borders ⦁ he/him ⦁ researcher @assistedlab.bsky.social

linktr.ee/carlosapittella
Dante's Bureau (Anstruther, '26)
propersitions (Cactus, '25)

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ALT banner: blueskyed Shiva humming
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pittella.bsky.social
Carlos A. Pittella @pittella.bsky.social · Apr 11
Hi Sky!

My name is Carlos A. Pittella, I’m a Latinx poet, & you may find my bordercrossing/borderbeing in poems like “WATSONS”

—luv to @chaudierebooks.bsky.social for publishing this piece during National Poetry Month: chaudierebooks.blogspot.com/2025/04/nati...
WATSONS We set two death traps & we set a live one To give Watson a chance as our child pleaded, having composited & baptized the ideal mouse out of real scatterings. The live trap is a seesaw box: if you reach for the peanut-butter droplet on the far side, the weight shifts till the entrance shuts, so you’re trapped—lest a hand unlocks you bright to a cat minefield outdoors. The live trap is heavy & leaky when we return from Xmas. The downstairs renovation created an opportunity for porousness. Landlord, though, wonders how strange only our unit has gappy borders… In the air, the rotting implication our lax customs are somehow responsible for the penetrator. The morning after shivers when I remember an article on PB’s acceptable percentages of foreign matter right as my love proffers me smooth lavished on heirloom apple slices. My mouth cannot pronounce “heirloom” comfortably enough to forget its ligaments. I snack attending a government e-session on the small-print immigration changes. Landlord texts, How many trapped? Our child keeps asking, Where’s Watson? Somewhere a mouth shows cat teeth. If we leave the province, we can’t return. The e-session is recorded for our convenience. I’m waiting for the hand release.
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
pittella.bsky.social
👉 Here's my 2nd ekphrastic piece in PLAYTIME #13, alongside Frida's painting of Burbank being burbanked 🎨

ℹ️ PLAYTIME is a series of pamphlets with playful poetry, published by priapress, a side gig of Devon Gallant (who also co-runs Cactus & Accent).

More info: ko-fi.com/priapress/shop
Poem by Carlos A. Pittella, published on PLAYTIME no. 13. "1931. Burbank portrayed by Frida" If Hokusai said “plants have veins,” then graft me to any bucketful of plums. But don’t go cheap on color; what I mean is bruised Douro wine so argillaceous you’ll bitterlick for weeks. Ain’t bitter the best? Salt begs for water, sweet for sleep, sour for grin, while bitter just is—recoils upon itself black-hole-like, luring & swallowing. 1931 Frida Kahlo's painting of Burbank, featuring the famous horticulturist as a human-plant hybrid: his upper body in a dark suit is grafted (i.e., "burbanked") into a tree trunk, according to the technique he invented, while his lower legs are replaced by roots extending into the soil above his own skeleton underground.
September 7, 2026 at 9:09 PM
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
assistedlab.bsky.social
Publishing today an updated entry on Amanda Villegas's photos of her husband Chris Davis. This raw and arresting series about Chris's end-of-life influenced legislative amendments to California's End of Life Option Act.

@amandaraevillegas

assistedlab.ch/visual/this-...
Assisted Lab's Living Archive of Assisted Dying – 'This is Cancer in The End' by Amanda Villegas
Assisted Lab is a research group based at University of St Gallen, Switzerland, with research affiliates in Canada, Northern Ireland, and the Netherlands, which investigates the cultural productions –...
assistedlab.ch
September 17, 2026 at 5:38 PM
pittella.bsky.social
PLAYTIME is a series of pamphlets with playful poetry. It's published by priapress, a side gig of Devon Gallant (who also co-runs Cactus Press & Accent OpenMic).

I have 3 ekphrastic poems in PLAYTIME #13 ⚠️

Here's one, alongside the painting it's playing with 🎨

More info: ko-fi.com/priapress/shop
Poem by Carlos A. Pittella, published on PLAYTIME no. 13. "1902. Vallotton’s painting of Vuillard drawing in Honfleur" Send nudes, you say, but all my clothes grayed shadelessly. My cap now lighter, my cape darker, yet both ashed by slowburning suns… See my feet disappear into green to speak of violets & that’s perhaps the best I can do: striptell you how naked my ankles turn foliage —one skin tickly. 1902 painting by Vallotton, titled "Vuillard drawing in Honfleur": a grey-dressed red-bearded man holds a notebook, in which he draws; he stands in front of a fence that separates him from the sea in the background, while his feet disappears into green foliage.
September 6, 2026 at 11:05 PM
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
amoghaaa.bsky.social
"Since syntax" "grading sibilances into proper whistle" SUCH an honour to receive this well-crafted poem from my dear dear friend ❤️‍🔥
pittella.bsky.social Carlos A. Pittella @pittella.bsky.social · Apr 6
One of the poems in the #SpotlightSeries (curated by @robmclennan.bsky.social) is dedicated to my brilliant poet-friend @amoghaaa.bsky.social 🔥

