John Madera

Delighted to share that NERVOSITIES, my debut collection of short fiction, was published today! Kapow! NERVOSITIES has received advance praise from some of the world's finest writers, e.g., Rikki Ducornet, Brian Evenson, Lance Olsen, Sam Lipsyte, Garielle Lutz, & Michael Martone.

"I had no identity and yet, I thought, I was infinite, multiple. Like a blank page, I can be whatever I want." —Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi, CALL ME ZEBRA

“The possible has been tried and failed. Now it’s time to try the impossible.” —Sun Ra

"I think of myself as a complete mystery. To myself." —Sun Ra

Today's all-day soundtrack, of course! cc-seas.columbia.edu/wkcr/story/sun…

Happy Arrival Day, Sun Ra! bigother.com/2026/05/22/sun…

Happy birthday, Lucie Brock-Broido! bigother.com/2026/05/22/luc…

Happy birthday, @BigOtherMag contributor Stephen O’Connor! Celebrate by reading “And One by One They Disappeared,” an O’Connor” I published in the journal in 2026! bigother.com/2026/05/21/and…

Wherein Caroline Hagood reads from DEATH AND OTHER SPECULATIVE FICTIONS (Spuyten Duyvil), a Finalist for the 2025 @BigOtherMag Book Award for Fiction! youtube.com/watch?v=rH_9mk…

Wherein Julie Carr reads from THE GARDEN, a Finalist for the 2025 @BigOtherMag Book Award for Nonfiction! youtu.be/RCHRQyqihuw Cc: @EssayPress and @pamenarpress

Wherein Robert Lopez reads from THE BEST PEOPLE (Dzanc Books), a Finalist for the 2025 @BigOtherMag Book Award for Fiction! youtu.be/ZLWZ98OeNEQ

Using A.I. to detect A.I. is like using a mirror to prove a mirror is not a mirror: the instrument becomes judge, suspect, and evidence, etc., and verification collapses into endless and debilitating circularity.

Someone called me "chief" today. "Of what tribe?" I thought, considering I'm no tribalist.

A rant is not critique. A piling-on is not consensus.

"We know ourselves as part and as crowd. We cry our cry of poetry. Our boats are open, and we sail them for everyone." —Édouard Glissant, POETICS OF RELATION (Image: Julie Mehretu's ENTROPIA, 2004)

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" —Mary Oliver (Image: Alex Grey's Spiritual Energy System, 1981)

"If it is a society that thinks only of money and power, without any concern for moral values, we should not be surprised if politicians are corrupt, and should not therefore consider that the responsibility for such a situation lies entirely with them." —The 14th Dalai Lama

Can't believe one of my favorite writers, a literary giant, in fact, asked me to write a blurb for their forthcoming dense, disorienting, and uncannily inventive prose object! Stay tuned!

"How I wished during those sleepless hours that I belonged to a different nation, or better still, to none at all." —W. G. Sebald, VERTIGO bigother.com/2026/05/18/w-g…

Happy birthday, W. G. Sebald! bigother.com/2026/05/18/w-g…

"The most important thing to do each day is to develop a kind heart." —Thubten Chodron