Leila Walker

@lwalker.bsky.social

1075 Followers 790 Following

Assistant Professor in an academic library. Publishes on British romantic literature, climate change, plant humanities, librarianship, social justice, and pedagogy. Not gay as in happy, queer as in free Palestine.

3/9/07 for Leila - we all save each other’s sanity — love, Ruth
[Mrs. Talbot, explaining why it costs so much to go on vacation]: And those who cannot afford the expense must make up their minds to stay at home. Just as the daughters of those whose mothers a few years ago were drawn by four horses, and whose grandmothers by six, are now glad to get into a stage coach. EMILY. But why, Mamma ? Does not the earth bear the same crops it used to do, and as much ? MRS. TALBOT. More, if we may believe all the improvements that have been made in agriculture, and rural economy of every sort . EMILY. And what is the reason of it then? MRS . TALBOT . The change of manners; the accumulation of wealth, which has made a great difference in the value of money; and wars, which have cost such immense sums to the nation .
A stunningly handsome tuxedo cat takes a reluctant selfie in the arms of his enthusiastic human.
A laptop shows a still from the Buffy episode “Hush.” Giles holds his pointer finger up dramatically while doing an overhead presentation about The Gentlemen.
"Dear Queens College Community: As we start the summer, I write to share with you that I have informed CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez that I will retire as Queens College president, effective July 30, 2026. I have always said that this is my dream job, and it has been a difficult decision to depart and conclude my important work at the college. "
The six featured posts selected for me by the Instagram algorithm: A baby possum, a baby bat, another baby bat, an illustration of two pigeons canoodling, a tiny kitten getting a bath, and another baby bat.
A screw firmly embedded in a bicycle tire.
Fucking Mayor Mamdani is at fucking Peg's Cavalier and it's obviously why the Knicks wonn.
An ample amount of cat stretched out tummy up on the kitchen floor in a spinal twist that defies the laws of physics.
Kir Kuiken’s book “Adrift on the Earth” tests on my lap. One cat sits next to me on a bright pink ottoman staring at a second cat, looking up at me from under a floral velvet chair.
A tarot-style card labeled "Team Kant" with the description: You are Team Kant The Archivists SRPA Dual-Lens Personality Model "Two things fill the mind with ever new admiration: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me." What your friends say behind your back Your principles are immovable, which is great until somebody actually needs you to be flexible about literally anything.
If you could make a change to anything you’ve written over the years, what would it be? In The Dispossessed, I would mention the communal pickle barrels at street corners in the big towns, restocked by whoever in the community has made or kept more pickles than they need. I knew about the free pickles all along, but never could fit them into the book.
Race day kit from the Palestine Half Marathon, including a technical tee with Banksy image of a man throwing a stone, a beau fully crafted medal, and a note explaining that the medal was designed for the canceled 2024 marathon.
A very sweaty middle aged lesbian wears a keffiyeh in upper highland park.
A mural in the style of Banksy under the Glendale overpass. A small child is looking through a telescope. At the wide end of the telescope, in a different hand, someone has added a peace sign, like peace is the star the child is seeking.
A tulip blooming in the colors of the Palestinian flag.
A chart of splits. It trends downward very slightly until about mile 6.5, at which point it fucking bottoms out dramatically.
A screenshot of the moment that I finished the virtual Palestine half marathon, immediately after burping so dramatically that a small child visibly judged me.
A still from a video of a dilute pigeon flying. Its wings are spread dramatically. It is the color of a pale pebble.
It’s ravioli. It’s obviously delicious.
An excellent pigeon with an unusual marbled pattern on its torso. It is pecking at cracks on the sidewalk in Queens, an excellent activity for a pigeon.
MLA Online Balloting - Access Denied Our records show that you are not eligible to vote. As established by the Delegate Assembly Organizing Committee, MLA members whose memberships were current on 10 January 2026 (the date that the Delegate Assembly approved the items on the ratification ballot) and who renewed their memberships by 25 March 2026, a week prior to the ballot opening on 1 April 2026, are eligible to vote on this year’s ratification ballot. If you believe you received this message in error, please contact governance@mla.org for assistance.
A cast glass plant, modeled on an herbarium specimen representing a now-extinct species of plant, is surrounded by lush red leaves of living foliage.
Is there anything better than an olive oil drizzle on soup with olive oil bread?
It’s just so fucking pink it’s unbelievable.
“Instead of barring talk therapy designed to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity, this law bars therapy affirming those things,” Kagan wrote in a concurrence. “[T]he First Amendment would apply in the identical way. Once again, because the State has suppressed one side of a debate, while aiding the other, the constitutional issue is straightforward.”
A white and black cat sits on a windowsill basking in the spring sunshine.
A black and white cat does a credible impersonation of a garlic knot in a plush cat bed.
Text reads: “CVS Pharmacy: Leila, your Rx has unclear or missing info. We requested clarification from your prescriber. Please note this process may take some time.”
A fearsome tuxedo cat wrapped in the entrails of the rainbow string. Truly, a terror to behold.
A well-plated dinner with a quesadilla, beans, and guacamole. Pretty much everything has a fancy garnish which I really never do so I had to document the occasion.
A white and black cat stretched out in Superman pose like he’s the best thing that ever happened to anyone.
Homemade vegan pizza with impossible sausage, pineapple, and homemade cheese.
A homemade pizza with fennel, potatoes, and two kinds of vegan cheese, one of which melted, the other of which crisped.
Still of James van der Beek and Kristen Ritter laughing in episode one of Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23, JVDB’s greatest role.
A stand of leafless trees against a backdrop of frozen snow.
Weather app shows that it’s supposed to be like 7 fucking degrees what the fuck.
A bed with a teal bedspread. The camera zooms in on a lump under the bedspread. A hand lifts the bedspread to reveal a cat with crazy eyes.
A gray-blue sky with a sliver of rose gold at the horizon above a small body of water viewed through a tangle of brush. My cat is snoring. That is unrelated to this image, but important to know.
A flock of geese float on a small body of water. Periodically one or two stick their butts up in the air as they dip their heads in the water. Haha. Goose butts.
A black and white cat hugs a rumpled bedspread
A totally bananas image. A kind of normal coat of arms with a crown on top is surrounded by a red dragon or something on the right, and a very muscular bearded man wearing nothing but a belt of leaves and a crown of leaves and manacles on the left. Above the arms are three like knight heads or something. Above the one on the left is a topless mermaid. In the middle the knight head is topped by another built naked man wearing a crown of leaves and holding a dagger and key. Above the right-hand knight head is like a peacock or something with human hands waving.
A black and white cat is passed all the way out in the middle of a fuzzy hoodie.
Celebration time woot
2 empty chairs face each other, much in the manner of gestalt. A ceiling tile is propped against the wall next to them. Above, the gap in the ceiling where the tile used to be reveals clumps of wires bunched like intestines. A portrait of Lincoln hangs in the background. The library is empty.
A clear blue sky over the Ridgewood Reservoir, as seen through green, yellow, and red fall foliage.
The terms of service for the internet at my college require us to agree to “hold harmless the Hospital from any costs, expenses or liabilities” if we misuse the internet. Ok 🤷‍♀️
A party outside a Brooklyn brownstone. A poster hanging from the second story reads “NY❤️YOU”
A black and white cat manages to dangle across two whole laps while his doting humans pet him.
A black and white cat is draped in a semi sheer blanket, staring at a banana toy like it’s the dagger from Macbeth.
3 early voting stickers: a regular NYC early voting sticker, a Queens sticker, and a Halloween sticker, and also a temporary tattoo. I didn’t know there were tattoos!