I was fortunate enough to get one of the early copies of the English translation of [dasein] by Yaryna Chornohuz. It's officially released today.

🪶 Defending the Human in War Poetry | London 📅 13 Nov, 19:00–21:00 📍 Swedenborg Hall, Bloomsbury Join Yaryna Chornohuz — Ukrainian soldier, medic, and poet — for a powerful reading written under fire on the front line. 🎟 beinghumanfestival.org/events/defending-human-war-poetry-london

@yarachornohuz.bsky.social dasein: defence of presence, trans by @aglaser.bsky.social with the poet Fiona Benson and me, released in the UK today, available from @jantarbooks.bsky.social and selected bookshops!

A policy *supported by a smaller % of the population* than it would seek to deport!

Updating my LEGO White House

In Bolivia, I bought a guitar from a guy who made handmade guitars. A day or so later I was in Cusco in Peru & I got my new guitar out to play & the place I was staying at had a parrot. He came up to me & settled on my shoulder, bopping to the music & nibbling my ear. youtube.com/shorts/mMf9m...

Cofiwn Aberfan.

NEW: Britain’s top libel firm, Carter-Ruck, acted for OneCoin - a $4bn crypto-fraud. The firm threatened whistleblowers, journalists, regulators, and even the police. Carter-Ruck's work helped the fraud continue as long as it did. Was that a crime?

Yaryna Chornohuz's [dasein: defence of presence] arrived this morning. Translation into English by Amelia Glaser, and published by Jantar. Really good short essays by Prof. Hugh Roberts, to introduce, and Prof. Glaser, in conclusion, to help guide the reader.

Deep breath. My publisher @johnmurrays.bsky.social informs me that my book about 🇬🇧, "Fantastic Kingdom“ which will come out in June 2026, is now available to pre-order, and that @waterstones.bsky.social is offering a 25% preorder discount this week. www.waterstones.com/book/fantast...

"Images of Manchester Jewish Museum were found on Mr Hussein's phone, the court heard" Obviously the trial goes on, but close to home again. Just this morning had the e-mail giving the date for the annual community festival and open day for places of worship and museums and community centres here.

The two suspects in the arson attack on a mosque in Peacehaven had enough shame to cover their faces with balaclavas. There were people inside the mosque at the time of this dangerous attack. It must have been absolutely terrifying. /1 www.bbc.com/news/article...

Been really into Vøvk's new music, their second album Litera released on Friday. First heard them on the Stalker 2 ingame radio singing in English so it's really cool hearing them now singing in Ukrainian. Bit progressive rock, bit post-hardcore, and hints of more in the mix too. Superb album.

1/3 Because progressive spaces have failed to be unequivocal on antisemitism repeatedly, the far-right have tried to pretend to be Jewish allies in that vacuum of accountability They use the Jewish fears about antisemitic Islamists to demonise all Muslims by using our community’s trauma as a weapon

#StandingStoneSunday The Pillar of Eliseg, stands near Valle Crucis Abbey, Denbighshire, #Wales. #Latin inscription consisted of some thirty-one lines of insular script. Excavation shows the Pillar sits atop a much earlier burial mound circa 2000BC. #History #Archaeology

the antisemitism in some of the replies to people on this website is rather intolerable. horribly reminiscent of Labour's problems under Corbyn. from the outside, seems almost tied up into a sense of identity that 'i believe am an anti-racist therefore whatever i say cannot be bigotry'. just sad.

Last four albums listened to.

'The rain could only mask the tears, but nothing could hide the anger' - my account of the vigil for the Manchester synagogue attack @manchestereveningnews.co.uk

It's one of those things it would be quite nice if it weren't true I suppose. The whole living on the streets after becoming poorly, living in a hostel, and then moved into a flat on a 'take it or leave it' basis. People on the internet are just weird.

