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Blogs

Using AI for interpersonal matters ‘a risk’: massive Stanford study

June 5, 2026|Erin Steele

AI validates you 50% more than your friends would—and you prefer it that way, despite consequences Yes-man AI is a “societal risk” to interpersonal relationships, a new study out of...

Human or AI poetry prompt: 'To be with me'

June 5, 2026|Erin Steele

This ongoing series holds human writing up against AI writing. First, a human crafts a short poem or prose piece. Then we craft an prompt that challenges AI to create...

Human or AI prose prompt: 'Probably'

June 5, 2026|Erin Steele

This ongoing series holds human writing up against AI writing. First, a human crafts a short poem or prose piece. Then we craft an prompt that challenges AI to create...

Book Notes: Black Bear

March 8, 2026|Erin Steele

While reading Black Bear by Trina Moyles, my wanderings of the hills and trails near my home took on a new quality. I found myself suddenly noting which trees might make...

Book Notes: Annihilation for Beginners

January 30, 2026|Erin Steele

Annihilation for Beginners by Charlie J. Stephens is a page-turner, mesmerizing for both its weirdness and sensitivity. The short-story collection traverses a contemporary Oregon landscape, hitchhiking alongside surprising, messy, imperfect, real...

A brief meditation on being a (human) writer

January 14, 2026|Erin Steele

I look up at the sky as I'm nearing the end of a 30-minute run around my neighbourhood. It's winter, and the weather has taken a sharper turn toward cold,...

As AI takes some writing jobs, talent rises

January 14, 2026|Erin Steele

First, the brutal truth (in case the headline didn't make you wince): AI will take some writing jobs. To be clear, I'm not talking about literature, but copy and content. It simply...

7 annoying things people are saying about the em dash

December 22, 2025|Erin Steele

Just to get the blood a' boiling and the eyes a' rolling: “Blatant red flag” - guy on YouTube wagging his finger at us “Virtually no one casually uses the...

...What even is this?

December 15, 2025|Erin Steele

I’ve never exactly been one for labels. Although I can hang under the umbrella of a few, I’ve always preferred to stretch my face toward the aliveness of rain. There...

Book Notes: Tell Me Everything

December 15, 2025|Erin Steele

Sometimes an author manages to actually fingerprint life onto the pages of a book, and such is the case in Elizabeth Strout's Tell Me Everything.Human, human, human—that's what this book...