Next March.

'Some years before human beings became rampant plagiarisers of one another and all who preceded them I visited a man in a small village outside of Lincoln who had the same idea but for ants.' -my short piece in the Plagiarism series @minorliteratures.bsky.social minorliteratures.com/2026/05/19/a...

"he might start by teaching them certain passages from Lucian’s True Story" Love this - from @ansgarallen.bsky.social

Vol 6 is still available, in all its very limited, handstitched, numbered and signed, 5 different cover designs, touched with the brilliant work of this year's Letters Page students, marked with a very real sense that this is probably the final issue glory. Link in the article below.

1777: Swallows begin to collect dirt from the road, & to carry it into chimneys for the business of nidification.

Hey Venus

I’m heading west this week, for studio visits, meetings, an exhibition opening AND a book event at The Bookshop in Helston. Looking forward to talking about my weird tomes, The North Shore and Paradise. Come and say hello! Reserve your space at www.ticketsource.co.uk

Currently transcribing this curious letter from Harriet Staples who wrote it while "standing by my work in the Mill" in Manchester (NH) in October of 1848. She confesses to a variety of sins, including stealing candy. She's distraught and begs her sister's forgiveness.

OMG, I literally can't stop laughing! This is pure genius, puts #Yellowface in the shade as #LitWorldSatire Tom Morris, please jump up, take a bow, at your leisure.

Wildflower sketches from Teesmouth (North Gare) last week - lots of lovely Purple Milk Vetch, and a small clump of tiny, bright blue Early Forget-me-nots in the dunes. Small and hairy or small and shiny seem to be the chosen strategies for coastal plants. (NE England) #wildflowers #tinyplants

what do the people want? ninth-century Tang dynasty tales when do they want it? now asterismbooks.com/product/an-a...

"You talk about Gerald Murnane & your varying recollections about the editing process on his debut, Tamarisk Row. He thought u were too interventionist? That was at my very 1st book publishing job at Heinemann. He never forgave me, ever, & still hasn’t" www.killyourdarlings.com.au/article/the-...

This cause is close to my heart - please sign: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/sa...

Evening reading: more of Malcolm Lowry’s tumultuous language.

Most people are not defeated by hard things. They are defeated by easy things done repeatedly.

Something to look forward to if you like short stories. Specifically, short stories by me. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Gwendoline Riley brilliant on ‘stubbed-toe, short-leash exchanges’ by text with a parent (from My Phantoms)

Happy #InternationalDylanThomasDay! How many of them does it take to change a light bulb? None. They'd rather rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Harrow by Joy Williams. Can something this funny really be bleak? It's Joy Williams so it's strange and singular, but if you've never read her, imagine Lorrie Moore, Helen DeWitt and Marilynne Robinson talking over each other to describe the plot of Termush.

First hummingbird, you forget how they fly like a seahorse, paused standing up to check us out and off. The salvia is blooming so there are reasons to stay. Such great, unlikely travelers.

And how cool is it that a story collection qualifies for a major literary prize? Take note the Miles Franklin, the Booker!

A NEW TOM DRURY IN NOVEMBER! FUCK YEAH! @jolloyds.bsky.social

Now available in pocket-sized* affordable** paperback! Hie thee to a bookshop! * if you've got good pockets ** £10.99

As is customary, a playlist precedes the new book, Dooneen, out in a few weeks. This link here is to Tidal. Spotify and Apple follow below. I hope you enjoy the music. And I hope you'll like the book. June 4th from : @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social and @ndbooks.bsky.social

Schiaparelli always makes me think of The Girls of Slender Means - lithub.com/sciaparelli-...

The damp valley in May - glorious

It's been a joy to work on this forthcoming exhibition (RAIN at National Library of Scotland) as the moving image curator and coordinator of sound-art project 'Experiences of Rain'. Thanks to Jelena Sofronijevic and @sgsah.bsky.social for the preview: sgsahblog.com/2026/05/05/w...

Milkwort was traditionally woven into wreaths on rogation Sunday, the day for beating the bounds On the commonland here it weaves through the turf like blue pearls

Today is Primidi the 21st of Floréal in the year 234. Floréal is the month of flowers. Today we celebrate sea thrift.#JacobinDay More information on sea thrift

An intense copper calm, like a universal yellow lotus, was more and more unfolding its noiseless measureless leaves upon the sea.

Want some good news? New Ben Pester short story collection in June!

I wrote about one of the great books observer.co.uk/culture/book...

Sigh

It's a day to go back to bed or look at flowers

The flowers keep on flowering

Every May I post this recording I made of the nightingale singing on Red Square at midnight. Rather than getting old, it seems to increase in meaning for me. Here it is for the weekend ahead: m.youtube.com/watch?v=8nHb...

My new novel will try to escape in December

What a pleasure to find myself holding forth on Scottish poetry in the new issue of the New York Review of Books. Many thanks to Jana Prikryl and the Review for extending me the hospitality of their pages. www.nybooks.com/articles/202...

I am still thinking about this novel - here's @jonathangibbs.bsky.social saying interesting things about it

Here are the bells I fired yesterday. If you would like one they are for sale, £45 each Blue Lady with Swallow Field Gown Briar Dress The Walk Home Blue Woman with Black Snake Jackdaw

As a child in the 1970s, I remember thinking: gosh, when I grow up I hope there are no libraries, no English Literature degrees, no bookshops, no decent public services, no Top of the Pops, no Woolworths, just an endless plain of sport and home computers. Feel blessed to have lived to see it happen.

Here is Danielle McLaughlin’s new novel Rituals. Published by Stinging Fly in Ireland and, as far as I can tell, with no UK publisher. I snapped up this signed edition as I liked her debut novel The Art of Falling so much.

Tree of Life with #Pomegranates and #Apples (Morris & Co.), St Cybi's Church #Holyhead #Anglesey #Wales #WednesdayWindows #WindowsOnWednesday #StainedGlass #fruit #orchard #botany #JesseTree #heritage

Exactly what I talk about in my @isrfoundation.bsky.social piece this week. Increasingly Arts and Humanities will be limited to so-called 'top' universities, with large cold spots across the country which mean that students from lower income backgrounds simply cannot access them. Do you want that? 🤷‍♂️

Water water everywhere...Hot on the heels of the new Ecozona special issue "Sea More Blue," our book The Sea in Nordic Literature is coming soon! #EnvHums #BlueHumanities #Ecocriticism 🌊📚 www.routledge.com/The-Sea-in-N...

In case you were wondering about 天涼好個秋

Today is Septidi the 17th of Floréal in the year 234. Floréal is the month of flowers. Today we celebrate salad burnet.#JacobinDay More information on salad burnet

1825: Could not sleep all night got up at three o clock in the morning & walkd about the fields - the birds were high in their songs in Royce Wood & almost deafening I heard the Cricket bird again in full cry in Royce Wood - it is just like a childs screeker - saw a Hawk-like bird that made an...

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/.... Shop stroll soundtrack; this beautiful story. Well worth hearing. @bbcsounds.bsky.social