1. Poetry: What time is it? “The weight of time” on Poetry Unbound by Pádraig Ó Tuama, Oranges by Lauren S. Cook and All These Bright Things by Jacob Herrera Spears and A Pool of Darkness by Rhina P. Espaillat on Rattle, Record Player by Adrian Matejka and Wake Turbulence by Elizabeth Metzger and An Evening Discussion by Chen Chen on poets.org, August Prayer and Yes, We’re Open by James Crews, Trying to Gather the Fog by Jena Schwartz, No Worries by Maya Stein, Fledgling by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, What I Am Telling You, Jessica, Is That Those Chickens Are Fine by K.T. Landon, Pardon My Heart by Marcus Jackson on The Slowdown with Maggie Smith, and Prayer of Teilhard de Chardin by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. In related news, ‘You Could Make This Beautiful’, a new podcast about poetry co-hosted by Maggie Smith and Faith Salie.

2. Good stuff from Courtney Carver on Be More With Less: A Gentle List of Habits to Brighten Your Day and How to Create Motivation to Declutter Your Stuff.

3. Open Planet Is a Growing Library of 4,500 Free Videos Documenting Nature and Climate Issues Around the World. “As filmmakers, we know stories can be powerful agents of change, and with the window for action rapidly closing to address the planetary emergency, there’s never been a greater need for compelling, authentic storytelling. Open Planet will not only present the causes and impacts of climate change and nature loss but also the incredible ingenuity of those driving innovation to keep crucial sustainability targets within reach.”

4. I Love Surprises by Jami Attenberg on Craft Talk. “Mosquitos, porches, books, more.”

5. The Last Museum “is the largest search engine for museum art. It uses semantic search, allowing you to search for artworks by theme, style, subject, vibes, or any description you can imagine. We currently have around 5 million artworks indexed, and strive to eventually index all museum art in the world. This website is completely free to use. We are not affiliated with any museums or galleries, and we do not own any of the images. Much of the art we index is in the public domain. Where works are still under copyright, we show them in accordance with fair use.”

6. The Past. The Present. and “the future isn’t here yet” by Jeanette Winterson.

7. How to Defy the World and Crawl Into Your Own Skin on The Shadowed Archive. “The problem is not that the world hates you.”

8. Volunteering With Dogs Who Die by Emmy Favilla on Open Secrets Magazine. “The honor, the joys, and the grief I share with others.”

9. This gorgeous, hard truth from Michelle C. Johnson‘s recent newsletter: “Sometimes waiting is the deepest form of faith we know.”

10. Losing What She Touched by Naomi Bindman on Open Secrets magazine. “When is a ring more than a ring?”

11. The 5 people who saved the most human lives in history. “You may owe one (or more) of these people a huge thanks.”

12. This Booker longlist may have two previous winners, but it’s keen to experiment on The Guardian. “Marlon James, Douglas Stuart and Elizabeth Strout are names we know, but there’s a welcome element of surprise elsewhere.” And from last month on The Guardian in other book news, 70 brilliant books for the summer. “From dynamite debuts to must-read memoirs and magical children’s fiction, here’s our selection of this year’s hottest holiday reads. Leading authors Mark Haddon, Samantha Harvey, Zadie Smith select their favourites.”

13. The edge of the world. “Where sky greets the Earth” by Jasmine on The Tiny Joy Project.

14. Bulletproof. “What protection doesn’t protect me from” by Danny Gregory.

15. And then there was color by Jenny Lawson (thebloggess).

16. Saying No Thanks to the Unsolicited Cure by Elizabeth Kleinfeld. “On disability, dementia, and the exhaustion of fielding unsolicited advice.”

17. The Quickest Way To Learn About Someone by Sara Kuburic on Notes From My Phone.

18. This bit of wisdom from Pema Chödrön: “The peace that we are looking for is not peace that crumbles as soon as there is difficulty or chaos. Whether we’re seeking inner peace or global peace or a combination of the two, the way to experience it is to build on the foundation of unconditional openness to all that arises. Peace isn’t an experience free of challenges, free of rough and smooth, it’s an experience that’s expansive enough to include all that arises without feeling threatened.”

19. The responses to this question on Threads: “What’s a beautiful fact that sounds too good to be true but is 100% real and could brighten someone’s day? Be real.”

20. E.B. White’s Beautiful Letter to Someone Who Lost Faith in Humanity.

21. How Do You Help Someone Who is Dying? by Susan Piver.

22. On Helping My Mom Move by Alexander Chee. “A few thoughts from the adventure of moving my mom from Maine to California.”

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.