Friday Links
November 7, 2025
The 2025 J.F. Powers Prize for Short Fiction
New Verse Review is open for submissions & a poem from Jesse Keith Butler: “The Voyage of St. Brendan”
Ben Christenson: Brainrot Rhetoric
Sam Kriss: In my zombie era
The Transgressive Catholicism of J.-K. Huysmans
Faith, Mental Health & the Power of Redemptive Suffering
Pray for the Dead Today
The 2025 J.F. Powers Prize for Short Fiction
You have until the end of the month!
New Verse Review is open for submissions & a poem from Jesse Keith Butler: “The Voyage of St. Brendan”
New Verse Review is open for submissions until the end of the month. Mary Grace Mangano and Daniel Cooper will be editors for this issue. NVR is one of the best things to happen to poetry in a long while so, please subscribe and, if you’ve got some poems, send them in.
Ben Christenson: Brainrot Rhetoric
Read this essay first and then read Sam Kriss’s essay, “In my zombie era.).”
In an age of overwhelming content, the hipster initially helped sort through it all by being a tastemaker themselves. Then that role was handed over to programmers who created algorithms that would sort and deliver to you the best cultural tidbits. Now, people are consuming the algorithms directly.
Sam Kriss: In my zombie era
Content warning for language and general grossness as Kriss tries to show us what the modern zombie-man sounds like:
It’s not a question of attention spans: in the zombie era, people will engage with media in whatever way allows them direct access to that pure flow. If the medium is short-form video, they’ll scroll through it rapidly.
The Transgressive Catholicism of J.-K. Huysmans
Matthew Schmitz and Julia Yost talk about the work of J. K. Huysmans. I found this episode really helpful for understanding how to read his work, which is admittedly kind of wild.
Faith, Mental Health & the Power of Redemptive Suffering
Dr. Kheriaty is a true blessing to our culture. In this video he addresses how the Catholic faith can help those who suffer from mental illness:
Struggling with mental health or depression can feel overwhelming—but in the light of faith, even our deepest wounds can be transformed. In this episode of the A Reason for Hope podcast, Catholic psychiatrist Dr. Aaron Kheriaty shares powerful insights on how prayer, meditation, and embracing redemptive suffering can lead to profound healing and lasting hope.
Pray for the Dead Today
An excellent All Souls’ Day homily from Fr. Samuel Keyes at St. John the Baptist in Bridgeport, PA on how All Souls’ Day is not a ‘celebration of life,’ or any other such nonsense. And remember to pray for the souls in purgatory today and every day, every chance you get. They need us and we need them.
