diff --git a/lib/jekyll/post.rb b/lib/jekyll/post.rb
index 2ca23ffe..e570baaf 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/post.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/post.rb
@@ -55,13 +55,27 @@ module Jekyll
     end
     
     # The generated directory into which the post will be placed
-    # upon generation. e.g. "/2008/11/05/"
+    # upon generation. This is derived from the permalink or, if
+    # permalink is absent, set to the default date
+    # e.g. "/2008/11/05/"
     #
     # Returns <String>
     def dir
-      self.date.strftime("/%Y/%m/%d/")
+      permalink ?
+        permalink.to_s.split("/")[0..-2].join("/") :
+        date.strftime("/%Y/%m/%d/")
     end
     
+    # The full path and filename of the post.
+    # Defined in the YAML of the post body
+    # (Optional)
+    #
+    # Returns <String>
+    def permalink
+      self.data && self.data['permalink']
+    end
+
+
     # The generated relative url of this post
     # e.g. /2008/11/05/my-awesome-post.html
     #
@@ -111,7 +125,7 @@ module Jekyll
     #
     # Returns nothing
     def write(dest)
-      FileUtils.mkdir_p(File.join(dest, self.dir))
+      FileUtils.mkdir_p(File.join(dest, dir))
       
       path = File.join(dest, self.url)
       File.open(path, 'w') do |f|
diff --git a/test/source/posts/2008-12-03-permalinked-post.textile b/test/source/posts/2008-12-03-permalinked-post.textile
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..88a89ada
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/source/posts/2008-12-03-permalinked-post.textile
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+---
+title: Post with Permalink
+permalink: my_category/permalinked-post
+---
+
+h1. {{ page.title }}
+
+
+<p>Best <strong>post</strong> ever</p>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/test_post.rb b/test/test_post.rb
index 76c8e649..2424939d 100644
--- a/test/test_post.rb
+++ b/test/test_post.rb
@@ -26,6 +26,22 @@ class TestPost < Test::Unit::TestCase
     assert_equal "/2008/10/19/foo-bar.html", p.url
   end
   
+  def test_permalink
+    p = Post.allocate
+    p.process("2008-12-03-permalinked-post.textile")
+    p.read_yaml(File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), *%w[source posts]), "2008-12-03-permalinked-post.textile")
+
+    assert_equal "my_category/permalinked-post", p.permalink
+  end
+
+  def test_dir_respects_permalink
+    p = Post.allocate
+    p.process("2008-12-03-permalinked-post.textile")
+    p.read_yaml(File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), *%w[source posts]), "2008-12-03-permalinked-post.textile")
+
+    assert_equal "my_category", p.dir
+  end
+
   def test_read_yaml
     p = Post.allocate
     p.read_yaml(File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), *%w[source _posts]), "2008-10-18-foo-bar.textile")