Robbie Maakestad
@robbiemaakestad.bsky.social
Senior Essays Editor: @therumpus.net / Associate Writing Professor / Program Director: MA in Writing / Books-in-progress: 1) CNF: A history of Jerusalem's City of David 2) Flash Fiction: Bill Murrays / Robbie & James Talk Music: https://bit.ly/RandJTM
Pinned
THE VIEW FROM BETHLEHEM by Robbie Maakestad
Israel Defense Force (IDF) Soldier: “What the fuck are you doing?” Banksy: “You’ll have to wait until it’s finished.” IDF Soldier (to subordinates): “Safeties off!” —Banksy’s account of painting the ...
xraylitmag.com
Honored to write about the West Bank Wall’s history through the lens of graffiti, a mystery I uncovered about Banksy’s art on the wall, & the ongoing oppression of Palestinians in the West Bank by the state of Israel. Thanks to @xraylitmag.bsky.social for publishing it xraylitmag.com/the-view-fro...
Reposted by Robbie Maakestad
Submissions for Last Syllable are now open through October 15! We accept submissions for poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and open genre pieces. Longform works ranging from 5,000 to 25,000 words for the fiction, nonfiction, and open categories are highly encouraged!
October 1, 2026 at 4:50 AM
Submissions for Last Syllable are now open through October 15! We accept submissions for poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and open genre pieces. Longform works ranging from 5,000 to 25,000 words for the fiction, nonfiction, and open categories are highly encouraged!
Reposted by Robbie Maakestad
Send my grad students your longform poetry and prose! Check out the open genre guidelines too!
lastsyllablelit.com/submit
lastsyllablelit.com/submit
October 1, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Send my grad students your longform poetry and prose! Check out the open genre guidelines too!
lastsyllablelit.com/submit
lastsyllablelit.com/submit
Send my grad students your long-form writing. @lastsyllablelit.bsky.social is open until Oct. 15!
lastsyllablelit.com/submit
lastsyllablelit.com/submit
Submit | Last Syllable Literary Journal
lastsyllablelit.com
October 1, 2026 at 10:55 PM
Send my grad students your long-form writing. @lastsyllablelit.bsky.social is open until Oct. 15!
lastsyllablelit.com/submit
lastsyllablelit.com/submit
Reposted by Robbie Maakestad
I wrote about sadness for @therumpus.net.
Thank you to @robbiemaakestad.bsky.social for his editorial guidance :)
Thank you to @robbiemaakestad.bsky.social for his editorial guidance :)
"We carry so much fear in our bodies. We carry so much love."
From "A Potion for Sadness," a new essay by @meganstielstra.bsky.social.
➡️ buff.ly/iqH5KkH
From "A Potion for Sadness," a new essay by @meganstielstra.bsky.social.
➡️ buff.ly/iqH5KkH
July 14, 2026 at 2:16 AM
I wrote about sadness for @therumpus.net.
Thank you to @robbiemaakestad.bsky.social for his editorial guidance :)
Thank you to @robbiemaakestad.bsky.social for his editorial guidance :)
Check out this sick Vanlife essay by Kevin Kearney at @therumpus.net therumpus.net/2026/08/13/v...
Vanlife at the End of the World - The Rumpus
I expected Wells to launch into an inspirational speech about the nomadic life, one that—like his many YouTube monologues or his appearance in Nomadland—affirmed our collective decision to abandon the...
therumpus.net
August 13, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Check out this sick Vanlife essay by Kevin Kearney at @therumpus.net therumpus.net/2026/08/13/v...
@jawicks75.bsky.social and I are back with "Episode 28: EPs - Pixies & Flea," featuring FIGHT CLUB and an essay by Jason Magabo Perez.
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-imf7d...
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-imf7d...
June 30, 2026 at 5:39 PM
@jawicks75.bsky.social and I are back with "Episode 28: EPs - Pixies & Flea," featuring FIGHT CLUB and an essay by Jason Magabo Perez.
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-imf7d...
www.podbean.com/eas/pb-imf7d...
Proud of @sarahbsouthern.bsky.social who just graduated from the @plnuwritingma.bsky.social program!
viewpoint.pointloma.edu/a-life-roote...
viewpoint.pointloma.edu/a-life-roote...
A Life Rooted in Creativity: Sarah Southern on Chasing Her Dreams | Viewpoint
How a trip to Michigan led this writer to PLNU and into a life of embracing her dreams and passions.
viewpoint.pointloma.edu
June 29, 2026 at 8:43 PM
Proud of @sarahbsouthern.bsky.social who just graduated from the @plnuwritingma.bsky.social program!
viewpoint.pointloma.edu/a-life-roote...
viewpoint.pointloma.edu/a-life-roote...
"Shorty" by @hadas.bsky.social is the boxing essay that you didn't know you needed today! @therumpus.net #RumpusEssays
therumpus.net/2026/06/26/s...
therumpus.net/2026/06/26/s...
Shorty - The Rumpus
People stopped to look. Visitors asked if I was one of Rodney’s fighters and everyone confirmed that I was.
therumpus.net
June 26, 2026 at 6:15 PM
"Shorty" by @hadas.bsky.social is the boxing essay that you didn't know you needed today! @therumpus.net #RumpusEssays
therumpus.net/2026/06/26/s...
therumpus.net/2026/06/26/s...
