iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 16h

Pals, I just got copied on an invitation to speak to the "Eclectic Wine and Cheese Book Club" of Alexandria, VA. The email begins "Hi M. H. Abrams and Deidre Shauna Lynch." Mike Abrams died in 2015, at age 102, so I guess bookclub discussion of The Norton Anthology of Engl Lit will involve a séance?

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 21h

Feeling as tho' humanistic study here (construe "here" as you will) is doomed, but on the bright side I get to talk about this Jackie Kay poem today w/ a dedicated group of undergrads. (What's more I learned about the poem on this very site--🙏): www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/old-ton...

scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk

Old Tongue

When I was eight, I was forced south. Not long after, when I opened my mouth, a strange thing happened. I lost my Scottish accent. Words fell off my tongue: eedyit, dreich, wabbit, crabbit stummer, te...

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Everyone employed at a postsecondary institution (& esp deans of students) should read Kate Manne's powerful essay: "Cease to be a place where sexual assault is often subject to less punishment than protesting and plagiarism. ... become a place where our sons are not initiated into rape culture."

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

what do you want to bet that they used AI to write them!

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

A member of the Queensland, Australia branch of my mum's family recently passed away, much too young, from skin cancer. But it's been bringing the family both there and here just a tiny bit of cheer to learn from his widow that a tree kangaroo & a wombat showed up to his (outdoor) memorial service.

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Dr ShinyGoth @ghostingdani.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Humanities will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no humanities.

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John O'Brien @johnobrien.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Behold, a job post in my department. The University of Virginia’s Department of English/Program in Creative Writing (creativewriting.virginia.edu ) invites applications for a tenure-line Assistant or Associate Professor in Fiction. To apply, please visit apply.interfolio.com/192511

creativewriting.virginia.edu

Mother Love

Fiction Reading

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Keats-Shelley Assoc. @ksaacomm.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

✨ Fast facts about the Pforzheimer awards! - Who can apply: Grad students, untenured faculty, & independent scholars - Purpose: Expenses related to research in Romantic-era literature & culture - Award amount: $3,000 - Deadline: Nov. 1 Find more info & apply today! www.k-saa.org/pforzheimera...

k-saa.org

Carl H. Pforzheimer, Jr, Award — K-SAA

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I just watched the Spinal Tap sequel and now I am picturing that arch tipping in the same way that Stonehenge does at the end of their concert. One can hope.

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Mary Lewis @profmarylewis.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Another reflection on AI & writing at Harvard, from a former writing tutor trained by @janerosenzweig.bsky.social “AI trains us, more than anything, to parrot the AI voice. I’d rather we teach students how to find their own.” Well said! www.harvardmagazine.com/commentary/h...

harvardmagazine.com

I Used to Think AI Could Make Me a Better Writer | Harvard Magazine

A former Harvard College writing tutor changes her mind on LLMs.

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

For #caturday, Tirzah Garwood's 1932 woodcut "Kitchen Full of Cats." (There are four of them, who clearly think they own the place. But there is a hen as well, who evidently would protect her territory if pressed.)

Black and white woodcut of an old fashioned kitchen, with dresser, hearth, with kettle on the hob, and a hen nesting beside it. Also four cats: two with stripes, two black.

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Sarah Bull @sarahebull.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

#bookhistory #histmed 18th Century Literatures job at the University of Alberta! Particular interest in candidates with expertise in Critical Race/Ethnicity Studies; Disability Studies; Environmental Humanities; History of Science/Medicine; and Print Culture/ Book History.

iaejup.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com

Assistant Professor (tenure-track), Global 18th -Century Literatures

Location - This role is in-person at North Campus Edmonton. The Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta invites applications for a tenure-track appointment in Global 18th-C...

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ilinca iurascu @ilinca.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Friends, send us your proposals, abstracts, thoughts, in English or French - and please help us spread the word about this journal issue on distraction we're putting together. The CFP is attached: intermedialites.com/en/call-for-...

intermedialites.com

CALL FOR PAPERS – NO. 51 “DISTRACTING / DISTRAIRE” – intermédialités

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

In office hrs just now, a sophomore, putting together her classes, starting musing about how @zibrak.bsky.social (whose Avidly Reads: Guilty Pleasures book I had assigned) would respond to Adorno's comments on different types of music listeners. Her readiness to try out connections was a delight.

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Gregory Hays @aristofontes.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

on fægerre Verona þǣr we leogedon ure gesyhðe

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Robbie Richardson @londonmikmaq.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I'm very excited to be giving the 2026-27 W.J. Alexander Lecture in English Literature on October 15th at University College, University of Toronto! It will be called "Joseph Brant's Unwritten History: Towards an Indigenous Antiquarianism."

uc.utoronto.ca

Joseph Brant’s Unwritten History: Towards an Indigenous Antiquarianism | University College U of T

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

A little late for #caturday, but look at this utterly beguiling woodcut by Richard Bawden (son of Edward Bawden, also great at depicting cats).

