Sign in

Simon Kővesi

@kovesi.bsky.social
2.6K followers 633 following 785 posts

Professor of English & Scottish Literature, Head of School, Critical Studies, University of Glasgow. Research working-class literature & Romantic-period cultures. Editor, John Clare Society Journal.

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Will Davies @will-davies.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Dada perfection
413451
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Pierce Egan Life in London Coming soon...
396
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Well this is exciting. global.oup.com/academic/pro...
global.oup.com
020
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Goodhart's Law: "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure" Unis working towards REF2029 just now, should keep this in mind. REF is *not* research & it mustn't determine what kinds of research we foster or build. Yet we hear such miserable examples of researching *for* REF.
060
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Love Gadamer: Anyone who simply appeals to prejudices is not someone you can talk with. Indeed, a person who is not ready to put his or her own prejudices in question is also someone to whom there is no point in talking. Full enlightenment about one’s own interests in questioning is not attainable.
041
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Nic Wilson @nicwilson.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Very much looking forward to celebrating autumn, nature writing & John Clare's poetry in the beautiful setting of Clare Cottage in Helpston on Monday 12 Oct: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/writing-th... Everyone welcome. No writing experience necessary. #johnclare #naturewriting @johnclare.bsky.social
eventbrite.co.uk
Writing the Rural Seasons: Colours of Autumn
Guardian Country Diarist Nic Wilson explores the spirit of autumn through creative writing, taking inspiration from Clare’s nature poems
1179
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Become a friend of John Clare Cottage for £40 a year. www.clarecottage.org/7/become-a-f...
clarecottage.org
Become a Friend
033
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Love Gadamer: Anyone who simply appeals to prejudices is not someone you can talk with. Indeed, a person who is not ready to put his or her own prejudices in question is also someone to whom there is no point in talking. Full enlightenment about one’s own interests in questioning is not attainable.
041
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Coffee shop, 1821 style. From Pierce Egan's "Life in London", a novel richly illustrated by the Cruikshank brothers.
050
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
One of my favourite passages from Pierce Egan's Life in London (1821):- a biting critique of a type of elite, posh person affecting being moved by fiction & fantasy, drama & tragedy, but not even able to look at real tragedy or human suffering:
She had abundance of sentiment attached to her character, but not a grain of feeling. The pathetic imaginary tale of distress, highly wrought up in a novel, was delightful,—it was exquisite; but an account of real poverty was excruciating to her mind,—it was horrid,—quite disgusting,—shocking, and must not be repeated in her presence. She was entirely made up of ART; any thing like unsophisticated nature was brutish, barbarous, and low. 

From Pierce Egan, Life in London (1821).
1112
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
The Agnes Owens Archive @aowensarchive.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
We’re delighted to be working with Byres Road Book Festival to celebrate Agnes Owens’ centenary with a special series of events. 📚✨ Join us 24 & 27 Sept at Òran Mór and Hillhead Library. Free!
1911
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
London Topographical Society @londontopsoc.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The LTS funds an annual prize of £1000 in honour of Dr Ann Saunders who was the Society’s Editor for 35 years. It is awarded for an original and unpublished research essay on the topography, development or buildings of London in any period. Click here: londontopsoc.org/about-us/ann...
074
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
John Clare @johnclare.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
night for every oppertunity for everything but saying their prayers perhaps they are as good as their neighbours nay better they do without that fashionable veil hypocrisy.
051
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
John Clare @johnclare.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
1824: Began Don Juan 2 verses of the Shipwreck very fine & the character of Haidee the best I have yet met it is very beautiful the hero seems a fit partner for Tom & Jerry fond of getting into scrapes & always finding means to get out again forever in the company of ladys who seem to watch at...
181
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
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...
05152
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Alumnus of English Literature @glasgow.ac.uk Robert Robertson talks about his experience of Glasgow, the degree programme, and his career in music since: @univeng.bsky.social @englishassociation.bsky.social @uofgartshums.bsky.social #EnglishCreates youtu.be/N4wJ8BkU_EA?...
youtu.be
Robert Robertson from Tide Lines | UofG Alumni Spotlight
YouTube video by Official University of Glasgow Alumni
021
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Karin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
2. Any discussion about higher ed that misses that women and people of color were largely excluded until the *1970s* misses the fulcrum of these debates. 6/
152171
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Nicki @nickinde.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
“an important challenge for university leaders”
static.klipy.com
I Think You Should Leave Hot Dog Suspect
Alt: I Think You Should Leave Hot Dog Suspect
0266
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
A big ground nest, on Skye. Who made it?
360
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Hardeep Matharu @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Now James Orr has stepped down as Reform UK's Head of Policy after C4's report, questions remain for Cambridge – where he is Associate Professor. Byline Times revealed serious concerns about his activities there months ago. We all know there won't now be 200+ articles on him and his life don't we?
551915736
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Colin Burrow, defining literary criticism, brilliantly, in the LRB: @lrb.co.uk
In the LRB, Colin Burrow writes: 