To read both poems & the accompanying author statement: robmclennan.medium.com/spotlight-se...
Decolonial x-ray of my accent (poem by Carlos A. Pittella) for Amogha Since syntax I have an accent Greek battalion coercing my jaw into warmongering formations wicked stepmom grading sibilances into proper whistle More like several accents on accents though several never means you can sever all without mirrors bending the other day I said “mom” & did not have the first momrise sound the land said Well pruned we fall again byebyeing suns “Will we grow back” asks my love who goes by the English noise of “love” & feels falling deeply but never says it ahowling so not to scare our child staredaring the moon Here comes a feather falling “Hey d’ya hear that metal bird screeching such an axing grinding landmouths it didn’t have the right-of-way didn’t even know how to fluff n’ drop a vowel” I wanna featherly ask syntax till mom fesses up on dad (Mr. colonial dad to you) who laughs cigbutts on his lips I swear he’s gonna pee those ole bigboy pants when we ask disarmingly
April 6, 2026 at 10:26 PM
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
assistedlab.bsky.social
New in our archive 👇

Ecuadorian writer Adolfo Macías Huerta's award-winning novel Pensión Babilonia follows a couple unraveling after their daughter's death: the husband drawn into a secret society that turns suicide into ceremony

Analysis by @pittella.bsky.social

assistedlab.ch/textual/pens...
Assisted Lab's Living Archive of Assisted Dying – 'Pensión Babilonia' by Adolfo Macías Huerta
Assisted Lab is a research group based at University of St Gallen, Switzerland, with research affiliates in Canada, Northern Ireland, and the Netherlands, which investigates the cultural productions –...
assistedlab.ch
August 25, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
assistedlab.bsky.social
New in our Archive: 14-year-old Valentina Maureira's 2015 video plea to Chile's president requesting the right to die. Her appeal went viral and ignited a national debate on assisted dying in Chile. Analysis by @pittella.bsky.social

assistedlab.ch/visual/video-plea

#AssistedDying #Chile
Assisted Lab's Living Archive of Assisted Dying – Video plea by Valentina Maureira
In 2015, 14yo Valentina Maureira pleaded with Chile's president for the right to die, in a video that went viral, sparking debate in Chile and beyond.
assistedlab.ch
August 12, 2026 at 6:03 PM
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
josehernandezdz.bsky.social
Last poem in “Startlement“ by Ada Limón.
August 5, 2026 at 8:06 PM
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
shannonmattern.bsky.social
Applications are due by end-of-day ET this Friday, August 7! Please join us — and please share!
shannonmattern.bsky.social Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · Jul 6
Metro NY Library Council's Cross-Reference Coalition — an experimental school connecting librarians, archivists, grad students, artists, designers — is accepting applications for our fall class exploring PUBLIC STUDY: alternative/radical/progressive schools, lrng communities... crc.metro.org/apply/
Screenshot of the website featuring a cubist image of three figures engaging in art experiments; title: Fall 2026: Public Study; text Our Fall course, “Public Study,” will examine the past, present, and future of popular, alternative, and radical education — particularly as they shape the intellectual, political, and cultural landscape of New York City; and as they’ve intersected with established cultural heritage and educational institutions. Applications are due August 7 at 11:59pm ET.
August 4, 2026 at 4:32 PM
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
extraspecialbitter.bsky.social
Family Court —
sparrows build a nest
in the "o"
August 2, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
shamlet.bsky.social
how to deconstruct
edutainment, that tempting
televangelist
pittella.bsky.social Carlos A. Pittella @pittella.bsky.social · Jul 31
TWEAKING THE ASSIGNMENT: 😇

👉 Write a 5-7-5 haiku with 3+ words from your birth year — at least 1 per line.