Reposted by Robbie Maakestad
did i mention i used to be a boxer? check out my new essay about it therumpus.net/2026/06/26/s...
Shorty - The Rumpus
People stopped to look. Visitors asked if I was one of Rodney’s fighters and everyone confirmed that I was.
therumpus.net
June 26, 2026 at 5:01 PM
did i mention i used to be a boxer? check out my new essay about it therumpus.net/2026/06/26/s...
I'm pumped to be reading at the @therumpus.net offsite #AWP26 event with @roxanegay.bsky.social, @poetpatriciasmith.bsky.social, @lydiamwrites.bsky.social, @anneliesz.bsky.social & others. Free food, free drinks (for first 80 guests), outstanding writers!
March 3, 2026 at 7:58 PM
I'm pumped to be reading at the @therumpus.net offsite #AWP26 event with @roxanegay.bsky.social, @poetpatriciasmith.bsky.social, @lydiamwrites.bsky.social, @anneliesz.bsky.social & others. Free food, free drinks (for first 80 guests), outstanding writers!
Reposted by Robbie Maakestad
We're gearing up for AWP 2026 in Baltimore!
Find us at BOOTH 1240, and click through to learn more about our Flash Fiction contest and offsite event with @roxanegay.bsky.social, @poetpatriciasmith.bsky.social, @robbiemaakestad.bsky.social, @lydiamwrites.bsky.social & more.
➡️ buff.ly/g6CdKGw
Find us at BOOTH 1240, and click through to learn more about our Flash Fiction contest and offsite event with @roxanegay.bsky.social, @poetpatriciasmith.bsky.social, @robbiemaakestad.bsky.social, @lydiamwrites.bsky.social & more.
➡️ buff.ly/g6CdKGw
March 3, 2026 at 5:30 PM
We're gearing up for AWP 2026 in Baltimore!
Find us at BOOTH 1240, and click through to learn more about our Flash Fiction contest and offsite event with @roxanegay.bsky.social, @poetpatriciasmith.bsky.social, @robbiemaakestad.bsky.social, @lydiamwrites.bsky.social & more.
➡️ buff.ly/g6CdKGw
Find us at BOOTH 1240, and click through to learn more about our Flash Fiction contest and offsite event with @roxanegay.bsky.social, @poetpatriciasmith.bsky.social, @robbiemaakestad.bsky.social, @lydiamwrites.bsky.social & more.
➡️ buff.ly/g6CdKGw
Reposted by Robbie Maakestad
I’m deeply proud to share my essay, “Knott’s Berry Farm, 1996.” Thanks so much to @therumpus.net for their continued support of my writing. This essay is 30 years in the making and a love letter to the time, to the age, to all the girls, and to that place, Knott’s 1996.
Knott’s Berry Farm, 1996 - The Rumpus
At thirteen, we were not afraid to speak aloud what we already knew—we would rather die than let them see the secrets of our bodies exposed. They had taught us enough about hiya, that we feared the we...
therumpus.net
February 26, 2026 at 6:44 PM
I’m deeply proud to share my essay, “Knott’s Berry Farm, 1996.” Thanks so much to @therumpus.net for their continued support of my writing. This essay is 30 years in the making and a love letter to the time, to the age, to all the girls, and to that place, Knott’s 1996.
$5 livestreamed Q&A with Jamaica Kincaid this afternoon via the @plnuwritingma.bsky.social Visiting Writers Series!!!
plnu.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx...
plnu.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx...
Point Loma Nazarene University | Ticketing - (LIVESTREAM) Conversation and Q&A with Jamaica Kincaid
Writer's Symposium by the Sea: (LIVESTREAM) Conversation and Q&A with Jamaica KincaidThursday, Feb. 26, 2026 at 3:00 PM Workshop and Q&A with Jamaica KincaidJamaica Kincaid is an Antiguan-American wri...
plnu.universitytickets.com
February 26, 2026 at 7:55 PM
$5 livestreamed Q&A with Jamaica Kincaid this afternoon via the @plnuwritingma.bsky.social Visiting Writers Series!!!
plnu.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx...
plnu.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx...
It adds some nice tension to the Olympics coverage if you imagine that Mike Tirico isn’t allowed to leave the NBC studio set. That miniature chaise lounge??? THEY MAKE HIM SLEEP ON IT. That tiny half folded accent blanket??? HIS ONLY SOURCE OF WARMTH.
February 20, 2026 at 7:22 AM
It adds some nice tension to the Olympics coverage if you imagine that Mike Tirico isn’t allowed to leave the NBC studio set. That miniature chaise lounge??? THEY MAKE HIM SLEEP ON IT. That tiny half folded accent blanket??? HIS ONLY SOURCE OF WARMTH.
If you read one essay this week, make it this one by Hazem Almassry at @therumpus.net about how academic language obfuscates the system of violence Israel is enacting in Gaza. #RumpusEssays therumpus.net/2026/01/21/w...
