Reposted by Irina DumitrescuT. S. Eliot Prize @tseliotprize.bsky.social · 22hWe’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 02613
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 04/10/2026drawing 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 1142
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.comMoney, shame, and the creative lifeRisking it all for art, or not. 191
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuHarare Review of Books @hararereview.com · 24/09/2026A Thing of Beauty | A review of “The Alchemy of Paradise” by Susannah M. Smith | Literary Review of Canada reviewcanada.ca/magazine/202...reviewcanada.caA Thing of Beauty | A review of “The Alchemy of Paradise” by Susannah M. Smith | Literary Review of CanadaIrina Dumitrescu reviews “The Alchemy of Paradise,” a novel about grief by Susannah M. Smith. 021
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 04/10/2026So 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. 1130
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Good 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. 0151
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 01/10/2026I 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. 141
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 01/10/2026I'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. 3230
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuSuzanne Karr Schmidt @drkarrschmidt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026ImPRESSed 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 1526793
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Happy 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. 1173
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuCait 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.comIt’s time to stop celebrating resilienceWhen 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 0268
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuApollo @apollo-magazine.com · 21/09/2026Is 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.lyThe secrets of the Bayeux TapestryEveryone 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 071
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 22/09/2026Medievalist 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? 132213
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Can 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.comYou firefly from down below! 120
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Was 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. 2180
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Today 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. 1200
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Alright 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. 752
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 15/09/2026I 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. 1533
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuWRMS Traffic & Weather Reporter on the 2’s @carnegro.blacksky.app · 13/09/2026I missed FAMU honoring Dolly Parton at Miami Friday night. 241920578
Reposted by Irina Dumitrescug.j.hilton @hltn.bsky.social · 13/09/2026One 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.” 1103
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... 091
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuApollo @apollo-magazine.com · 05/09/2026The 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.comThe secrets of the Bayeux TapestryEveryone 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 0155
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuAlexandra Irimia @alexandrairim.bsky.social · 11/09/2026What 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. 071
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuVicky MacKenzie @vickymackenzie.bsky.social · 12/09/2026This 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. 131
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 12/09/2026For 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.caA Thing of Beauty | A review of “The Alchemy of Paradise” by Susannah M. Smith | Literary Review of CanadaIrina Dumitrescu reviews “The Alchemy of Paradise,” a novel about grief by Susannah M. Smith. 073
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuApollo @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.comThe secrets of the Bayeux TapestryEveryone 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 091
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 07/09/2026This essay of writing advice by @victoriagosling.bsky.social made my day. statorec.com/wrestling-th...statorec.comWrestling the Angel by Victoria Gosling | ®┊STAT®RECAuthor Victoria Gosling writes about the “leech-infested swamps and freezing trenches” endured while learning how to write a publishable book. 051
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 05/09/2026Okay, 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? 056
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuApollo @apollo-magazine.com · 05/09/2026The 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 051
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.comMoney, shame, and the creative lifeRisking it all for art, or not. 060
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 04/09/2026On 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. 2350
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuOdd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Well, 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... 🧵 210322
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 04/09/2026This 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.comMoney, shame, and the creative lifeRisking it all for art, or not. 081
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 04/09/2026In which Julia Cameron reminds me that avoiding risk can be the riskiest thing to do. 080
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuApollo @apollo-magazine.com · 03/09/2026The 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.comSeptember 2026Face to face with the Torlonia Marbles | the secrets of the Bayeux Tapestry | an interview with Sunil Gupta | are commercial galleries broken? 062
Reposted by Irina Dumitrescuashley fairbanks @ziibiing.com · 03/09/2026feeling 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. 13848212
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuCatharine Morris @catharinemorris.bsky.social · 03/09/2026The new issue of the TLS, out tomorrow @thetls.bsky.social 062
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuApollo @apollo-magazine.com · 02/09/2026The 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.comThe secrets of the Bayeux TapestryEveryone 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 091
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 03/09/2026Free book box had David McLellan's short introduction to Marx. Never thought I'd find the old man so relatable. 081
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuApollo @apollo-magazine.com · 02/09/2026From 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.comThe secrets of the Bayeux TapestryEveryone 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 082
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 01/09/2026As 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.comThe secrets of the Bayeux TapestryEveryone 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 092
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 31/08/2026Can 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? 222
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 31/08/2026Monday 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. 1312
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuTom & Lorenzo @tomandlorenzo.bsky.social · 30/08/2026Bluesky is aware of Dolly Parton's coleslaw recipe, yes? It's amazing with pulled pork and fried fish 12147351025
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuLawrence Schimel @lawrenceschimel.bsky.social · 29/08/2026Hay 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.comThe gift of belongingOr: enough of the badges 121
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 28/08/2026This 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 042
Reposted by Irina DumitrescuJackman Humanities Institute @jhievents.bsky.social · 26/08/2026In 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/art26-27 061
Irina Dumitrescu @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social · 26/08/2026For those of you who are artists, crafters, makers of things -- what do you do with all the stuff you make?!?! 120