But to return to the point of it all. Literary criticism is primarily about learning to read very complex creations and situations carefully. That requires a willingness to think and rethink, to take a thought and run with it until it either ceases to be viable or (ideally) generates its own internal impetus. It requires accepting that sometimes you get it wrong and that sometimes other people get it wrong. It makes you pull together a whole range of messy human bits and pieces, from autobiography to philology to counting lines and underlining letters and seeing almost invisible patterns, through histories of individuals and of peoples. All of this can go towards understanding the way a poem might cohere or interestingly not cohere. You’ve got to be bold sometimes in pushing a point and sometimes you’ve got to be humble about things you can’t see or haven’t seen. There’s a dash of politics, or more than a dash if you want that, and there could be a dash of religion too, if that’s your thing. But there has to be a great measure of self-awareness, about where you stand or sit or the corners into which you have been pushed by where you come from. Literary criticism is a supremely occasional skill, where you have to be bold enough to operate where there aren’t any clear rules and make up your own, and decide for yourself what you think, and maybe set that beside what other cleverer people have thought. Someone else might come along and see it differently, but if you’ve made them argue with you then you’ve done something worthwhile. If that doesn’t have a point to it, just in itself, then probably living doesn’t have a point to it either, because making ad hoc judgments on the basis of a mosaic of information and misinformation about people and about what you should say on a particular occasion, even a difficult one, is what we all need to do every day. Literary criticism is like the mess of life, an exercise in tact and understanding.
23119
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Dana @danalai6.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
The James Hogg Society is delighted to announce Hogg’s Worlds Now at the University of Glasgow, 2–4 July 2027. We invite proposals on Hogg’s life and writing, Scottish Romanticism, and new ways of reading Hogg and his world. Full CFP: tinyurl.com/Hogg2027 #ScottishRomanticism #Romanticism #CFP
052
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Dr. Emily Friedman @ecfriedman.com · 19/08/2026
Even if you are not a poetry nerd, this saga of a decades-long clash (reposted today by @kovesi.bsky.social) is worth reading. It’s satisfying to see a literary “dog-in-the-manger” foiled by a colleague with “make me” energy supported by his “publisher who had been in a Thai prison for libel”
1112
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Circulating this news on the copyright to John Clare's works again, because it doesn't seem to be as well known among Romantic-period scholars, editors and anthologisers, as it should. The copyright claim is dead.
13214
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Claire Connolly @claireconnolly.bsky.social · 18/01/2024
Come we to the summer, to the summer we will come ... A strange tale expertly told by @kovesi.bsky.social www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2024/ja...
lrb.co.uk
Simon Kövesi | John Clare out of Copyright
‘It was not very manly of you to evade telling me what you had been up to when we met today,’ the late Eric Robinson...
051
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Seth L. Sanders @nabalkattu.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
pioneering the concept of Analog Humanities
1132
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Will Tattersdill @tattersdill.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
So here we go then: the result of many years thinking about how dinosaurs make science and the imagination work together. It's written for both literary critics and scientists and my dearest hope is that it will help foster an academy where we talk to each other more
Photo of a copy of 'The Social Dinosaur', out now from Bloomsbury omg
1525158
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Simon Weschle @simonweschle.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Michigan is moving to pass/fail for first semester students. This is great and should be expanded to the full first year. Too many students are (rightly) hesitant to try out new and challenging subjects because they are afraid it will mess up their GPA www.nytimes.com/2026/08/11/u...
nytimes.com
University of Michigan Will Ease Up on Grades for Student Mental Health
The University of Michigan will make first-semester grades pass or fail, to encourage students to try different classes and lessen fears of what a low grade could mean.
1512025
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Sheila Liming @seeshespeak.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
The book is dead! Long live the book! yalereview.org/article/shei...
yalereview.org
Sheila Liming: “The End of Books”
A university professor on what we lose when we lose the book as a physical medium.
1319046
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
✨[redacted]✨ @britculpsapp.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
i encourage all of you, regardless of your age, to not take this shit advice
FORTUNE
Gen Z job seekers should be willing to work for free, long hours, 'willing to do anything, says Squarespace
СМО
BY ORIANNA ROSA ROYLE
July 20, 2024 at 3:00 AM PDT
6865501460
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
My favourite reading of a John Clare poem:- "Remembrances" read by Toby Jones (we recorded these at Oxford Brookes, 2019). open.spotify.com/episode/45Ib...
open.spotify.com
Remembrances