Poster for a Richard Bawden show at the Fry Art Gallery: a tabby cat with fine stripes and yellow eyes standing on a small armchair , which is just its size, an array of patterned cushions behind it, red, yellow, and white. There are cat portraits on the wall on either side of the sofa. The cat is looking hard at us.

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

A question re. recent geopolitical realignments. Is Canada actually geographically closer to France (b/c of Saint Pierre et Miquelon being part of the country and of the EU) than the UK is? (These days it has begun to seem as though the political vs geographical rapprochement is gathering steam.)

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Rememberist @rememberist.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Here's Bébé, a small French cat who has been around books his entire life.

A baby black cat, on his first day in his new home, sits upon a copy of War and Peace, which sits upon a copy of The Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker.

Same cat, six years later, having a nap while draped over short stacks of books.

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

There is a wind chill in Toronto today (said in my best voice of doom manner).

Game of thrones poster with the motto "Winter is coming" and small image, a sigil, of a dire-wolf

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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

If I was in charge of an educational institution and learned that a technology fostered “cognitive surrender” in young people, I’d like to think I would do everything in my power to keep it away from the young people who pay my institution to educate them. But I guess I’m just a weirdo.

Students are using artificial intelligence for everything, including cheating, and a recent M.I.T. report said the technology was creating
"cognitive surrender."
Philip Cheung for The New York Times
Many university leaders are embracing A.I. anyway. →

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Ron Sexsmith @ronsexsmith.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Old MacDonald had A.I. A.I. A.I. Oh! And with this crap he killed mankind A.I. A.I. Oh! With a hack hack here And a hack hack there Here a hack, rogue attack Everywhere a grid hack Old MacDonald had A.I. A.I. A.I. Oh! RS

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Teaching challenge no. 14,738. Discover on arrival on campus that you've left the novel on which you're lecturing at home. Think to yourself, well, I can borrow my TA's copy. But then...TA is 10 minutes late for class--because he was being attacked by a flock of turkeys. 🦃 (He's fine, by the way.)

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Mary Lewis @profmarylewis.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Excellent oped in @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social by my @harvard.edu colleague Jill Lepore. www.thecrimson.com/article/2026...

But of course, the machine conversation is not free. It comes at the cost of our common life together as teachers, learners, and researchers, colleagues, mentors, and friends. Not to mention, supervising student researchers is our job.

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Happy to announce that, as my French Revolution wall calendar informed me, we are about to finish Fructidor and enter a period of "complementary days": the Fêtes of Virtue, Genius, Work, Opinion, Rewards, & Revolution await. I feel strongly that we should make the most of these interstitial days.

A picture of my calendar, which has been printed in black and red: a sans-culottes inllustrating this period, and then the symbols of vertu (a heart), genie (a flame), travail (a hammer), option (paper and pen), recompenses (a star), and revolution (a tricolor flag).

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Faculty of English, University of Oxford @engfac.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The English Faculty & St Catherine’s College are seeking applications for the Thomas Warton Professorship. The Warton Professor will maintain & enhance the University’s global reputation in the study of literature in English during the ‘long’ eighteenth century. #18thcentury #academicjobs

english.web.ox.ac.uk

Job Vacancies

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The Bibliographical Society of America @bibsocamer.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The Society works hard to bring to life our vision of a broader, more inclusive, and exciting bibliographical community: if you are interested in texts as artifacts, you belong here. 🔗https://bit.ly/bsa-join-now The BSA membership year begins on 1 October and ends on 30 September for all members.

White text on a copper background. Announcement of membership renewal season with details about the 2026/2027 membership year, emphasizing benefits and dues.

Copper text on a white background. Promotional announcement inviting membership in the Bibliographical Society of America, detailing various membership benefits in bullet points.

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Philip Leventhal @philipleventhal.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

"[A] landmark exploration in the still too little recognized, immense contributions of the multitongued sources of what is usually considered the American canon."--Ann Douglas Now available, BIG AMERICAN WRITER, by Jean-Christophe Cloutier. bit.ly/4uqPRxN @columbiaup.bsky.social

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Jessica R Valdez @jrvaldez.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

We're hiring in the long eighteenth century at LSU. Please spread the word and let me know if you have any questions. It's a wonderful department to work in! lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/LSU/job/0210...

lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com

Assistant Professor - 18th-Century British Literature

All Job Postings will close at 12:01a.m. CST (1:01a.m. EST) on the specified Closing Date (if designated). If you close the browser or exit your application prior to submitting, the application progre...

