Friday Links
January 16, 2026
“Ghost Sign” a poem and a conversation
Thomist Poets with Tamara Nicholl-Smith
Aillte
New Verse Review Winter 2026 issue
Ted Gioia on The Day NY Publishing Lost Its Soul
Jane Austen’s Persuasion: Conscious Love
“Ghost Sign” a poem and a conversation
The Sonneteer talks to Boris Dralyuk about his poem “Ghost Sign”
Thomist Poets with Tamara Nicholl-Smith
Scheduled for February 8, you won’t want to miss Tamara reading her gorgeous poetry.
Aillte
You can watch the first this two-part Irish-language documentary about the cliffs of Ireland on TG4. This episode features the stunning cliffs of Sliabh Liag on the coast of Donegal.
New Verse Review Winter 2026 issue
This most recent issue of NVR is a stunner. Edited by Mary Grace Mangano and D. A. Cooper, this issue has poems from Stephen Kampa, Jared Carter, Ben Myers, Sarah Cortez, Dick Davis, Seth Wieck, and so many more.
Ted Gioia on The Day NY Publishing Lost Its Soul
You can’t understand the stagnancy of publishing today without understanding this history. When Random House was a tiny independent company, it could make a tidy profit by publishing books that sold just ten thousand copies. But when you’re part of a billion dollar corporation, those books don’t move the needle—you need something bigger and splashier.
Jane Austen’s Persuasion: Conscious Love
Austen’s world seemed prissy, trivial, boring, preoccupied with the fates of country houses and landowners and indifferent to Dostoevskyan matters of life and death. All the women were simultaneously prudes and gold diggers, which is what you were apparently supposed to be in their creepy world. There wasn’t enough dirt in her cosmos, not enough of the freakishness that makes up real life. Plus, I didn’t like the costumes or the vibe of Regency England. It felt distinctly not for me.
