1. Poetry: Watching the War by J.R. Solonche and The Ex by Charlotte Innes and Caregiving, Car Crashes, and Charcoal People by Jimmy Pappas on Rattle, Panegyric by Leila Farjami and Guava Jelly by Quinn Franzen on The Slowdown with Maggie Smith, Newborn Soul and At the Poetry Slam Championship in Kansas by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, What Stillness by Laura Foley on Hearth Poems, Mercy by Joy Sullivan shared by Patti Digh, and next in a series of permission slips by Maya Stein.

2. Glen Hansard, Irish songwriter and ‘Once’ star, dies at 56. So sad. 💔 Also, Glen Hansard, Frontman of Irish Band the Frames, Dies at 56 on The New York Times. (gift link) “The popular singer-songwriter won, with Markéta Irglová, an Oscar for the song ‘Falling Slowly’ from the film ‘Once.'”

3. A List: The things that are quieting my heart. “Where I’m Finding Peace at a Noisy Time” by Elissa Altman on Poor Man’s Feast. Also from Elissa, Where You Used to Be: On the Intersection of Art-Making and Grief.

4. The Grief Iceberg by Cheryl Strayed. “One of the great, isolating addlements of grief is the lack of language to describe that difference—that ability to function and be ‘okay’ and back to things, while suffering tremendously. We don’t have a word for that state of being, perhaps because we’re assured by dichotomies. We don’t want to make a word for the awful land of living/suffering, where the bereaved are forced to live. It is reassuring to believe there is this or that and nothing in between. It is clarifying to stand on one shore or the other. But grief has no shore, as every honest account of the experience tells us. Grief is sinking into the depths of the muddiest waters and trying to swim to the surface and eventually float.”

5. 35 delightful images from the 2026 International Pet Photography Awards.

6. Becoming the root by Lisa Olivera on Human Stuff. “Notes on being what you’re waiting for.”

7. I thought I would have it all figured out by now by Brad Montague on The Enthusiast for his 45th birthday.

8. A good idea is not an obligation by Alix on Earth & Verse. “Creative excitement, financial reality, and learning to pause.”

9. 13 surprising reasons you’re always dog tired – and what to do about it on The Guardian. “Feel lethargic even after a full night’s sleep? From not enough fibre to too much sitting, experts explain why your get up and go has got up and gone.”

10. A Glorian Is a Moment of Grace: An Interview with Terry Tempest Williams on Emergence Magazine. “In this intimate conversation, Terry Tempest Williams shares the dream that set in motion her ongoing work of attending to ‘the Glorians’—moments of wonder, loss, and joy that fuse our attention with the mystery of Earth. Terry explores how visitations from the Glorians can help us engage with a spiritual life that recognizes wildness as the taproot of our consciousness.” Not sure if I’ve said it here but I’m currently obsessed with Terry Tempest Williams, am working my way through everything she’s ever written.

1. Poetry: Twilight Glory by James Crews, Breakfast by Holly Trusiak on The Poetry Hotline, My Daughter and I Having a Snack (Possibly) by Ryan Michael Kershaw and The Perishable by Jane Zwart on Rattle, Among Strangers and The Holding by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, Ex Nothing by Cecilia Vicuña on poets.org, Untranslatable by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer on Heart Poems, and Return Path by Lesley Wheeler on The Slowdown with Maggie Smith. In other poetry news, Summer School for Wayward Poets: 27 prompts for poetry generation from Alix on Earth & Verse, and He delivers food by day and pens poetry by night. Now he’s won China’s top literary prize, (who opens his poem Low Flight from his award winning collection with these lines: “Who says spreading your wings means you have to fly high? Flying low is still flying”).

2. What My Plants Have Taught Me (So Far) by Kari on A Grace Full Life. “Nothing stays exactly the same. The way we care for something changes. There are seasons when we struggle, seasons when we need more help, and seasons when we grow in ways we never expected.” I love this.

3. Their life helped by Amy Marie Turner. I love this post so much, and needed to hear it. Thank you, Amy.

4. You’re Right To Grieve What’s Happening to America on The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz.

5. Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde, and Ms. Boodle: Robert Louis Stevenson’s Advice on Writing to a Young Woman Aspiring to Be an Author by Maria Popova on The Marginalian.

6. Beneath the surface: What looks like nothing by Jasmine on The Tiny Joy Project.

7. I turned a box into a book by Danny Gregory. “It only took me fifty years.”

8. Deserted Island Vs. Modern Human Civilization, “And other cartoons” by Connie Sun.

9. Cutting down on ultra-processed foods isn’t easy. Here are eight tips that worked for my family on The Guardian. “Experts say reducing ultra-processed foods can be challenging in a world built around convenience, but these strategies can help make it more manageable.”

10. Making the Choice to Keep Creating. “Intentionality, and the Decision to Keep Going” by Elissa Altman on Poor Man’s Feast.

11. The Rainbow Connection by Megan Falley. “What might we be completely wrong about?”

12. Uncertainty Is Not the Enemy. “The itch we can’t scratch” by Sara Kuburic on Notes from my Phone.

13. On Being Stuck in Ruts, “And how we can ease ourselves free” by Satya Robyn.

14. We’re all a little unfinished, after all by Jenny Lawson (thebloggess).

15. Leaving Xs by Daniela Meyer on Short Reads. “In search of a flow state.”

16. The E in Fine by Elizabeth Kleinfeld. “Five years out, and I’m done explaining my grief to people who think I should be over it.”

17. The Ugliest Thing on Our Porch by Brad Montague on The Enthusiast. “Every few minutes it starts singing.”

18. 7 Restful Practices to Help You Stress Less by Courtney Carver on Be More With Less.

19. Recipes I want to try: high-protein peach fritter pancakes (Facebook reel), high protein mini pepperoni pizzas (Facebook reel), Sticky Sesame Tofu with Avocado Cucumber Salad (Facebook reel), high protein tofu burritos (Facebook reel), tofu smash tacos (Facebook reel), Snickers Apple Salad (Facebook reel), and these chocolate muffins (Facebook reel).

20. Max the Fearless Horse, one of my favorite reels.

21. Artist and author Charlie Mackesy, the man behind The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse, opens up about the moment an 18-year-old fan told him, “Your book saved my life.” (Facebook reel)

22. You can’t be a single-issue voter, truth from Marc Maron. (Facebook reel).

23. And these few things I saved to my phone this week.