A Letdown Squid

Donald Quist / PhD / author of HARBORS (2016) & FOR OTHER GHOSTS (2018) & TO THOSE BOUNDED (2021) / Creator of past-ten.com / Website: donaldquist.com

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i Love I LOVE BOOSTERS (2026)

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Renee Gladman

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Impressions: Black Spirit in America Playlist (MUS_H_Li 1338_Murph + MU Art & Archeology Museum)

Co-curating the IMPRESSIONS: BLACK SPIRIT IN AMERICA exhibit for the University of Missouri, remains one of the coolest things I've ever gotten to do. And it continues to evolve and touch the lives of young scholars. Here is a playlist curated by musicologist Dr. Megan Murph and students of her "Music and Culture." Together, they selected songs to accompany each piece of art from the exhibit at the MU Museum of Art & Archaeology. Feel free to listen along as you walk through the galleries, which will be on display through May!

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"Listening at the Seams: Curating a Relations-Based Audio Narrative of the Schuylkill River"

Abstract

The Schuylkill River is a biologically diverse feature of the place now known as Philadelphia; its inhabitants have long used its waters for transportation, recreation, and food gathering. The river carries with it a living biochemical memory reflecting vast interconnected socio-technical practices informed by a legacy of industrialism that have shaped the contours of the river’s ecology and the dynamic engagements between human and non-human cohabitants. Researchers and governmental agencies may consider the health of the river by analyzing the morphology of its aquatic species, especially its fish (Sun et al., 2009; Harris, 1995; Norris, 1999). Though many narratives surrounding the river are not limited to health or pollution, they often tell their stories through objects in much the same way. Researchers have investigated how oil refinery complexes serve as sites of understanding and the ways in which the Schuylkill River shaped cultural, social, and economic practices through the prevalence of catfish consumption. While the list is long and varied, each narrative relies on some object, or constellation of objects, to express these stories. We consider the selection of these objects an important methodological concern.

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Science | AAAS

“Cooperation by non-kin during birth underpins sperm whale social complexity”

SCIENCE. 26 Mar 2026. Vol 391, Issue 6792. pp. 1355-1360

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life is extremely difficult as an unmoored person who is chronically sentimental. I can't believe who and where i've been, where and what i am now, and yet can't fathom where i will be in the future. it is heartbreaking.

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Not particularly religious but found this framework useful when thinking about the us of Artificial Intelligence going forward in academia.

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MWP INTERVIEW WITH DONALD QUIST

"Writing is literal alchemy", an MWP interview with Donald Quist by Meditative Week of Poetry

Donald Quist is an award-winning fiction writer and essayist. He is an assistant professor at the University of Missouri and the executive e

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Got to chat with my good friend, Nick Hilbourn, about life, death and poetry!

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ONE OF THEM DAYS (2025)

I get it. This movie felt like watching Friday (1995) again for the first time. And the chemistry between Palmer and SZA is undeniable.

Reel Frands/Real Friends.

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TWO FAVES IN CONVERSATION! So much to learn from this chat.

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Mia Ballard was done dirty.

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I've had the pleasure of co-curating an exhibit with the University of Missouri's Museum of Art & Archaeology and we recently added this piece to Impressions: Black Spirit in America.

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Finished watching The Decameron (2024) Two years late to this but damn I love it. Now to read Giovanni Boccaccio.

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A collection of non-standard punctuation marks we should be using today.

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A Report on The Economic and Social Impact of Independent Record Labels by ORCA (Organization for Recorded Culture and Arts)

Key Findings:

Streaming (59.5%), physical sales (25.9%), and sync (7.4%) were the top revenue sources, with physical and sync income exceeding global benchmarks. This revenue mix demonstrates how ORCA labels in the sample aren’t purely reliant on streaming income for commercial success.

For every $1 dollar invested in 2023, labels generated $1.77 in revenues, demonstrating a positive return on investment and the capacity of independent labels to generate sustainable financial value.

In total, 33.5% of label revenues ($79.9 million) were distributed to artists, underscoring the high level of artist revenue participation that characterizes independent label operations.

Labels generated $0.77 in profit per $1 invested. Of that profit, approximately 77% ($0.59) was distributed to artists, while 23% ($0.18) was retained by labels. This high share of profit flowing to artists reflects the artist-centered structure of independent labels, where financial success is deliberately shared rather than simply accumulated.