It is very beautiful. When I first moved to Cheetham Hill, I just saw museum on the bus so threw what little stuff I had down in this barren flat and part of Manchester I did not know and went there and was guided around.

This is very late, because it’s been a very long day. But this is from talking to Manchester’s Jewish community on.ft.com/46wNfpe

[dasein: defence of presence] is available in English translation now, and French, ordered my copy last night.

Some #RSThomas while I remember it's been Monday.

not qting, because it always seems aggressive, although some of the takes on Labour conference being all 'middle class and having degrees' kind of misses just who it is who went to get degrees and are now at conference. also: able to find a good chippy and a nice cafe - aren't exclusive things.

​This is what the destroyed homes in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, just outside Kyiv, look like after russian attack last night. Bastards. Murderers.

Elkie Brooks.

The version of Wretched Lie that The Tubs have done for KEXP is superb. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tVA...

RS Thomas' Moorland.

Got the English translation of Yuliya Musakovska's The God of Freedom yesterday. Very glad to have been introduced to her own work. Just the one poem from it, Summer's End.

Taking official photos of my chocolates for the website is always tricky. They are so shiny you can always see reflections, and without fancy equipment it’s a game of trial and error. In this one, you can actually spot what a chocolate sees in the final moments before I eat it.

NEW: Do "problem sharks" exist? And, if they do... can / should we catch 'em? I wrote about some controversial but, I have to say, fascinating new research on this topic. www.biographic.com/to-catch-a-k...

Yesterday, I got my copy of the full English translation of Malevich's autobiographical notes called He and I. (Full title is a quote from within 'He and I Were Ukrainians'.) Absolutely stunning book. Tetyana Filevska has done some very sensible notes to help guide a reader to context and meaning.

i too am surprised.

Quite a few people are asking why Angela Rayner didn't just put a call into the head of HMRC. That would be wildly improper in 2025. However it was absolutely the done thing in 1925 A completely tangential thread:

Just as a regular Labour party member, it's curious seeing the fascination with the Deputy Leader position. Internal election, potential for future drama, all great headlines sure, but it's a role which has been easily marginalised in the past even if we disregard the procedural checks to be elected

will take Country Feedback, with Neil Young playing with them, as my favourite REM song. www.youtube.com/watch?v=H47e...

Picked up The Gentle Good's Elan at release. So good. Lovely to see it shortlisted for the Welsh Music Prize this year. A nice little nod to RS Thomas tucked in the lyrics of my favourite song on it too.

The Freddy Mercury hoovering display team were also a particular highlight...

Why does increased liberalism in society NOT lead to election wins for socially liberal parties? Big question, complicated answer. I’ve assembled crack team of experts whose quotes and catchphrases show why: - Marty McFly - Roddy Piper - Grandpa Simpson - The Rock - Breaking Bad's Mike

They had to change the shape of the sign in the end.

Myth of Man seems to have flown under the radar a bit? Saw it tonight and I was absolutely enchanted by how it pulls off the steampunk adjacent setting to tell its story (metaphor?). www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MnO...

Are you an American national working towards becoming a British citizen? If so, it would be great to speak to you! 🇺🇸🇬🇧 I'm on [email protected]

Fascinating headline to get from a refusal to comment on a specific case.

Is this what international relations experts mean by ‘strategic ambiguity’?

Jude Rogers' article in The Observer last week has led me to listening to Jon Gower remembering RS Thomas again. One of the poems discussed in the programme.

Elsi Eldridge, the celebrated artist and wife of poet-priest #RSThomas, was born #OnThisDay in 1909. Discovered more:- meeldridge.com

Ganwyd Elsi Eldridge, yr arlunydd enwog a gwraig y bardd-offeiriad #RSThomas, #ArYDiwrnod hwn ym 1909. Darganfyddwch fwy:- meeldridge.com

only windmill i care about this weekend. open.spotify.com/track/251BQk...

MAGA Voter Drills Hole Into Skull To Relieve Sudden Doubts About Trump