I had cause to look up the wonderful (to my mind) talks from our Living a Good Life in Older Age conference (6+ years ago now 😮) today. Do check them out if you missed it and are interested. So many rich interdisciplinary perspectives. m.youtube.com/watch?v=-rwJ...

Has anyone (have any hundreds) talked about Trump tilting at windmills yet?

So far the "Board of Peace" is Trump, Orban, Lukaschenko and Netanyahu. Which if you wrote in a satire would be considered too outlandish and sent back.

Oh no. Such an illuminating scholar and influence at least indirectly when I was more directly engaged in ‘language studies’ — but her work resonates in and under so much (in life and work). RIP.

One of my most revered scholars of age and lit sent me a generous and perceptive email about my work and it has totally changed my relationship with and ability to progress on my book (though that wasn’t what she was talking about). Tell people what their work means to you. It is transformative.

‪ Back en route to Regensburg, for "Samuel Beckett: The German Room", a one-day conference with some absolute mega legends in attendance: thee Megan Girdwood on Beckett & Dance, maestro Feargal Whelan on Beckett’s Landscapes, and Legend of all Legends Sarah Jane Scaife on Beckett, Women & Inis Oirr.

What is the word for having excessively modest expectations of something (e.g. a stage of life)? If there is one. 'Conservatism' doesn't quite work. What am I thinking of? (If anything.)

Choose 20 paintings that have stayed with you or influenced you — one painting a day (or thereabouts) for 20 days, no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just paintings. 5. Alison Wilding, Phaethon (2016) in collaboration with master printmaker Kit Gresham.

Choose 20 paintings that have stayed with you or influenced you — one painting a day (or thereabouts) for 20 days, no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just paintings. 4. Rembrandt, Self-Portrait as Zeuxis Laughing. C. 1662.

#sickimagination2026 Shout out to my new Sick Imagination students and especially AC— have a look if you’re interested in this neglected topic as per our discussion.

20 Paintings that have stayed with you Samuel #Beckett’s no 3: Avigdor Arikha, Coat 1973

Choose 20 paintings that have stayed with you or influenced you — one painting a day (or thereabouts) for 20 days, no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just paintings. Kerry James Marshall, Great America (1994).

Choose 20 paintings that have stayed with you or influenced you — one painting a day (or thereabouts) for 20 days, no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just paintings. The Brown Teapot by Gwen John, 1915-16.

Choose 20 paintings that have stayed with you or influenced you — one painting a day (or thereabouts) for 20 days, no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just paintings. 1. Goldfish by Henri Matisse. 1912.

Today’s reminder not to miss these glorious gorgeous people in Toronto tomorrow, representing the Samuel Beckett Society in style! #mla2026 #samuelbeckett

Age studies #mla2026 folk! 👇

@tedunderwood.com I thought of your article on literary time and how it’s action writing that slows things down, counter-intuitively…

@modernistudies.bsky.social @modernlanguage.bsky.social @moderniststudies.bsky.social Modernists ahoy! A really special panel you will enjoy (I guarantee) at #mla2026 "Rewriting the Modernist Wife: Beckett, Stein, Dumesnil, Toklas". Friday 10.15 MTCC - 205D.

Returning to URGE you if you're at MLA in Toronto to attend this superb panel from Samuel Beckett Society superstars @georginanugent.bsky.social, Julie Bates and Dunlaith Bird (Friday 9th Jan 10.15-11.30am): some of the best and most important work I've encountered in Beckett and modernist studies.

Does anyone have a good example, e.g. an academic account of, thinking through of, nice way of discussing (not in so many words -- or even in so many words) the concept of "passive aggressive"? (Yes, okay, I'm wondering about a better (?) way to say it in academic writing, but also interested.)

Not exactly in the same league but content which also offered a slight lift! @davidpattie.bsky.social

She is the queen.

Umm v cheeky to crash land back here after many months away with this, but Little Dorrit experts/ fans: anyone know which brother is older, William or Frederick? I can't find evidence either way in the novel, though it's probably there. (Criticism is divided!) #dickens #littledorrit #aging

The former ambassador to Denmark for the United States, Rufus Gifford, posted this video on his Facebook account: Ht: @hpsc24.bsky.social

The Irish have started calling Conor McGregor, ‘Andrew Tayto’.

This ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

looking back, AOL had it right. 30 hours of internet per month was the right amount.

Well, could well do without the casual #ageism, @bsky.app (you’re better than that), but grateful for you nonetheless.

Midsummer night. An enchanted forest. A tale of lovers, mechanicals and magical mayhem. Yes, this summer our hilarious A Midsummer Night's Dream hits the road again for another mini tour! Catch it if you can! thepantaloons.co.uk/dream/

Prof Julia Waters, sister of headteacher Ruth Perry, has warned that new Ofsted proposals for inspecting schools are a 'rehash' of the 'dangerous' system they are supposed to replace.

One of those UG essays that is so astonishing and brilliant that you get a bit tearful.

What a wonderful initiative! Buy any children's book from @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social this month, and as part of their #ReadItForward campaign, they will donate 10% of every sale to the children's reading charities @booktrust.org.uk & @scottishbooktrust.bsky.social! uk.bookshop.org/contributors...

I love that a white guy was flying the plane, a white guy was flying the helicopter, and a white guy gutted the FAA last week but somehow the blame is too much diversity.

RIP (Northern) Irish poet Michael Longley, “custodian of griefs and wonders” in Heaney’s words. I co-supervised a PhD, the basis for this wonderful monograph by Madeline Scherer, partly on his work and it was a fantastic experience.

Alert! Deadline for this fantastic PhD opportunity is 2nd February!

Still thinking about this week’s classes on Grief Time: the wisdom and invention in Denise Riley’s poetry and prose, the beauty of these mediaeval hooded mourners, the potency of Khaled Barakeh’s images of violent loss and grief in the Syrian war. Thanks to my fellow discussants.

Anne Carson sporting boxing gloves for her LRB lecture last night 🥊

Follow the link for an absolutely fascinating piece. Reminds me of the very weird affect and alignment with patriarchy (as I see it…) in The Tiger Who Came to Tea. Via @remembermyhat.bsky.social

Now could be a good moment to chuck a few pennies Wikipedia’s way wikimediafoundation.org/support/

Fab to meet the legendary @jennyrichards.bsky.social in person yesterday at a great workshop on Age and Ageism at the English Faculty, University of Cambridge. Thanks to Raphael Lyne and Yesim Akbay (neither here, I think) for organising.

Choose 20 plays that have stayed with you or influenced you. One play per day for 20 days, in no particular order No explanations, no reviews, just a cover or poster. (Following @publicradionerd.bsky.social ) .Johannesberg Market Othello. #TheatreSky

Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde Hero.

Who wants to save students from extended contact with me? Looking for someone who can jump into a Modernism module for 8 weeks, West Mids, Tuesday mornings. DM me if interested.

THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH was one of my favourite books as a child; it's still one of my favourite books today. If anything, I love it even more. Great children's books are like that. They shape you at the very deepest levels; they make you who you are, and they stay with you forever. RIP Jules Feiffer.

Word of the Day is one I keep posting at the end of the year, hoping its time will come. ‘Respair’, from the 16th century, is fresh hope, and a recovery from despair. Here’s to a few drops of respair in 2025.

Rest in peace, Jimmy Carter. Thank you for being one of the remarkable people who demonstrated that what's often thought of as time for retirement is when some among us reach their prime. Thank you for your feminism, your advocacy for Palestinians, your hands-on Habitat for Humanity work....

Reminder that the deadline for abstracts is *15th January 2025* which is not that far away! 📩[email protected] I also welcome queries about hub hosting, and abstract queries if you need guidance!

It is remarkable that there are still people who believe that the reason hundreds of thousands of people have nowhere to live is that we haven’t made having nowhere to live unpleasant enough.

'The document, which had been thought lost for more than 70 years, records the activities of merchants who followed in the footsteps of Marco Polo into Asia in the decade following his death.'

A bit thrilled by this news. Cannot wait to see what they do with this one!