Sign in

Commonplaces

@commonplaces.bsky.social
273 followers 934 following 8 posts

A project about commonplacing: a practice of collecting, recording and extracting meaningful fragments and keeping them in a book, which thinks about materiality, time and living resistant lives.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Commonplaces
John McCafferty @jdmccafferty.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
Study of a Plant with Red-Purple Flowers (which she labelled: 'Sebestena Africana purprurea ulmi folio. Elegantissimo flore' Maria Moninckx Done #otd 14 Oct 1695 (Met Museum)
02010
Reposted by Commonplaces
The Public Domain Review @publicdomainrev.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
Card from the autumn "suit" of the Astronomia playing card deck, 1829. Featuring 3 other seasonal suits the pack was used to play two games — Conjunction and Combination — which were trumps-based, similar to Whist. More images of the cards here: publicdomainreview.org/collection/a... #autumn
05713
Reposted by Commonplaces
ALOCASIA @alocasiamag.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
"How do I write a poem about resilience— how many times will I be asked to write a poem, a song, a prayer, a sermon, a land acknowledgment, an obituary— about resilience?" —Danielle Emerson alocasia.org/2025/08/15/d...
alocasia.org
Danielle Emerson :: “For the common sunflowers along the Upper Fruitland, NM ditch” – ALOCASIA
a journal of queer plant-based writing
0105
Reposted by Commonplaces
Kate Caoimhe Arthur @katecaoimhearthur.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
Loved doing this recently, looking forward to more opportunities to #commonplace
032
Commonplaces @commonplaces.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
Most recently, we ran a workshop with participants at the @qubhistory.bsky.social Centre for Public History annual conference. Here are some of the results. Thanks @emmajmca.bsky.social, @alexjioannou.bsky.social and others for sharing your work.
074
Commonplaces @commonplaces.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
As we tunnel into autumn, time to take stock. We have held two lovely workshops this year and talked to over 30 keen commonplacers, which has given us confidence in this method of marshalling fragments of paper in fragments of time. @katecaoimhearthur.bsky.social @lizajthompson.bsky.social
041
Reposted by Commonplaces
Alex Ioannou @alexjioannou.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
"Commonplacing" at Queen's University Belfast with @leoniehannan.bsky.social. Allowing for more connections and reflection during the the Public Histories Annual Conference! @commonplaces.bsky.social
043
Reposted by Commonplaces
Roz Morris @rozmorris.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
A plan for knocking your sprawling manuscript into shape - @allisonkwilliams.bsky.social & @dintywmoore.bsky.social brevity.wordpress.com/2025/05/16/s... #writingcommunity #authorcommunity #writingtips #memoir #storytelling #skywriters
brevity.wordpress.com
Worth the Climb: Self-Editing Secrets That Actually Work
By Allison K Williams Perhaps you’re staring at your manuscript, thinking, This is either brilliant or a dumpster fire, and I genuinely cannot tell which. Congratulations! You’ve reached the sacred…
094
Reposted by Commonplaces
The Society of Authors @societyofauthors.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
We are delighted to announce the shortlisted authors for The Authors with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses (ADCI) Prize, sponsored by Arts Council England, ALCS, Professional Writing Academy and Drusilla Harvey Memorial Fund 🧵
1107
Reposted by Commonplaces
The Broken Spine (SUBS OPEN) @thebrokenspine.co.uk · 30/03/2025
📢 Independent presses! Amplify your submission calls monthly through our directory. A small admin fee (£3) supports our community hub. Get featured here: thebrokenspine.co.uk...
thebrokenspine.co.uk
Join Our Independent Press Directory - The Broken Spine
At The Broken Spine, collaboration and community have always been at the heart of what we do. We believe in uplifting fellow independent presses, writers, and
045
Commonplaces @commonplaces.bsky.social · 30/03/2025
@imaginebelfast.bsky.social event 'Making Meaning through the Miscellaneous' with @lizajthompson.bsky.social and @leoniehannan.bsky.social is starting in just a few minutes @crescentarts.bsky.social... Can't wait to meet our participants! #ImagineBelfast
161
Commonplaces @commonplaces.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Getting prepared for our @imaginebelfast.bsky.social workshop this Sunday at the Crescent Arts with @leoniehannan.bsky.social and @lizajthompson.bsky.social (imaginebelfast.com/event/making...) - get ready for basic books and big ideas! #ImagineBelfast
imaginebelfast.com
Making Meaning through the Miscellaneous - Imagine! Belfast
Join us and create your own commonplace book using a selection of textual and visual materials and ephemera.
