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KB Brookins Profile
KB Brookins

@earthtokb

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they/them | author of #HTIYWAW ( @PressGaia '22), Freedom House ( @deepvellum '23), and Pretty: A Memoir ( @aaknopf ‘24) | @neaarts fellow 2023

Austin, TX
Joined December 2017
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
4 months
sharing my book about being Black & trans in Texas this Juneteenth. I hope you will consider buying! 💖
@earthtokb
KB Brookins
4 months
Happy publication day, PRETTY. 💛 Ty to Annie DeWitt & @AAKnopf for allowing me the chance to write my people, my state, myself into history. this memoir has been a google doc, a PDF, an advance copy of prose & poems for years. But now, it is yours.
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
so I tested positive for COVID this morning. me, a person who masks, takes nasal spray, uses CPC mouthwash, masked during all of my tour stops where I was less than 6 ft away from ppl, etc. I am so tired.
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
I’m tired of doing everything I can to stay safe while my peers do nothing. I’m tired of this charade of “normal” we’ve been playing since 2020, effectively saying “oh well” to a debilitating disease. I’m sick of even ppl who’d call themselves leftists not being COVID cautious
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
I’m sick of putting myself in harms way just to exist in public space.
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
5 months
me listening to Nasty by Tinashe for the 70th time today
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
gonna stay offline in attempts to try not to get too mad while recovering (fingers crossed), but just know that I’m done w/ all this. just don’t book me/hang with me/etc if u don’t care to take precautions.✌🏽
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
7 months
is this the poem that ppl are talking shit about? pls tell me I'm wrong cause if so, I have a lot to say & it's not nice--
@vinayrkrishnan
Vinay Krishnan
7 months
new poem
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
Ya'll... unreal news just dropped😭❤️ thank you to @NEAarts for selecting me as a 2023 Creative Writing Fellow in Poetry. check out bios & statements from our amazing cohort here:
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
good morning! did u know that yesterday 450+ Texans showed up to the Texas Capitol to testify against HB1686, an anti-trans healthcare bill, waited till misnight to do so, & were denied that right? watch this👇🏽
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
so ………… I have some news
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
1 year
so..... I just got an acceptance from POETRY
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
5 months
you wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
yikes; checked my phone & realized this has gotten out of my lil bubble of the internet so I'm muting & moving on after this msg lol it is news to me that the 6ft thing is invalid/not completely true. I will keep this in mind moving fwd🙏🏾 to ppl going thru my media to find
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
ty for the kind responses😭 I'm at a writing residency that is bringing me stuff as I isolate. if you'd like to send $ for snacks/meds you can do so here: v*nmo: earthtokb2 c*shapp: kbthepoet ok logging off fr now💛 PS buy my book! 🙏🏾
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 years
why does every creative writing program not have a semester-long business of writing class (making a website, putting together ish to submit, pitching, contract negotiations, etc). also, why do I not teach it🧐
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
1 year
can't believe I'm typing this, but ya boi won the 2022 @WritersLeague Discovery Poetry Prize 🥲😭🔥
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 years
WHY DID I JUST GET 3 POEMS ACCEPTED BY AMERICAN POETRY REVIEW
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
10 months
MY DEBUT MEMOIR’S COVER IS HERE!!!!!! May I present PRETTY, coming May 28, 2024 from @AAKnopf 💛📚 preorder it now at 🌻 🕊️ ✨
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
taking a class w/ Roger Reeves rn & the other day he said a prose poem is a poem w/ an infinite line ….….. I cannot stop thinking about this
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
8 months
@NatashaOladokun smh TMZ always on the wrong side of the TRUTH
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
8 months
@dvkerose @transcowboy now why would something that Ayo didn’t say be a stain on her career…
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 years
learned recently that Miyazaki wrote poems to his staff to convey the atmosphere, characters, settings, and themes of princess mononoke… this proves everything
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
regardless of these, my initial points are not invalid. I appreciate everyone being generous & wish the ppl who are not some peace. I also offer u the knowledge that even if I don't do everything right all the time, I (& everyone else) deserves to live in a world where
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
y’all. 😭
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
5 months
a bit of news~
@SundressPub
SundressPublications
5 months
We are so excited to announce that KB Brookins has joined our Board of Directors at Sundress Publications. KB Brookins is a Black queer and trans writer, cultural worker, and visual artist from Texas.
