Done are the days of doing the algo song and dance

And it's about damn time

It took me a year or two to figure out what I wanted.

Spoiler: it wasn’t a following on Instagram or trying to look cool in front of strangers.

What I wanted was a space to express myself and post the damn work. All of it.

Not snippets. Not captions. Not content. Just poems. Letters. And maybe, the ability to connect with fellow lovers of lit.

So, where have I been this past year?

Traveling. Homeless for a stretch. Writing badly, then better. Reading a lot. Practicing yoga and jiu-jitsu. Learning how to live a little slower. Having a damn good time.

Now that I’m settled, I realize I only want to be me.

So what can you expect from this Substack?

No algorithm chasing. No disingenuous performances. Just me.

A quieter, more deliberate space. Part digital archive, part living notebook. I’ll send something out once or twice (or thrice) a month — a poem, a letter, maybe a voice note if I'm in the mood.

I'm also playing around with a paid section called, Off the Record where I'll share unpublished drafts, audio readings, and the occasional easter egg — for those of you who really back the work.

So, welcome again to my Substack.

Thanks for being here.

Read the latest here:
- Poetry
- Old Letters

— justin