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Irina Dumitrescu

@irinadumitrescu.bsky.social
8.9K followers 2.3K following 729 posts

Writer, medievalist, research fellow @einsteinforum.bsky.social, co-editor of @creativecritical.bsky.social. Writing a book about medieval imperfection. irinadumitrescu.com

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Reposted by Irina Dumitrescu
T. S. Eliot Prize @tseliotprize.bsky.social · 22h
We’re delighted to announce the T. S. Eliot Prize 2026 Shortlist! Our judges have chosen ten exciting collections that present voices of ‘linguistic disruption, personal reflection’ and ‘humorous lyricism’. Find out more now!: tseliot.com/prize/news
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
drawing knitting cooking dancing writing walking embroidering printing painting crocheting photographing boxing reading reading reading flaneuring visiting free book boxes learning languages napping solving crosswords and sudokus lifting weights dreaming of more hobbies in no particular order
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
"There are a few truisms about being an artist that you’ve probably heard. One: you have to take risks. Two: you can’t expect to make money at it." irinadumitrescu.substack.com/p/money-sham...
irinadumitrescu.substack.com
Money, shame, and the creative life
Risking it all for art, or not.
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Reposted by Irina Dumitrescu
Harare Review of Books @hararereview.com · 24/09/2026
A Thing of Beauty | A review of “The Alchemy of Paradise” by Susannah M. Smith | Literary Review of Canada reviewcanada.ca/magazine/202...
reviewcanada.ca
A Thing of Beauty | A review of “The Alchemy of Paradise” by Susannah M. Smith | Literary Review of Canada
Irina Dumitrescu reviews “The Alchemy of Paradise,” a novel about grief by Susannah M. Smith.
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
So one thing I've realized about myself is that when I like something, I really really really want to share it with other people. I can do it alone just fine, and I can enjoy it alone. But for some reason I also have to get other people involved.
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Good morning. I want to know about the things you do to get out of your comfort zone, to find out who you could be, to do instead of think about doing. How do you learn to be bold? Here's my experiment in this direction... Let's say I understand why computing started here.
Basic school loom with a third of a cloth on it
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I just scored a ticket to Marina Abramović's Balkan Erotic Epic: The Stage Version, playing in Berlin. Now I just need the editor who is dying for me to write about this for them.
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This looks wonderful!
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I'm pleased to share that I'm starting my work as Senior Research Fellow at the @einsteinforum.bsky.social in Potsdam today. Very very excited to collaborate with a team on thoughtful and innovative programming for the public.
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Suzanne Karr Schmidt @drkarrschmidt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
ImPRESSed Yet? I am thrilled to announce that Impressive Textiles: Premodern Printing on Fabric will be published October 27 in print and Open Access with @acmrs.bsky.social, thanks to 30 textile and print scholars, and 1 groundbreaking exhibition @newberrylibrary.bsky.social! #CoverReveal 1/5
Cover art for Impressive Textiles: Premodern Printing on Fabric!
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Happy St Leoba Day! Ever since this indefatigable and perfectionistic educator-manager made it clear to me that she *was* going to have her own chapter in my book - through events that would 100% count as a miracle in the Middle Ages - I have a little inner clock that reminds me of September 28.
Sculpture of St. Leoba from Tauberbischofsheim
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Cait Coker <<digital brat with an insect mind>> @caitcoker.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
"What if, instead of teaching us how to be resilient, institutions took responsibility for the environments they create and the things they ask of us?"
timeshighereducation.com
It’s time to stop celebrating resilience
When universities ask their staff to do more with less, is it really a test of individual fortitude? Rachelle McKay explains why we should stop praising endurance
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Apollo @apollo-magazine.com · 21/09/2026
Is the Bayeux Tapestry a justification of the Norman claim to the English throne, or about the bad luck of Harold Godwinson? For Irina Dumitrescu, the fables and riddles in the borders of the Tapestry carry a more ambiguous message for medieval audiences to puzzle over.
buff.ly
The secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry
Everyone knows that the medieval masterpiece chronicles matters of high state, culminating in the Battle of Hastings, but its borders carry a much more riddling message, writes Irina Dumitrescu
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Medievalist friends, can anyone point me to sources on the hunting of dolphins in the early Middle Ages? How was it done? Could one man hunt a dolphin alone? Were dolphins ever beached, and if so, were they edible?
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Can someone younger than I am explain this wonderful thing that has been done with a quote from one of my essays? Is this a form of collage art? cbk1000.tumblr.com/post/8280445...
cbk1000.tumblr.com
You firefly from down below!
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Was talking to a friend just now about the challenge of entering a new academic position these days, and how much the very job has changed since we decided to try for a career in teaching and research.
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Today I learned a wonderful German compound word from my driving instructor: "Reisetante." She used it to refer to her aunt, who travels eagerly and often, and doesn't chill in the hotel but goes and does things in the place she's visiting. A Reisetante seems like a wonderful thing to be.
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Alright people, make my Wednesday. Tell me something you're proud of right now. Big or small. Can be work related, but absolutely does not have to be.