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
we're not constantly at risk for this virus. so I hope u rise above the petty fingerpointing (especially at people on your side!) & learn to instead raise the consciousness of people around u. u cannot call yrself organizing, digitally or otherwise, if yr only tactics are
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
as a CSA survivor, I am disgusted but unfortunately not surprised. silence & shame is how abuse thrives; it's how it eats us whole. I hope that Andrea is showered with love, & I'm glad to hear that she's been able to process this betrayal. love to my fellow survivors💛
@KindaHagi
sarah hagi
3 months
you can read without the paywall here
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
5 years ago, I wrote a list of goals, one of them being "get into @poetrymagazine ". today, after years of trying & refining my craft/myself, I can finally cross the last goal left on that list off ❤️😭❤️ blessed to have 4 new poems in the March issue of POETRY. read 1 here:
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
5 months
y’all. the austin poet laureate resolution I’ve been working on for 2 years just passed. austin will finally have an adult poet laureate program. I could cry!
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
1 year
🎊FREEDOM HOUSE is officially out today🎊 so damn happy that my Black ass, trans ass debut full-length poetry book is here (😭📚🫶🏾)! if we haven’t met yet, hello👋🏾learn more ab my book in this video. if u like what u hear, buy a copy 👉🏾
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
just did a guest lecture w/ an art class & it's true: poetry SHOULD be in art departments instead
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 years
elated to announce that my chapbook HOW TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF WITH A WOUND won the 2020 Saguaro Poetry Prize. I’s got a book coming out w/ @PressGaia early 2022 y’all.🥺
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
2 pics/vids where I took off my mask to take a pic or accept an award: in order to get there u had to scroll past pics/vids of me masking. in this pic, we were feet away from an open door. if u don't agree w/ me doing this: OK!
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
so am I just gonna apply to stuff for the rest of my life
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
1 year
no one I mean NO ONE has had a better redemption arc than Crocs
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
🚨COVER REVEAL🚨 So excited to share the cover of my debut full-length poetry book! Cover design by Zoe Norvell. PREORDER FREEDOM HOUSE HERE: First 100 preorders will receive a signed copy! Spread the word please! #FreedomHouseBook
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 years
reminder that the relationship between a writer & a magazine is a symbiotic one. it is a gift to be published but it is also a gift for them to publish YOU. (1/9)
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
since I just accepted the offer fr..... I guess I can now say that this is happening
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
5 months
almost every student from the encampment has been arrested. students are in direct heat & were having their umbrellas taken from them #UTAustin
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
do y’all know of anyone who’s debut poetry collection came out when they were 40+ ? I’m tryna see something …
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
6 months
read the @POETSorg Poem-A-Day poem for today & my blood is actually boiling. what is going on, family ??? here's an excerpt. read the whole thing for yourself here:
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
poets: when someone asks you “what is poetry”, what is your answer? my current one is “an exploration of the possibilities of language and sound”. I’m curious about others’.
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
also has anyone clocked how queer & trans the NEA list is? the transexuals are transexing !!! the gays are winning (while both groups are being attacked by legislation & weird cultural trends, but) !!!
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
4 months
me, an abolitionist: take that gangrene bitch to JAIL‼️
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
7 months
to poets talking themselves out of applying to the NEA: stop thinking in “it’s not possible” of “what if i don’t get it” & “everyone’s more talented than me”. I almost let those thoughts win 2 years ago. I really did! but I applied anyway &… well..
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
1 year
damn. as of yesterday I am MARRIED.
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
unpopular opinion but moving AWP away from kansas city feels a lot like the shit y'all were talking when AWP was in Texas in 2020 & I don't like it.
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
7 months
I want poets -- & people who think they know what poetry is -- to release yrselves from the rules u internalized from teachers that aren't actually rules; just opinions "poems have lines" "don't line break on an article" "it's only a sonnet if"-- think for YRSELF for once!