[1983]

Defunct CD-ROMs...
Funny to be WAN of them
—cyberpunk Jedi

www.merriam-webster.com/time-travele...
merriam-webster.com Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · Jul 31
Find the 5 words from your birth year that perfectly describe YOUR vibe ⬇️
www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/
August 2, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
thehaikutec.bsky.social
Obviously not haiku or senryu, just 5-7-5 comic verse:

fab, grotty, and naff
each counterculture movement
Tiffanys breakfast
August 1, 2026 at 7:27 PM
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
sarahwolfson.bsky.social
Irresistible. The marriage of poets & lexicographers is my sweet spot.

oh, shark repellent
you earth-sheltered megahit
sweet warp speed yuzu

[year redacted; I grew up fearing acid rain]

Wanna play?

👉 Write a 5-7-5 haiku with 3+ words from your birth year — at least 1 per line. Link below.
pittella.bsky.social Carlos A. Pittella @pittella.bsky.social · Jul 31
TWEAKING THE ASSIGNMENT: 😇

👉 Write a 5-7-5 haiku with 3+ words from your birth year — at least 1 per line.

[1983]

Defunct CD-ROMs...
Funny to be WAN of them
—cyberpunk Jedi

www.merriam-webster.com/time-travele...
merriam-webster.com Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · Jul 31
Find the 5 words from your birth year that perfectly describe YOUR vibe ⬇️
www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/
August 1, 2026 at 1:06 PM
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
ellipticalnight.bsky.social
bunker bust that banh mi
supercell's effed up, air fryer
heat dome's drag-n-drop

[1985]
pittella.bsky.social Carlos A. Pittella @pittella.bsky.social · Jul 31
TWEAKING THE ASSIGNMENT: 😇

👉 Write a 5-7-5 haiku with 3+ words from your birth year — at least 1 per line.

[1983]

Defunct CD-ROMs...
Funny to be WAN of them
—cyberpunk Jedi

www.merriam-webster.com/time-travele...
merriam-webster.com Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · Jul 31
Find the 5 words from your birth year that perfectly describe YOUR vibe ⬇️
www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/
July 31, 2026 at 7:54 PM
pittella.bsky.social
TWEAKING THE ASSIGNMENT: 😇

👉 Write a 5-7-5 haiku with 3+ words from your birth year — at least 1 per line.

[1983]

Defunct CD-ROMs...
Funny to be WAN of them
—cyberpunk Jedi

www.merriam-webster.com/time-travele...
merriam-webster.com Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · Jul 31
Find the 5 words from your birth year that perfectly describe YOUR vibe ⬇️
www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler/
I recently discovered Merriam-Webster's Time Traveler feature which tells you which words are the same age as you. I'm convinced there are 5 words from your birth year that perfectly describe your vibe. Mine (1987): · -adhd • brain fart -dad joke -potty-mouthed -thirtysomething
July 31, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
robmclennan.bsky.social
Hannah Karpinski, Lateral Sway
robmclennan.blogspot.com/2026/06/hann...
Hannah Karpinski, Lateral Sway
Words among friends are gestural. I reach towards what I mean to say and am met before I touch it, understood in my halfway expression. That...
robmclennan.blogspot.com
June 30, 2026 at 12:45 PM
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
tomsnarsky.bsky.social
Kyla Houbolt @luaz.bsky.social in Back Patio
Bless This Discomfort No. I am tired of almost everything. Letting in what light there is. Strange dolls lined up against a mystery. It’s just a stone wall. We all see how insane it is, our world, that normal. Time to sing louder reset the clocks to no digits slow cook all plans dance on the head of a pin watch yourself spin widdershins then sunwise then both at once. Banish masks. Breathe free. After all, home is only a temporary location among the great wheeling stars and the only real question is who you are.
July 24, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
havehashad.com
"Had a bunch of debt that went to collections like parking tickets and a couple pulled teeth and there’s this whole insurance claim I didn’t square from a car accident where so the way it went down was..."

killer long single sentence from Max Steiner!

https://www.havehashad.com/ixuzk
A Credit Score Is Just 3 Numbers by Max Steiner
Had a bunch of debt that went to collections like parking tickets and a couple pulled teeth and there’s this whole insurance claim I didn’t square from a car accident where so the way it went down was…
www.havehashad.com
July 6, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
havehashad.com
brilliant poem and use of form today from Theo Nguyen !

https://www.havehashad.com/gmp6i
Image
July 18, 2026 at 4:02 PM
pittella.bsky.social
Honoured to write for @assistedlab.bsky.social about poet Daniele Pieroni’s spiritual testament.

