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Poet Mary Oliver, known for her work focused on the natural world, passed away today after a battle with lymphona. The literary world has been a place of mourning all day, with fans, writers, and teachers sharing her words and expressing gratitude for all she has given to her readers.

As Ruth Franklin said in an article on Oliver’s 2017 collection Devotions, “her work is incredibly accessible, and I think that’s what makes her so beloved by so many people. It doesn’t feel like you have to take a seminar in order to understand Mary Oliver’s poetry. She’s speaking directly to you as a human being.”

Oliver told NPR that “Poetry, to be understood, must be clear. It mustn’t be fancy. I have the feeling that a lot of poets writing now, they sort of tap dance through it. I always feel that whatever isn’t necessary should not be in the poem.” Her clarity and beautiful prose are showcased in her poetry, which has been bringing tears to my eyes all day as it has been shared across my Twitter timeline.

“Instructions for living a life.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.”
Mary Oliver’s compassion, wisdom, wit, and distinct poetic voice will be deeply missed in this world that needs more like her. #MaryOliver pic.twitter.com/gNSPuV9AkM

— Into The Forest Dark (@ElliottBlackwe3) January 17, 2019

“Don’t think
I’m not afraid.
There is such an unleashing
of horror.

“Then I remember:
death comes before
the rolling away
of the stone.”

We’ll miss you, #MaryOliver

— Lucy S. R. Austen (@LucySRAusten) January 17, 2019

I discovered this poem when I needed to be told that I didn’t have to feel guilty and I read it every day for a long time #MaryOliver pic.twitter.com/Nn9ICx0Hul

— haseena manek (@haseenamanek) January 17, 2019

• Check out this cool giveaway of Leigh Bardugo’s new Grishaverse book, King of Scars, from Portalist. (via Portalist)
• Rudy Giuliani is walking back his statement that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, only that the President was not involved. (via The Guardian)
• Spider-Man: Far From Home will be the first MCU film to include roles played by out trans actors. (via comicbook.com)
• You can own the door knockers from Jim Hensen’s Labyrinth. (via Nerdist)
• Want to donate to the writers that were laid off when Into shut down? Check out this thread for their cash app options. (via Twitter)

If you were a writer/contributor for @Into please comment with your Patreons, Venmo, and Cash app names so everyone knows where to send their appreciation for you and your work in the form of $$$ so I can share out.

— alex schmider (@anderfinn) January 17, 2019

Take the time today to read some of your favorite poems in honor of Oliver’s passing.

(via NPR, image: Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

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Source: Dennis Van Tine/Future Image/WENN.com / WENN

California congresswoman Maxine Waters gathered the call of the people and negotiated a meeting with CBS executives over the outrage that ensued after it was revealed that not a single Black member of the network’s 2020 presidential reporting team existed.

On Monday Black Twitter lit up after a radio personality ignorantly argued that the lack of Black journalists at CBS was due to the fact that Black culture had no interest in journalism. As we know the upcoming election will be more crucial than ever in addressing the needs of Black America.

Rep. Waters was among the many people with large platforms who took the network to task in the matter earlier in the week, setting her foot into the firestorm over the controversy.

“CBS, the efforts on your website about your support for diversity fly in the face of your display of all of the reporters you’ve selected for the 2020 campaign. Not one Black. What’s up with this? An explanation is needed,” she wrote.

On Wednesday, Waters shared that she met with the execs over the glaring concerns.

After he was promptly told to take a seat, the discussions continued, prompting a robust conversation about the needs of Black America in the political landscape and why Black voices are specifically needed to cover the election to speak to those needs.

The National Association of Black Journalists also released a statement in condemnation of the decision, which further made the need for acknowledgement urgent.

“As the voting bloc which will most certainly heavily determine the direction of this country in the upcoming election, it is vital any and all media outlets have a diverse newsroom, including individuals of color in decision making positions to speak to and address the issues and concerns directly impacting the Black community, it read. “Representation matters and the media needs our coverage on the issues to drive the discussion.”

Source: Getty / Getty

We all remember the flack Kathy Griffin caught when she posed with a replica of a severed head in the likeness of our new president, Donald Trump.

Naturally, it was a huge cultural moment in the sense that people, even those who disagreed with Trump, found it too offensive, too much, she’d taken it too far. And there were several people who shared this opinion.

Yesterday, the moment was resurrected…by Griffin herself.

Cheadle posed an image of himself in a cap bearing the Sleeping Giants emblem. The organization seeks to highlight bigotry in sexism in various publications and advocate for ad removals from those media outlets—like Breitbart.

For one reason or another, the image triggered Griffin and she insinuated that Cheadle was a hypocrite for his associations with the organization.

In response, Cheadle hit her with four characters: “huh?”

In response, Cheadle explained that the two were never friends because if they had been, he would have told her that her idea to hold the likeness of the President’s severed head was ill conceived.