072
Reposted by Commonplaces
Imagine! Belfast @imaginebelfast.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
In celebration of International Women's Day, Imagine! is proud to feature events that highlight women's voices and experiences. Join us from 24-30 March to celebrate and support women's contributions to society. Explore the full festival lineup: IMAGINEBELFAST.COM #ImagineBelfast #IWD2025
051
Reposted by Commonplaces
Imagine! Belfast @imaginebelfast.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
Inua Ellams will be appearing as part of this year's Imagine Festival with his solo show Search Party, at the Crescent Arts Centre on Friday 28 March. Don't miss out! Get your tickets at imaginebelfast.com/event/inua-e...
imaginebelfast.com
Inua Ellams: Search Party - Imagine! Belfast
Award-winning poet and playwright Inua Ellams brings an audience inspired poetry event to Imagine!
073
Reposted by Commonplaces
London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 01/03/2025
‘Having a linguistic superpower on the doorstep helped to form a uniquely English set of linguistic neuroses, but over the last century the situation has reversed.’ @earlymodernjohn.bsky.social on the influence of French on medieval English: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
John Gallagher · What a spalage! Mis languages est bons
With contemporary English including more than eighty thousand terms of French origin, Georges Clemenceau might have had...
12810
Reposted by Commonplaces
Imagine! Belfast @imaginebelfast.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Look at what has landed in Belfast - the wait is almost over! This week, we unveil the programme for our 2025 edition - 7 days and over 120 events to help you make sense of a crazy world. #ImagineBelfast
153
Reposted by Commonplaces
London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 11/02/2025
‘It’s in the technology of writing that we’ve preserved our boldest, most original thought, our best jokes and most generous comfort. To fail to do everything we can to help children hear that song is a cruelty.’ Katherine Rundell on children’s literature www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Katherine Rundell · Why children’s books?
Children’s books, to a great extent because they are written for those who cannot participate in the market, can offer...
03712
Reposted by Commonplaces
Imagine! Belfast @imaginebelfast.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Hello Bluesky! 📢The Imagine Festival is BACK! 🎉 Get ready for a week of talks, inspiring performances, and thought-provoking discussions from 24-30 March. Follow us here for the latest updates on our 2025 events. Let's imagine a better future, together! #ImagineBelfast #Imagine25
053
Commonplaces @commonplaces.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
So, today went well - many small, simply constructed booklets were produced. Next time we'll be hearing from @lizajthompson.bsky.social about different ways of understanding this fragmentary form.
072
Reposted by Commonplaces
London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 30/01/2025
the ideas – so jagged & hard to make out, fall – until it’s just voices, two voices, you’d think you cld see them so sharp is their muttering, so eager their articulation of right of wrong ‘The Falling’, a poem by @joriegraham.bsky.social: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Jorie Graham · Poem: ‘The Falling’
0214
Commonplaces @commonplaces.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
Getting ready to practice our commonplace book-making skills ahead of our #ImagineBelfast festival workshop @ Crescent Arts at the end of March. Check out the programme: imaginebelfast.com/about-the-fe...
071
Reposted by Commonplaces
Kresen Kernow @kresenkernow.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
We’re prepping our next exhibition about Cornish gardens & gardening - ‘What will summer bring?’. Includes items from the collections, like work by artists inspired by gardens, stories of plant hunters & designs from an early landscape gardener! Opens 25 January! kresenkernow.org/event/what-w...
Hands placing a black and white photograph of a man in a suit on a table, surrounded by original letters, other photographs and a hand coloured drawing of a venus fly trap plant.Hands placing an original handwritten letter on a table, surrounded by black and white photographs and other letters
1182
Reposted by Commonplaces
London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 13/01/2025
‘Locke’s show arrives at a cultural moment very different from 1985 or 2011. Where Paolozzi and Perry celebrated magic and the mystical, Locke seeks to demystify.’ Esther Chadwick on a response to empire at the British Museum: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Esther Chadwick · At the British Museum: ‘what have we here?’
Hew Locke asks us to consider imperial power as a grim yet alluring excess of the symbolic, not just as the exercise of...
071
Reposted by Commonplaces
Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Models of everyday life were deposited in #Egyptian tombs. They were supposed to support the deceased in the afterlife. One of the most charming examples is the model of a #cow giving birth. Carved in wood, painted. Probably from Meir, #Egypt, dating c. 2040-1985 BC 📷 @romtoronto.bsky.social 🏺
The photo shows a wooden model of a cow giving birth accompanied by two men. One man calms the cow while the other ensures a proper delivery. The calf emerges from his mother, licking the hand of the man.
9559113
Reposted by Commonplaces
RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Love stitch repairs in manuscripts. This is one of ours from the 1560s, although not nearly as impressive as @uoyborthwick.bsky.social
Small, straight stitches on a detached manuscript. Sixteenth century manuscript on table with a snake weight. The bottom of the document is detached.