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I just ran into one of the first students I ever had at Bonn. He told me about what he's doing outside his day job: organizing anti-fascist Goth concerts and parties. It's apparently not an entirely uncomplicated endeavour. And it made me very happy.
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WRMS Traffic & Weather Reporter on the 2’s @carnegro.blacksky.app · 13/09/2026
I missed FAMU honoring Dolly Parton at Miami Friday night.
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g.j.hilton @hltn.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
One way and another, I owe Dumitrescu the most mountainous of debts and her pointer here to Joe Moran notches yet another entry into that ledger: “A sentence is not about self-expression but about editing your thoughts into a partly feigned fluency, building a ladder of words up to a better self.”
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
"The Roman educator Quintilian once insisted that an orator must be a good man... The rigorous study of eloquence.. required a mind undistracted by vice. The books discussed here inherit this ancient conviction that the attempt to write well is a bettering one." www.the-tls.com/literature/l...
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Apollo @apollo-magazine.com · 05/09/2026
The Bayeux Tapestry chronicles matters of high state, culminating in the Battle of Hastings, but it also contains in its borders motifs that carry a much more riddling message. Irina Dumitrescu looks at the mysteries of the medieval masterpiece.
apollo-magazine.com
The secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry
Everyone knows that the medieval masterpiece chronicles matters of high state, culminating in the Battle of Hastings, but its borders carry a much more riddling message, writes Irina Dumitrescu
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Alexandra Irimia @alexandrairim.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
What images keep surfacing – and why? – in our stories about bureaucracy? Why does the language of horror creep into descriptions of administrative form? I'll be digging into that in mid-January at the Einstein Forum in Potsdam, in conversation with Irina Dumitrescu.
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Vicky MacKenzie @vickymackenzie.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
This book sounds so good. I'm increasingly realising I'm not just interested in writing that transgresses formal boundaries, or presents itself as hybrid in some way - for me, the most interesting writing is that which understands those boundaries don't really exist.
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
For this month's issue of @reviewcanada.bsky.social, I reviewed Susannah Smith's beautiful novel, The Alchemy of Paradise. It's one of those books that doesn't fit nearly into one genre, as much poetry and essay as it is fiction. reviewcanada.ca/magazine/202...
reviewcanada.ca
A Thing of Beauty | A review of “The Alchemy of Paradise” by Susannah M. Smith | Literary Review of Canada
Irina Dumitrescu reviews “The Alchemy of Paradise,” a novel about grief by Susannah M. Smith.
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Reposted by Irina Dumitrescu
Apollo @apollo-magazine.com · 06/09/2026
‘For much of its nearly-millennium-long history, the Bayeux Tapestry has been a riddle, provoking various audiences to find its solution.’ Irina Dumitrescu argues that the makers of the embroidery were more interested in ambivalence than answers.
apollo-magazine.com
The secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry
Everyone knows that the medieval masterpiece chronicles matters of high state, culminating in the Battle of Hastings, but its borders carry a much more riddling message, writes Irina Dumitrescu
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
This essay of writing advice by @victoriagosling.bsky.social made my day. statorec.com/wrestling-th...
statorec.com
Wrestling the Angel by Victoria Gosling | ®┊STAT®REC
Author Victoria Gosling writes about the “leech-infested swamps and freezing trenches” endured while learning how to write a publishable book.
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I am here for Harrison Ford content.
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Okay, artists of Bluesky, I need help. Question 1: is there a tag of some kind to link to artists, or visual artists more specifically? Question 2: What can I do with watercolour pencils that really are just not very good? Any hacks? Please?
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Apollo @apollo-magazine.com · 05/09/2026
The September issue of Apollo is out now, with: Sophie Barling on the Torlonia Marbles in Rome | Irina Dumitrescu on the secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry | an interview with Sunil Gupta | Molly Pepper Steemson on the art of eating oysters – and much more View full contents here: buff.ly/zwno8rZ
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
"Avoiding risk can be the riskiest thing to do." irinadumitrescu.substack.com/p/money-sham...
irinadumitrescu.substack.com
Money, shame, and the creative life
Risking it all for art, or not.
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
On my way to boxing class on a street called Wolf, I reflected that there really are two wolves inside of me, and they actually are Beowulf and Virginia Woolf.
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Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Well, if it’s 4 September... YES, OF COURSE: it’s the 1,027th anniversary of the Translation of St Cuthbert—meaning the occasion of his relics being interred in the forerunner to Durham Cathedral, where he resides to this day. Not that it was the first or last time he was dug up and reburied... 🧵
Cuthbert’s tomb in Durham Cathedral – a large slab of dark stone, which certainly looks like granite, inscribed in gold with the word ‘Cuthbertus’ in a typeface which suggests the middle ages
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
This one scared me to write and press "publish" on, but if you can't write about shame, what the hell else can you do with it? irinadumitrescu.substack.com/p/money-sham...
irinadumitrescu.substack.com
Money, shame, and the creative life
Risking it all for art, or not.