Pieroni’s prose poem known as “Trascolorare” became entangled with the ongoing assisted-dying debate in Italy.
assistedlab.bsky.social Assisted Lab @assistedlab.bsky.social · Jul 23
New in the archive: Daniele Pieroni's 'Trascolorare' — the Tuscan poet's meditation on death written before his assisted death in May 2025. This poetical testament became entangled with the legal battles for assisted dying in Italy👇

By @pittella.bsky.social

assistedlab.ch/textual/tras...
Assisted Lab's Living Archive of Assisted Dying – ‘Trascolorare’ by Daniele Pieroni
When the poet Daniele Pieroni had a legal assisted suicide, his meditation on death known as ‘Trascolorare’ gained widespread circulation.
assistedlab.ch
July 24, 2026 at 12:03 AM
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
pittella.bsky.social
The only other poem about #JeanCharles I know of is this piece by Robin Durnford, from her fabulous 2012 collection "A Lovely Gutting".

[karmic fact] Robin & I ended up sharing an office at John Abbott & somehow realized we both had written poems about Jean Charles ❤️‍🔥
Poem 'STOCKWELL STATION' by Robin Durnford: down from London enshrined in tunnel light a blind man strokes his muzzled dog under glass eyes watching for change or escalations to Brazil where Menezes' dreams electric-cling to flowers dropped from a straining immigrant mop cleaning a city half-bombed on its way to beauty Cover of Robin Durnford's 2012 poetry collection "A Lovely Gutting," published by MQUP, featuring a high-contrast, deep red-toned photograph of a collapsed, decaying wooden structure in a barren field under a pale sky.
July 23, 2026 at 2:08 AM
pittella.bsky.social
Every July 22, thinking of #JeanCharles ❤️‍🔥, a Brazilian immigrant "wrongly" killed by the Met in 2005.

(where you read "wrongly", insert "racially/xenophobically")

I wrote a poem in memoriam Jean Charles, recreating the moments leading to his killing & questioning the right to represent his death.
July 22, 2026 at 11:36 PM
Reposted by Carlos A. Pittella
terrainorg.bsky.social
PRAx, Spring Creek Project, and Terrain.org invite poets to create original poems in response to a selection of polar science papers. Submissions close August 26.

https://www.terrain.org/2026/news/poetry-polar-science-2026/

#poetry #science #polarscience #submit #submissions
Announcing the Poetry & Polar Science Project: Submissions Close August 26 - Terrain.org
PRAx, Spring Creek Project, and Terrain.org invite poets to create original poems in response to a selection of polar science papers.
www.terrain.org
July 21, 2026 at 5:29 AM
pittella.bsky.social
« Linear at first, Florencia’s thread was spun over the course of one hour, as she kept adding posts every few minutes. Yet, it also grew like an interactive rhizome... »

I wrote for @assistedlab.bsky.social about the content, form, & legal impact of Florencia Salgueiro's viral thread.
assistedlab.bsky.social Assisted Lab @assistedlab.bsky.social · Jul 16
Sharing today our first entry from Uruguay, 1st Latin-American country to carry out a comprehensive euthanasia reform, written by @pittella.bsky.social

Florencia Salgueiro's viral social-media thread about her father Pablo, who slowly died from ALS, became part of parliamentary records there.
Assisted Lab's Living Archive of Assisted Dying – 'Hace un año murió mi padre' by Florencia Salgueiro
In 2021, Florencia Salgueiro wrote a Twitter thread that would become a parliamentary record in Uruguay, leading up to the country's euthanasia reform.
assistedlab.ch
July 16, 2026 at 6:33 PM
pittella.bsky.social
« I’m tired of hearing how nuanced it all is. It’s not.

They say it has everything to do with money & power, but what they want

us to forget is that it is about how we love. » ❤️‍🔥

—Yesenia Montilla
July 8, 2026 at 1:49 PM
pittella.bsky.social
I wrote for @assistedlab.bsky.social about the real-drama-turned-stage play of Dr. Hourmann & its legal impact.

Hourmann's story was also featured in a wonderful recent episode of the podcast @radio-ambulante.bsky.social, titled 'Historia clínica' (Medical record).
assistedlab.bsky.social Assisted Lab @assistedlab.bsky.social · Jul 6
New entry on Spanish play ‘Celebraré mi muerte’ by physician Marcos Hourmann. In 2005 he helped 82-yr-old Carmen die in a Spanish ER, and was fired & sued by the hospital.

See @pittella.bsky.social on how this documentary play tries to reclaim his narrative agency.

assistedlab.ch/performative...
Assisted Lab's Living Archive of Assisted Dying – 'Celebraré mi muerte' by Marcos Hourmann
Dr. Hourmann’s monologue invites the audience to become the jury he never had, after helping a 82-year-old woman die in Spain, in 2005.
assistedlab.ch
July 6, 2026 at 7:57 PM