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
the amount of booksellers on here being mean instead of thinking "oh, lots of authors have this same experience; we should collectively figure out a better system to handle author inquiries" is sad to me
@GraceLP
Grace Loh Prasad 駱信惠
3 months
I just went into a bookstore, bought a book, then asked “hey I’m a local author, would you be interested in carrying my book?” and the way she brushed me off SO QUICK, asked no questions, wouldn’t even make eye contact with me 😭😭
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
5 months
out here & cops are not allowing medics to come into the encampment & give students water #UTAustin
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
the advice "don't write a memoir before you're 30" didn't take into account that some of us watched 9/11 happen on TV one random day in 1st grade
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
love this & hate that white disabled folks were foaming at the mouth bc she didn't respond in *checks notes* under 72 hours ALSO y'all hold Black women & lizzo specifically to a ridiculously high standard that y'all don't hold anyone else in entertainment to but whatever
@lizzo
FOLLOW @YITTY
2 years
❤️
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
5 months
students are blocking cops from leaving #UTAustin
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
things I learned at AWP: talking for hours in a row (even when it’s fun!) drains me the lit world is still too white when ppl think you’re famous they forget u have physical/mental boundaries anyone who says poetry is dead doesn’t know poets; I pity those fools
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
& yes: I do hide comments, block ppl, etc & don't feel no ways about it. take care🫶🏾
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
6 months
whoever approved that shoulda read "George Floyd moment" and immediately declined. cause wtf do u mean by that
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
9 months
doesn’t it look the cutest w/ the seal❔😭🫶🏾
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
9 months
a bit of news: FREEDOM HOUSE is now an award-winning book !!!!
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
4 months
Happy publication day, PRETTY. 💛 Ty to Annie DeWitt & @AAKnopf for allowing me the chance to write my people, my state, myself into history. this memoir has been a google doc, a PDF, an advance copy of prose & poems for years. But now, it is yours.
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 months
I cannot read a poetry book a day atm (sorry #SealeyChallenge peeps!), but but I can close read a poem every day. here is one I've been reveling in. by @nicholas_goodly 🌹
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
nobody told me that teaching undergrads would be so second-hand streesful. they be like “hey I just got hit by a bus & it doesn’t help that I haven’t slept in days haha anyway I’ll be 10 minutes late tomorrow” 😵‍💫
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
1 year
got my Janelle Monae tickets
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
5 months
guess who’s a Sewanee fellow
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
4 months
y'all ... I woke up this morning to being featured in @voguemagazine 🥹 ty @EmmaSpecter for understanding PRETTY & asking delightful questions! read the whole thing here:
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
11 months
lupita posted this w/ the caption “open audition for @JanelleMonae Can I be your #lipsticklover ?” & my question is why r the gays not freaking out about this yet❔
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
cat’s out the bag…🥹♥️
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@POETSorg
Academy of American Poets
2 years
In honor of #EarthDay today & with thanks to @info_treehouse , we're pleased to announce the winners of the Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize: KB Brookins @earthtokb , Liza Katz Duncan, & Nisha Atalie. Their poems will be published in #PoemADay . Read more:
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
who is allowed to be abstract & who is asked to explain themselves? who is allowed to be concrete & who is accused of being "simple"? these are the kinds of questions I'm constantly asking of poetry that does/doesn't catch on; these are questions that keep me skeptical & curious
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
11 months
hey. just tweetint to letting everyone know that I’m not doing this event anymore. if you’d like to know why, please read this beautifully crafted open letter in its entirely: 🇵🇸
@earthtokb
KB Brookins
11 months
@CollectivePo @samforbreakfast @NorthwesternU Later that day, I'll be at @PoetryFound with @FaylitaHicks , imani elizabeth jackson, and s*an d. henry smith - Nov 9, 7pm. More info here:
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
y’all … Y’ALL
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
1 year
a friend told me, a chronic over-booker, the other day a quote that changed something for me: “part of readying yourself for opportunities is not being burnt out” tweeting in case it helps anyone else🫶🏾
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
1 year
let's make a group: those who were blocked by Best American Poetry bc we're not zionists🔥
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 years
elated to debut the gawgeous cover for my debut chapbook❤️‍🔥📚much thanks to @kingcael for the design & @PressGaia for trusting in my vision. you can also PREORDER IT FOR $10 HERE:
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 years
announcing something pretty cool later today😌
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
11 months
can I be honest: I work/worked rly hard at promo for my book that came out in June & I feel like... discouraged @ how many venues didn't respond to me/my press' interview & review inquires. it's like I KNOW the readership for the book is out there & (1/2)
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
woke up yesterday a partner. but today, I woke up something else entirely. love u to the moon & @gaygardengoth ❤️we's finacé's now!
