Date Archives → December 2025

IN DEVELOPMENT: Alex Sheremet’s Best Photos

A selection of Alex Sheremet's photos from across the world, as part of his photo portfolio.

[This photographic portfolio originally appeared in Alex Sheremet’s literary magazine, automachination.]

Although I have been taking photos for some time, there was no real purpose behind it until Joel Parrish and I decided to shoot our first film—From There To There: Bruce Ario, The Minneapolis Poet. Today, I am in the habit of carrying a camera on my walks, which has better attuned me to my surroundings and creates an obligation to document them.

These photos are arranged chronologically, beginning in 2009/10, when I was studying abroad in China and Greece. There is almost nothing from this period, despite having taken 100s of photos, as they are not worth looking at. The ones that do appear are poorly preserved and/or damaged. In all, there are a couple dozen photos between 2009 and 2021 that were good (or at least ‘interesting’) enough to display—a hit rate which suggests my lack of interest in photography then.

As time goes on, I will add material to this page. Given the need for compression on this website, interested readers can email me for high-definition versions of these photos. Most of these initial shots were taken with a Canon EOS M50 digital camera (plus stills ripped from its 4K video feature) and a Pentax MX (35mm analog film) with DaVinci Resolve for color grading. All images are copyright (c) Alex Sheremet, except where otherwise noted.

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Propaganda Kills: The Murder of Refaat Alareer

A photo of Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, with the text "death & propaganda" against a black background.

[This essay on the murder of Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer is presented on the 2-year anniversary of his death. It originally appeared in the AUTOMACHINATION literary magazine.]

…The moon’s an arrant thief,
And her pale fire she snatches from the sun.

– Shakespeare, Timon of Athens

It’s been years since I’ve written a takedown of a poseur or freak, largely because they are such time-sinks, yet offer so little themselves. They seek unearned attention, and, if attention is given, seek to take one away from deeper aims. To wit: Ben Shapiro (does it not damage my essay that I expect you to know who this was?) might ultimately get exhumed by trivia hunters, but this would only be slightly better than Shapiro’s own goings to and fro on the earth. Coleman Hughes certainly represents a ‘type’, but hasn’t this type been discussed to the point of acquiring its own slur? Such cons are obvious, yet the Russian émigré poet Maxim D. Shrayer lords over a grift many won’t pick up on, not only due to their ignorance of immigrant politics, but also the ease with which nonimmigrants get brow-beaten by American liberals. Shrayer’s recent essay on murdered Palestinian academic Refaat Alareer has exposed this grift, though it requires another ex-Soviet to identify its parts. And so, as I enter a more mindful middle age, I can only justify writing of losers if I also expound upon their fiefdoms—particularly if these are lesser-known fiefdoms with poorly understood dynamics.

Maxim Shrayer, a … Continue reading →

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