Lectureship in Creative Writing at the University of Leeds; full time; ongoing contract. jobs.leeds.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...

It’s a special day when your first PhD student graduates. Dr Gráinne O’Hare wrote a brilliant thesis on 18thC Methodist women’s control of voice & public image. Whilst doing this, she published a prizewinning novel (2nd in progress) & been the subject of a prizewinning UG dissertation.

Just for all our Romanticist mutuals who love Andy - he’s ok but broken bones and cuts will need time to heal. Being well taken care of in hospital. Distractions/virtual hugs/best wishes for a swift recovery all welcome.

When having conversations about AI with people outside of HE (and BlueSky), I’ve been struck by how few people seem to see that the negative environmental impact is the no. 1 reason for concern. Like we’ll just move past those challenges in the inevitable march of “progress”.

All the injustices that we meet with on a daily basis, I have chosen to spew forth upon the ungodly changes to the Feast - my go to ice cream. The nobbly chocolate outside remains but inside we have a nondescript vanilla squidge revealing an unforgivable saccharine caramel goo. I am quite put out!

This really is the best bit of the job. Quite an emotional one this year after all we’ve been through

Can’t help but reflect on the *5 years of strikes* we did to defend our pensions, on this, the day USS announce their £10 billion surplus.

Its funny how everyone's idea of heaven is a complete untouched paradise, crystal clear waters, lush green forests, enough food for everyone, classless, moneyless, stateless, a Utopia of peace, unity and happiness. But here on earth it's considered a leftist ideology.

Happy 80th birthday to one of the greatest voices of her generation, LINDA RONSTADT ❤️ (July 15, 1946)

homemade gooseberry fool: the best dessert in the world IMHO

'There is no more essential teaching responsibility for a university than to ensure learning outcomes. The problem is that under current conditions, the cost of doing so will not necessarily pay off for those that commit to it.' Very important points here from Alan Finkel re AI and HE. 1/3

“where can I reach out for breakfast in Newcastle?” please tell me that real people don’t embarrass themselves by talking in this nauseating manner

Interesting to see a university management team interpret fostering 'specialisation' in line with government policy as trimming back the units with the highest QS rankings, at least 1 of which also scored a perfect 100% 4* in REF2021 for research environment. Bit of an amoeba, 'specialisation'.

The Summer issue of Studies in Romanticism is here! ☀️ It was a pleasure to co-edit this special issue on 'Mediating the More-Than-Human' with Saeko Yoshikawa 🌿 Thread of essays below, all currently available open access @studiesinrom.bsky.social muse.jhu.edu/issue/57172

In the first video of this series, Chloe (and their dog) talk about the figure of Lord Byron in ‘What it Feels Like for a Girl’ by Paris Lees. Do email us ([email protected]) if you’d like to make a video! (We can even film you in-person at BARS in B’ham!)

The latest edition of SCOTTISH LITERARY REVIEW, published by @asls.org.uk and edited by me and @rhonabrown.bsky.social, is now available @projectmuse.bsky.social. Essays on Robert Louis Stevenson, Muriel Spark, Anne Grant, and Robert Fergusson. Check it out: muse.jhu.edu/issue/57136

This may be a long shot but any of my fellow citizens have contact details for the Irish Passport office in Dublin? I'm being re-routed in circles on the website and the chat function is invisible (I have enabled the cookies etc.)

Could we maybe institute this in academia too?

Live a life where people talk about you after you die like they do Sam Neil.

Another week, another landslide of crap for HE

NHS Research project has just published that 70-80 year olds in the UK do more moderate exercise (thereby meeting NHS fitness targets) than any other age group including Gen Zs. 30-50 year olds are likely to do the least (working longest hours, raising kids … go figure).

Ach, not Sam 😔

Remembering one of my favourite singer/songwriters Christine McVie on what would have been her birthday. Reposting Mick Fleetwood’s insta tribute.

A picture worth a thousand words

My Creeping Jenny has gorgeous golden flowers on it.

When Philipson gets to universities she misunderstands, starting from a fair premise. The premise is that young people see university as the only 'ambitious' option, the only one their families will accept etc. The problem is 'parity of esteem' is chasing clouds, and we can't rob peter to pay paul.

Magpie moth spotted on my dad’s patio door in co Antrim

Good man yerself.

If I had a pound for every piece of writing I’ve done that’s routinely 25% over the word limit, I’d be … well, I’d retire and write as verbosely as I darn well pleased!

Slugs 0: 1 dahlias for the first time since 2022

I see so many posts on here highlighting & rightfully complaining about the cuts in HE but MPs don't see them & think everything is fine Liesbeth has done a brilliant job with this template that makes it quick & easy to let your MP know what's going on & what needs to be done

'The sycophantic...behavior of...(AI) chatbots, which has been designed to increase user engagement, poses risks as people increasingly seek advice about interpersonal dilemmas. There is usually more than one side to a story during interpersonal conflicts.' So let's embed it into all education.

And... I have a conference paper draft for #BARS2026! As always, it is the framing that takes the most time.

'Staff at the University of Lincoln fear they could lose their job as early as next month after the institution announced dozens of redundancies across its academic departments.' 140 more staff at risk of redundancy, to cut 34 posts. 1/3

I haven't had much opportunity lately to do really intensive academic writing blocks, but have gotten back into it over the past few days. I'd forgotten how intense it can be, like being sucked into vortex and all I have to show at the end of it all is a couple of honed paragraphs.

First they came for the languages. In the hope that no one would have the words to say what was happening. 1/9🧵

It’s me, talking about the “most important American author no one’s heard of”, Charles Brockden Brown, whose gothic novels we should all be reading during #America250 @c19americanists.bsky.social @ssag.bsky.social theconversation.com/the-founding...

The Guardian did this one a lot better, and no paywall either! www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Notable contrast with the United States, where the Supreme Court ruled two years ago in Grants Pass v. Johnson that an anti-homeless ordinance did not violate the Eighth Amendment.

Britain’s Labour government will repeal the Vagrancy Act today, “ending nearly two centuries of legislation that has criminalised rough sleeping and begging.”

Just in case anyone missed this: the Vagrancy Act (1824), legislation introduced post-Napoleonic wars to criminalise people suffering from the effects,finally repealed. It was used 2412 times between 2019-2024 to arrest people for simply living on the street: www.crisis.org.uk/get-involved...

Business leaders back the Humanities and Social Sciences, noting their important to economy and culture in Exeter, Cornwall and the Southwest. This is one vital strand in defending the SHAPE subjects. Don't ignore it (or carp about it). Build on it. biz4humanities.com

The dandelion’s taproot extends up to a meter deep into the soil. In doing so, it loosens compacted earth and brings minerals up from deeper layers, benefiting other plants. What many consider a weed is actually a natural soil improver.

Delighted to welcome Dr Jyoti Atwal from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, for her talk on Irish Women and the Indian Independence Movement tonight. Her talk explores the transnational bonding of women across Ireland and India during the anti-colonial campaigns.

This petition needs as many signatories as the Exeter one. Please sign and share — don’t let Hertfordshire managers get away with this just because a Russell Group one took the spotlight. #UKHE

I am very glad to see how widely covered the insanity at Exeter is, but please I beg everyone, understand this is happening EVERYWHERE in UK universities. If people care about anything valuable that this sector does or contributes too, they need to get loud, now.