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Seth Rudy @sethrudy.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

How about we have two separate tracks in college, an AI-allowed track and an AI-not-allowed track and we put the one you choose on your transcript and see what shakes out

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Good typo in the materials that I've prepared for tomorrow's class (meaning not good at all): Uncle Tom's Cab, by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

A friend who's DGS in another humanities dept just reported that her grad students who, at this time of year, are usually SO excited about their 1st stint as teachers are now horribly depressed: it's b/c the Pedagogy Center training them would talk only about how they could use AI in the classroom

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Shaily Patel @vox-magica.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

one day, this administration will be effectively over. and we’ll probably do some collective pondering on what’s next. colleges could seize that opportunity to reassert the value of college as a public good as opposed to career prep. i think the ones that do will be the future of HE.

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Jim Casey @jimccasey1.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Oh wow, an actual tt job in early American literature! Assistant Professor in American Literature, Early Period to 1900 Santa Clara University www.higheredjobs.com/details.cfm?...

higheredjobs.com

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Mary Lewis @profmarylewis.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

It is revolting that @harvard.edu’s endowment is invested in, among other things, catastrophe speculation. It is bad enough there’s a market for that, but for a university to invest in it is just deeply distressing. www.thecrimson.com/article/2026...

Some Harvard funds make money from lawsuits. Others provide capital to insurance markets or bet on catastrophe risk. And one newly disclosed venture capital vehicle appears to be linked to generative artificial intelligence search company Perplexity AI.

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

#SCRAP (Be still, my heart.) Read the whole thread, the response to the OP and so on, because the interaction --in which a mystery is solved--illustrates so very charmingly all the good stuff that can happen on this website.

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BradinBC🇨🇦 @bradinbc.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

My God…what a speech, what a man, what a great Canadian!

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Coffee House Press @coffeehousepress.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

We're saddened by the passing of poet and wonderful human being Rachel Blau Duplessis. We are equally honored and humbled to have published her decades-in-the-making masterwork, THE COMPLETE DRAFTS. www.inquirer.com/obituaries/r...

inquirer.com

Rachel Blau DuPlessis, experimental poet, literary scholar, and Temple professor emerita, has died at 84

She grew up in New York, lived in Swarthmore and Philadelphia for more than 50 years, and taught a variety of classes at Temple from 1974 to her retirement in 2011.

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will pooley @willpooley.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

introducing our revolutionary new technology. with the potential to show richer colour than any existing screen. battery life effectively infinite. it’s foldable. it’s thinner than you could imagine. it weighs next to nothing. introducing Papr™️

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Because Tom just brought home this cheese from the grocery store, I have found myself imagining a whole range of cheeses named after Austen characters: Lady Catherine Cheese, and so on. "Buttery, rich, & savory" it might be, but Willoughby cheese is going to leave a bitter aftertaste, isn't it?

A block of cheese labelled "Willoughby" (washed rind, artisan soft cheese, buttery, rich, & savory). Selling for $15.99

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Philip Leventhal @philipleventhal.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

"This brilliant, fascinating book will be recognized as the definitive study of Kerouac’s linguistic inner life." -- Ann Charters Now available, BIG AMERICAN WRITER, by Jean-Christophe Cloutier. Use the coupon code CUP20 and save 20%! bit.ly/4uqPRxN @columbiaup.bsky.social

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Thought that I would mark the occasion, as well, by reposting this post from almost two years ago.

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

So, last month, apparently through sheer force of will, I somehow made myself heard, and the universe is providing me w/ just the movie adaptation I want to see. (See my prophetic post below, from early Aug.) (Thanks to @drbeard79.bsky.social for alerting me.) deadline.com/2026/09/hans...

deadline.com

Renate Reinsve, Johnny Flynn & Vicky Krieps Set For Mia Hansen-Løve’s Mary Wollstonecraft Picture ‘If Love Should Die’ As Goodfellas Boards Sales – TIFF

Renate Reinsve, Johnny Flynn, Vicky Krieps Join Mia Hansen-Løve’s Mary Wollstonecraft Picture 'If Love Should Die' As Goodfellas Boards Sales - TIFF

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

#18thc and Novel people, what work of secondary criticism or work of novel theory would you pair with Eliza Haywood's Fantomina? (this for a hastily pulled together grad seminar, not necessarily populated by people with an interest in the period, but definitely interested in the genre). Thank you!

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NAVSA @navsa.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

CFP: A Cultural History of Countercultures in the Long-Nineteenth Century (Abstract Deadline: 12/1/2026) navsa.org/News/13686462

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Deidre Lynch @drbibliomane.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

"Why is revolutionizing college education necessary or desirable? The document does not say. Woe betide anyone who dares question this purportedly apolitical & inevitable development & how it might intersect with our goal of imparting a humanist education to our students." = A question to ask deans

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