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
assumptions, passive aggression, invalidation & the like. anyway, goodbye y'all!
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
1 year
get in loser we’re reading frank: sonnets under the minnesota sunset
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
11 months
I really hope that journalists & poets start boycotting this piece of shit publication. it’s literally been publishing transphobic, right-wing trash for years
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
1 year
not posting my bride but look at ME
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
1 year
damn. as of yesterday I am MARRIED.
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
instead, we should be working together to pressure @awpwriter to put out a statement in support of trans people, ensure that conference attendees will be safe (state politics doesn't always translate to city culture!), & patronizing trans writers/presses/etc while we're in town!
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
8 months
hey now! my mom got into law school! this has been a thing she's put on hold since I was born, so! a pretty big deal!!
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
1 year
it’s wild to me that a poetry book can be pulitzer prize winning & sell like… a couple thousand copies. ofc grateful for those who buy & sell poetry but why is the circulation of our books so damn low🤨
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
signing in simply to say today makes 60 days sober & I am signing back out. thx✨
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
welp, new fear dropped: my syllabus getting posted on the internet & dissected by ppl who will never take the class 🫥
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
1 year
me, trying to write & edit a memoir:
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 months
in the video that ppl keep putting in my mentions, the woman clearly moves away from me when I start talking. everyone there besides her is 15+ ft away. u can even see the distance btw me & the person who's recording. if u don't agree w/ me doing this: OK!
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
1 year
signed a copy of FREEDOM HOUSE for Eileen Myles today. things r different now~
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
8 months
my culture is not your costume!!
@taylorswift13
Taylor Swift
8 months
All’s fair in love and poetry... New album THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. Out April 19 🤍 📷: Beth Garrabrant
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
me, seconds after reading a pro-abortion poem on a Texas NPR station:
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
6 months
the only convo worth having re: mary oliver is this one‼️why do so many of u think “understandable upon first read” = “bad”?
@nauseahassan
꩜ ˙𖦹 ⋆꙳
6 months
dislike for mary oliver’s poetry is always going to be pretentious because it assumes poetry should possess some god-like obscurity capable of being labored on by the exclusive few. how strange to think subtlety / simplicity requires no skill or is alien to the domain of poetry
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
7 months
@knashingmyteeth tryna be arbiters & don’t have a damn thing to offer — to this political moment or to the genre of poetry!
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
oh shit: yesterday made 1 yr sober. 🎊
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
3 years
MY FIRST NOMINATION FOR A PUSHCART OMG I'M SCREAMING?
@beestungmag
beestung
3 years
beestung is thrilled to announce our 2022 @PushcartPrize nominees! Congratulations to Jason B. Crawford, Stephanie Kaylor, Tori Ashley Matos, jonah wu, Dani Putney, and KB! Read their work below, and look out for more to come on the 20th!
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 months
remembering when my mom posted me for national son day & I was like “ty but I’m not a man” & she said “sorry baby I’m just a little confused💛”
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
4 days
Rita Dove STUNS in new photo w/ her #1 fan, KB Brookins✨
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
8 months
My book FREEDOM HOUSE was named the winner of the Barbara Gittings Literature Award!
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
AWP24 panel ideas: -trans poetics in the age of US anti-transness -contemporary relevance of the epic -poetry2prose pipeline: bringing poetic sensibilities to cnf, fiction & screenwriting -artivism: making your art useful to political movements comment if interested🥲
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
1 year
so anyway I performed at an event today that required masking, had 3 HEPA filters & free masks/hand sanitizer for folks who needed some, & mic covers. I appreciate ppl who don’t treat me & other COVID conscious folks like we’re asking for too much
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
1 year
I am a poet who regularly reads poetry & 10/10 can confirm. lol
@triceclark
Kraft Doll
1 year
Poems be feeling like inside jokes. Wtf are you talking about?
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
2 years
new fav pic of myself dropped! 🥲
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@earthtokb
KB Brookins
8 months
@blkgrlpoet justice for Go Get It !!! God In Me & Shackles are certified hood classics👆🏾
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