Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная

Writer, editor, translator, community builder/
Queer, white, first-gen, Jewish/
Read me @wcp @theatlantic @foreignpolicy
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[Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная @tpaperny]

If you are organizing DC-area alternative programming for America's 250th, will you let me know? Think: people's histories, local activism, volunteer opportunities, indigenous and Black stories, anti-fascist events, etc.

[Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная @tpaperny]

@YahiaLababidi @lithub Thank you for uplifting Andrii's work in my translation, as Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine drags on through its fourth year.

[Yahia Lababidi @YahiaLababidi]

“Mom doesn’t hear well. But the explosions she hears. Even when there are none.”

Translation by @tpaperny

https://t.co/CcxudU128f
#Ukraine #war

via @lithub

[NOTUS @NOTUSreports]

The Star launches in June with dramatically expanded coverage of Washington politics and policy — and new coverage of D.C. itself. The District isn’t just the place where politics happens. It’s home to the people who pull the levers of power. It’s where they live and work and commute and eat and vote and navigate the unique intersection of politics and real life.

The Star will cover all of it, from Donald Trump’s stamp on the District to the ambitions of its first new mayor in more than a decade. Who’s wielding power in D.C.? What’s driving them? What impact are they having on housing, schools, transportation and the District’s neighborhoods? What’s next for Home Rule? For statehood? And will the Nationals ever be good again?

We’ll do it with the same rigor we bring to our coverage of national politics and policy, and we’ll do it with the best local reporting team in D.C. We’re excited to announce the start of that team today — veteran journalists you know and trust, plus newcomers who will bring fresh eyes to the vibrant and sometimes vexing place we all call home.

[Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная @tpaperny]

@kristoncapps @LeighGeorge OOOOH. Looking into it now.

[Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная @tpaperny]

@wcp Hat tip to editor @mitchryals, photographer @Darrow_M, and @dcpl for being THE best research supporters!

[Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная @tpaperny]

In the 1940s, notorious "underground queen" Odessa Madre ran a nightclub where she dealt in drugs, women, and drink. I got to write about the building, which is now D.C.’s only Black-owned LGBTQ club.

Read today's piece in @wcp (plus it's #localnewsday!): https://t.co/f0WuqkEAw9

[Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная @tpaperny]

@kristoncapps @LeighGeorge I have a dream of getting a donor to fund a DC-specific arts journalism fellowship. Who wants to work with me to make this happen??

[Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная @tpaperny]

...and I think this is a good thing! Read my story of an unusual alley horse stable which served as a Black queer arts space in the 1980s:

https://t.co/NvsJ90IMuE

[UrbanTurf @UrbanTurf_DC]

The Decision That Could Lead To More Alley Homes In DC May Be Coming This Week. https://t.co/DL500U2COM

[Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная @tpaperny]

@joe5f6 our approach to youth safety in this city is abhorrent. young people need public, free and safe places to hang out!

[Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная @tpaperny]

@joe5f6 @DDOTDC @EckingtonCivic @NoMaBID @CMZParker5 @CMCharlesAllen 😆😆 a scruffy little introverted gentleman, please send my best regards

[Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная @tpaperny]

this place sucks (generic)

[Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная @tpaperny]

Thank you @wcp for including my column in your roundup of 2025's best reporting! Photo by Darrow Montgomery.

https://t.co/w0OMf3aJ8P

[Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная @tpaperny]

yes my latest local history piece mentions both horse stables and gay artists, but sadly no gay horses — a topic available for any of you to dig into instead
https://t.co/NvsJ90Jkkc

[Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная @tpaperny]

Thanks for including my latest in your Monday Must Reads, @UrbanTurf_DC!

[UrbanTurf @UrbanTurf_DC]

Rotterdam's new office district. Monday's Must Reads. https://t.co/nx2inL2ovn

[Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная @tpaperny]

"The second floor still had a large opening from when hay was tossed down from the loft, but Walker and Melrose installed a railing so people could peer down and watch the performances." https://t.co/NvsJ90Jkkc

[Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная @tpaperny]

Looking for a mediumread while you wait at the airport or hide from your family? My latest @wcp has queer artists, a woman courts labeled a “lunatic,” and 19th-century horses: https://t.co/NvsJ90IMuE

[Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная @tpaperny]

Absolutely not.
::insert more sophisticated analysis here::

[Alex Koma @AlexKomaDC]

Some 2026 intrigue: There's a new effort to "draft" Mayor Muriel Bowser to run for a fourth term backed by Opportunity DC, the political group assembled by the Federal City Council/other business interests.

"One more time!" urges the petition on the site:
https://t.co/IyBnvSXiPm

[Tanya Paperny Таня Паперная @tpaperny]

Feelin' legit today. Just presented before the full board of the DC Commission on Arts and Humanities @TheDCArts about my creative work across literature, literary translation and visual art. Grateful to receive multiple grants from them over the years!