27715
Reposted by Commonplaces
London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 13/01/2025
When I say I remember nothing I mean what being nothing is: within density, without form. My mind has de-scripted what happened. I was forced off the road. It is unwritten down. ‘Outside the Work’, a poem by Lavinia Greenlaw: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Lavinia Greenlaw · Poem: ‘Outside the Work’
0112
Reposted by Commonplaces
Erin L. Thompson @artcrimeprof.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Just like its subject, the Morgan Library's exhibition on Belle da Costa Greene is fascinating, beautiful, and complexly tinted with both pain and hope. Highly recommend! www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/...
65711
Reposted by Commonplaces
The Forge Literary Magazine @theforge.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Our story of the week is Cold Weather Protocol, by Erin Striff. @erinstriff.bsky.social forgelitmag.com/2024/12/16/c...
forgelitmag.com
Cold Weather Protocol - The Forge Literary Magazine
Cold Weather Protocol, a short fiction by Erin Striff
1124
Reposted by Commonplaces
UCD Archives @ucdarchives.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
#UCDAdventCalendar2024 Theme: manuscript, text, typography 16. UCD Special Collections A dazzling cover page from an edition of 'A Celtic Christmas' (1902).
Cover page decorated in red ink and gilt.
0254
Reposted by Commonplaces
Joanna Gardner-Huggett @jogardnerhugg.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
theartnewspaper.com
Seeds of hope: artist Anya Gallaccio’s Margate retrospective is a reminder of how life always finds a way
The show at Turner Contemporary features works made from organic materials that rot, wither and stink—but there is new growth being fostered too
061
Reposted by Commonplaces
RCSEd Library & Archive @rcsedlibandarchive.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
He may be better known as a pioneering surgeon but James Syme also had an excellent eye for Dutch tiles! Our fireplace tiles originally adorned the fireplace of Syme's consulting room in his Minto House surgical hospital in Edinburgh, which he opened in 1829 #ArchiveAdventCalendar #WarmFire.
Close-up photo of a black fireplace with coal surrounded by blue and white hand-pained, porcelain Delft tiles. Around 20 tiles are captured in the photograph. The tiles contain examples from at least six different groups or sets. Above the grate are single figures in landscapes, some are figures in octagonal frames, others are Biblical scenes, boating scenes or landscapes.
2696
Reposted by Commonplaces
Bexley Archives @bexleyarchives.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
We have an unusual fireplace for a #WarmFire on the first-floor drawing room at #RedHouse #Bexleyheath, the home of designer and artist William Morris. The Latin inscribed above it translates as ‘Art is forever, life is short’. #ArchiveAdventCalendar
0166
Reposted by Commonplaces
Angus Library and Archive @anguslibrary.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
'Kitty, take these three books to the library, get Mr Brown to change them - tell him I'm fond of the ROMANTIC' A charming C19th little pencil sketch of a library-loving lady and her little cat by a #WarmFire, found in a Victorian scrapbook. #ArchiveAdventCalendar
A pencil sketch of a Victorian lady in an armchair by a fire, with her feet on the fender. A pile of books is behind her on a table and a cat sits beside her on the floor. The caption reads 'Kitty, take these three books to the Library, get Mr Brown to change them - tell him I am fond of the Romatic' (From Seymour's Sketches)
0143
Reposted by Commonplaces
University of Stirling Archives @unistirarchives.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
A view of the world from #Stirling c 1800 From our #Chapbooks collection (Res M 970.M2)
Cover of chapbook with title A Description of the Four Parts of the World.
094
Reposted by Commonplaces
University of Brighton Design Archives @designarchives.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Lovely to see material from our collections on display at London Transport Museum's 'How to Make A Poster' Exhibition. Left: 'Hand In Your Greetings' draft artwork & final poster by FHK Henrion Right: 'Buy Stamps in Books' by HA Rothholz More about the exhibition: www.ltmuseum.co.uk/visit/museum...
To framed pictures hung on a wall. One us a large yellow poster with an illustration of a unicorn and a lion holding blank telegrams and a smaller is a draft of the same illustration. Illustration of a picture in a picture in a picture with a small red post box in the very centre. Three stamps and a letter are placed at jaunty angles to the main design.
0131
Reposted by Commonplaces
Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Just happened upon this Bread Symphony project: www.katyarozanova.com/sound-object... Which reminds me of Sophia Roosth's "Screaming Yeast": www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1...
katyarozanova.com
Bread Symphony: A cross-species collaboration for material and spiritual nourishment — Katya Rozanova
In 2021 I invited collaborators Max Horwich, Ashley Jane Lewis, and Emily Saltz to create Bread Symphony with me as a practice work at SloMoCo (Slow Movement Computing Residency), a community of a...