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
In which Julia Cameron reminds me that avoiding risk can be the riskiest thing to do.
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Apollo @apollo-magazine.com · 03/09/2026
The September issue of Apollo is out now, featuring: • Sophie Barling on the Torlonia Marbles in Rome • @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social on the secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry • an interview with Sunil Gupta, photographer of queer life • Lisa Halliday on a serene Saint Agatha in Milan — and much more.
apollo-magazine.com
September 2026
Face to face with the Torlonia Marbles | the secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry | an interview with Sunil Gupta | are commercial galleries broken?
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ashley fairbanks @ziibiing.com · 03/09/2026
feeling unexpectedly emotional as we visit saerbeck, a town of just 7200 in central germany that formed a climate municipality. they produce 4.5x the electricity they need, and have developed a whole array of climate solutions. one of them? a climate action curriculum that starts in kindergarten.
lady presenting about saerbecks climate curriculum
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Catharine Morris @catharinemorris.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The new issue of the TLS, out tomorrow @thetls.bsky.social
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Apollo @apollo-magazine.com · 02/09/2026
The Bayeux Tapestry chronicles matters of high state, culminating in the Battle of Hastings, but it also contains in its borders motifs that carry a much more riddling message. Irina Dumitrescu looks at the mysteries of the medieval masterpiece.
apollo-magazine.com
The secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry
Everyone knows that the medieval masterpiece chronicles matters of high state, culminating in the Battle of Hastings, but its borders carry a much more riddling message, writes Irina Dumitrescu
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Free book box had David McLellan's short introduction to Marx. Never thought I'd find the old man so relatable.
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Apollo @apollo-magazine.com · 02/09/2026
From the September issue, out now: the Bayeux Tapestry chronicles matters of high state, culminating in the Battle of Hastings, but it also contains in its borders motifs that carry a much more riddling message. @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social looks at the mysteries of the medieval masterpiece.
apollo-magazine.com
The secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry
Everyone knows that the medieval masterpiece chronicles matters of high state, culminating in the Battle of Hastings, but its borders carry a much more riddling message, writes Irina Dumitrescu
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
As many of you will know, the Bayeux Tapestry is spending some time at the British Museum starting this fall. I wrote about this puzzling work -- which I saw in Bayeux a while back -- for @apollo-magazine.com apollo-magazine.com/bayeux-tapes...
apollo-magazine.com
The secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry
Everyone knows that the medieval masterpiece chronicles matters of high state, culminating in the Battle of Hastings, but its borders carry a much more riddling message, writes Irina Dumitrescu
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Can anyone suggest good books, documentaries, or serious podcasts for getting a sense of the political situation in Hungary over the last 20 years or so?
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Monday mornings not usually my favorite time, but I woke up today to a journal acceptance for my first standalone translation -- of a Romanian folk lyric. Such a nice way to start the day.
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Tom & Lorenzo @tomandlorenzo.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Bluesky is aware of Dolly Parton's coleslaw recipe, yes? It's amazing with pulled pork and fried fish
DOLLY PARTON'S COLESLAW
Preparation time: 10-12 minutes. Serves 10 - 12
1 medium head cabbage, chopped
1 medium onion, chipped
1 carrot, chopped or grated
1/2 bell pepper, finely chipped
1 tsps sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sweet pickle juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 dill pickle, chopped or 1 tbsp pickle relish
1 cup mayonnaise
Mix all ingredients in large bowl. Refrigerate until ready to serve
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Lawrence Schimel @lawrenceschimel.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Hay un ensayo muy bonito de @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social sobre justo esta dificultad, especialmente en academia, con las metas cambiantes y sentirse excluido incluso con los logros...: irinadumitrescu.substack.com/p/the-gift-o...
irinadumitrescu.substack.com
The gift of belonging
Or: enough of the badges
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
This fall's program at the @einsteinforum.bsky.social is starting to go online. Already up: news of a conference on the reception and meaning of Ibn Rushd. www.einsteinforum.de/tagung/beyon...
einsteinforum.de
Einstein Forum – Beyond Ibn Rushd / Averroes Philosophy and Science in Islam from Muslim Córdoba to Contemporary Iran
Beyond Ibn Rushd / Averroes Philosophy and Science in Islam from Muslim Córdoba to Contemporary Iran
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Jackman Humanities Institute @jhievents.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
In Over and Over Again, recycled plastics act as raw materials, organic matter performs like plastic & synthetic textiles mimic natural fibres. Opening Sept. 16 at JHI uoft.me/art26-27
Poster for an art exhibition. Text overlay is Over and Over Again. Can something new emerge from the rubble of change? An exhibition curated by Ava Clarke. Featuring works by: Carol-Ann Apilado, Kuh Del Rosario, Sukaina Kubba, Esmelyn Miranda Orozco

September 16, 2026 to June 17, 2027
Jackman Humanities Institute
170 St. George Street, Toronto
Info: uoft.me/art26-27
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Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
For those of you who are artists, crafters, makers of things -- what do you do with all the stuff you make?!?!
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