What They Don’t Teach You About Collapse - The Rumpus
The particular form of governance being implemented in Gaza has a shape to it. It’s recognizable if you know what to look for. It's the same shape that appeared in other places, at other times: the ar...
therumpus.net
January 27, 2026 at 12:04 AM
If you read one essay this week, make it this one by Hazem Almassry at @therumpus.net about how academic language obfuscates the system of violence Israel is enacting in Gaza. #RumpusEssays therumpus.net/2026/01/21/w...
In my grad workshop I taught Jamaica Kincaid's A SMALL PLACE alongside @misternagel.bsky.social's DUPLEX, CULDESAC, and his LITTLE ENGINES The Unintentionalist column. We examined humor writing and the art of digression in nonfiction. Here's my lesson plan:
January 21, 2026 at 6:07 PM
In my grad workshop I taught Jamaica Kincaid's A SMALL PLACE alongside @misternagel.bsky.social's DUPLEX, CULDESAC, and his LITTLE ENGINES The Unintentionalist column. We examined humor writing and the art of digression in nonfiction. Here's my lesson plan:
Today when we arrived at the MLKJ parade, my four-year-old shouted “MARTIN LUTHER KING PARADE JR.”
January 18, 2026 at 10:43 PM
Today when we arrived at the MLKJ parade, my four-year-old shouted “MARTIN LUTHER KING PARADE JR.”
Yesterday I had a blast teaching @elenavox.bsky.social's LET ME CLEAR MY THROAT in my grad CNF workshop. Picture 2 is of the books I passed around/used in the class period.
January 14, 2026 at 10:42 PM
Yesterday I had a blast teaching @elenavox.bsky.social's LET ME CLEAR MY THROAT in my grad CNF workshop. Picture 2 is of the books I passed around/used in the class period.
I'm a pacifist except I think that anyone who leaves up those massive yard skeletons year-round should be invaded.
January 7, 2026 at 6:18 PM
I'm a pacifist except I think that anyone who leaves up those massive yard skeletons year-round should be invaded.
Honored to be featured in @xraylitmag.bsky.social’s 2025 Sampler alongside Ryan Ashley Anderson and @writesloud.bsky.social. Many thanks to @saltpeterdraws.bsky.social for his edits on my Banksy essay!
Check out these stellar essays: xraylitmag.com/x-r-a-y-2025...
Check out these stellar essays: xraylitmag.com/x-r-a-y-2025...
January 6, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Honored to be featured in @xraylitmag.bsky.social’s 2025 Sampler alongside Ryan Ashley Anderson and @writesloud.bsky.social. Many thanks to @saltpeterdraws.bsky.social for his edits on my Banksy essay!
Check out these stellar essays: xraylitmag.com/x-r-a-y-2025...
Check out these stellar essays: xraylitmag.com/x-r-a-y-2025...
Such an honor to have my @whaleroadreview.bsky.social Bill Murray story re-envisioned as a Barbie story by @sierra.in.your.corner over on insta.
www.instagram.com/p/DSzAmfiEhep/
www.instagram.com/p/DSzAmfiEhep/
Sierra Whitney on Instagram: "“Bill Murray Likes to Dress Up as Jesus When He Creates an Altercation”
By Robbie Maakestad
This work of prose can be found in Whale Road Review’s Issue 34. @whaleroadrev...
22 likes, 1 comments - sierra.in.your.corner on December 27, 2025: "“Bill Murray Likes to Dress Up as Jesus When He Creates an Altercation”
By Robbie Maakestad
This work of prose can be found in Whale...
www.instagram.com
December 30, 2025 at 5:08 AM
Such an honor to have my @whaleroadreview.bsky.social Bill Murray story re-envisioned as a Barbie story by @sierra.in.your.corner over on insta.
www.instagram.com/p/DSzAmfiEhep/
www.instagram.com/p/DSzAmfiEhep/
Drove past the Shell gas station from A Fault In Our Stars today and my father-in-law went on about how it’s crazy that they sell gas for .60 higher per gallon than anywhere else in the city
December 27, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Drove past the Shell gas station from A Fault In Our Stars today and my father-in-law went on about how it’s crazy that they sell gas for .60 higher per gallon than anywhere else in the city
An amazing 2025 Across the Genres reading featuring Jason Magabo Perez, @margapinta2.bsky.social, and Halina Duraj.
December 16, 2025 at 9:27 PM
An amazing 2025 Across the Genres reading featuring Jason Magabo Perez, @margapinta2.bsky.social, and Halina Duraj.
'Tis the season
December 15, 2025 at 11:01 PM
'Tis the season
TONIGHTONIGHTONIGHT!!!
Featuring readings by @margapinta2.bsky.social, Halina Duraj, and Jason Magabo Perez.
Featuring readings by @margapinta2.bsky.social, Halina Duraj, and Jason Magabo Perez.
December 15, 2025 at 6:52 PM
TONIGHTONIGHTONIGHT!!!
Featuring readings by @margapinta2.bsky.social, Halina Duraj, and Jason Magabo Perez.
Featuring readings by @margapinta2.bsky.social, Halina Duraj, and Jason Magabo Perez.