4222
Reposted by Commonplaces
Bexley Archives @bexleyarchives.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
We also offer this fireplace along with 17th century ceiling at Hall Place #Bexley. At the time of the 1662 Hearth Tax #HallPlace had no fewer than 29 hearths! #WarmFire #ArchiveAdventCalendar
1172
Reposted by Commonplaces
Vagina Museum @vaginamuseum.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
New exhibition in Anarcha's Gallery! "Ode to Gy(n)a" is a mural project created in collaboration with Skaped. It is a bold and thought-provoking exploration of bodily autonomy, identity, and collective empowerment. Free admission, plan your visit now: www.vaginamuseum.co.uk/visit
Image of the entrance to Anarcha's Gallery with a glimpse at a vibrant mural depicting a figure in a blue palate with a mastectomy on right breast, pierced nipple in bright red, stretch marks, rolls, and bright red pubic hair. Text reads New exhibition: Ode to Gy(n)a. Vagina Museum December 2024-March 2025. Free admission. Supported using project funding by Arts Council England.
1215
Reposted by Commonplaces
Derbyshire Record Office @derbyshiredro.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
In 1911 the Hamlet Lane School, now known as Glebe Junior School, in South Normanton, celebrated Christmas with plum puddings made by staff and pupils, bringing some #ChristmasSparkle to the school. #EYAFestive #ArchiveAdventCalendar
Handwritten entry saying 'The plum puddings which had been made previously by teachers and children, were eaten on Friday morning December 22nd amidst much merriment and a very happy party set off to enjoy the holidays'.
0132
Reposted by Commonplaces
The Poetry Society @poetrysociety.org.uk · 09/12/2024
For our Books of the Year series, Moniza Alvi recommends The Penny Dropping by Helen Farish, published by Bloodaxe.
0195
Reposted by Commonplaces
The Poetry Society @poetrysociety.org.uk · 09/12/2024
For his Books of the Year recommendation, Philip Gross has chosen Henrietta's Library of the Whole Wide World by Lydia Harris, published by Blue Diode.
0172
Reposted by Commonplaces
Nimrod Journal @nimrodjournal.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
We’re looking forward to celebrating our prize winners on Thursday!
052
Reposted by Commonplaces
Bexley Archives @bexleyarchives.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Temporary staff including students busy at work in #Bexleyheath Sorting Office in 1953. #ChristmasCards #ArchiveAdventCalendar
092
Reposted by Commonplaces
Derbyshire Record Office @derbyshiredro.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Who doesn't enjoy a good Victorian pun? We certainly do 😄 Can you work it out? If not, the explanation is in the alt text. #ChristmasCards #EYAFestive #ArchiveAdventCalendar
Victorian Christmas card, landscape with white background. Text in attractive ‘curly’ font reads "With my ever....ing Good Wishes for A Happy Christmas". Between the words 'ever' and 'ing' is a colour drawing of a wooden shoe last, making the message "everlasting Good Wishes".
0205
Reposted by Commonplaces
The Poetry Society @poetrysociety.org.uk · 04/12/2024
Looking forward to the next editions of Poetry News and The Poetry Review? Follow the link for an exciting preview of what's to come this winter👀: bit.ly/3D055Vc
0366
Reposted by Commonplaces
Nimrod Journal @nimrodjournal.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Please join us on Thursday, December 12, at 4pm CST, to celebrate and hear the winners of NIMROD’s annual literary awards, Jonathan Diaz and Allison Krupp, with judges Paisley Rekdal and Kelly Link. Zoom address in post below. 1/2
174
Reposted by Commonplaces
AHAA @ahaaamericanart.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
How’s that holiday shopping going, #Americanists? #JournalPanorama is here to help on the penultimate day of our #AHAATakeover. Let #BookReviews be your guide, beginning with Embroidering the Landscape by Andrea Pappas (Lund Humphries), reviewed by Elizabeth Bacon Eager. bit.ly/4gll3b2 1/4
bit.ly
Embroidering the Landscape: Women, Art and the Environment in British North America, 1740–1770 - Panorama
Panorama is a peer-reviewed, open-access, online publication dedicated to American art and visual culture (broadly defined). The journal is intended to provide a high-caliber international forum for d...
142
Reposted by Commonplaces
The Poetry Society @poetrysociety.org.uk · 02/12/2024
Up next in the Books of the Year series is a recommendation from Young Critic Sylvie Jane Lewis: ways to say we're not alone by Simon Alderwick, published by Broken Sleep Books.
0185