The Meeting · Episode
0135
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
David Hayden @seventydys.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
future happiness John Clare, ‘Meadow Butterflyes’, from ‘The Midsummer Cushion’
MEADOW BUTTERFLYES
Brown butterflyes in happy quiet rest
Upon the blooming ragworts golden breast
Giving unto the mind a sweet employ That everything in nature meets with joy Ah sweet indeed for trifles such as these Full often give my aching bosom ease When I in little walks my mind employ Aright—& feel those happy reveries That nature in her varied lessons tend To bring our thinkings to a happy end & in her varied moods for ever tries To make us that great blessing comprehend That spreads around us in a fond caress Emblems & moods of future happiness
0358
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
We’re launching a major new programme on Humanity, Climate and Nature. We wish to commission discussion papers from researchers/policymakers/practitioners to provide fresh insight into these themes. We’ll pay £2,500 for around 4000 words. Apply by 16 Sept www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/internationa...
Call for Discussion Papers: Humanity, Climate & Nature
This call sets out the requirements for short discussion papers to be produced as part of a series that will generate fresh insights and innovative thinking to help develop the new Humanity, Climate & Nature Programme's initial work and activity.
06073
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Sneering about the "faculty lounge" is deeply funny. Most departments don't have one, but if they do, it's like a wall of mailboxes, a coffee maker and maybe a mini-fridge. You're basically sneering about the break room on The Office. "Oooh, look who has a *vending* machine! Excuse me, m'lord!"
1562507206
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
@profchander.bsky.social FYI. Boom! BARS conference Programme, be-word-clouded...
161
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Are the "Big Six" still the mainstay of Romanticism? Here's a crude word cloud of the programme of last week's - albeit entirely brilliant, hugely enjoyable - conference of the British Association for Romantic Studies. It does not quite work - though good to see "coffee" pretty prominent.
2153
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
March 2027: Oxford World's Classics edition of Pierce Egan's "Life in London" (1821) will be published. First modern, annotated edition of a novel that defined the age. In this plate by the Cruikshank brothers, the chums get in a fight & Egan has his notebook nicked. global.oup.com/academic/pro...
13211
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Lisa Rullsenberg @rullsenberg.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
So much this. 1) time + practice your talk; you will be unable to extemporise from bringing in your 25,000-word book chapter draft 🙄 2&3) don't be a dick 4) this is not your space to speechify how interesting you think YOU are; it is for your presenting colleagues to shine. Shine light on them 🥰
251
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Four baselines for academic conference attendance: 1) keep to your allocated speaking time. 2) everyone is clever; stand out by being warm & kind. 3) be interested in everyone equally - from postgrad to Prof to conference administrator to catering & hotel staff. 4) in Q&A, ask an actual question.
1233159
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
will pooley @willpooley.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
on academic publishing. im not the only person to have this thought, right? a few years ago given the choice of open access journal article or paywalled chapter i would *always* opt for OA but LLM scraping now gives me pause (1/3)
4523
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Email 2126 style, as imagined in 1826, by Jane Webb, in her novel "The Mummy! A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century". Even though your mail is fired from place to place inside a metal cannonball, it sounds way less dangerous than Grok, Tock Tick, Bookface or LinkedIn.
In those days, the ancient method of conveying the post having been found much too slow for so enlightened a people, an ingenious scheme had been devised, by which the letters were put into balls and discharged by steam-cannon, from place to place; every town and district having a piece of toile metallique, or woven wire, suspended in the air, so as to form a kind of net to arrest the progress of the ball, and being provided with a cannon to send it off again, when the letters belonging to that neighbourhood should have been extracted: whilst, to prevent accidents, the mail-post letter-balls were always preceded by one of a similar description, made of thin wood, with a hole in its side, which, collecting the wind as it passed along, made a kind of whizzing noise, to admonish people to keep out of the way.

Extract from *The Mummy! A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century* by Jane Webb.
131
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Godwin_lives @pamelaclemit.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Lovely to read this tribute to the gifted teaching of @kovesi.bsky.social. Most worthwhile 'esteem indicator' any academic could hope for.
181
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Annette Yoshiko Reed @annetteyreed.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
August as an academic
Tabbycat in tie say he hopes he doesn’t have a lot of meetings… while in the background is a lots of meetings factory
82073290
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Prisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
I found this fascinating. I don't think I've ever seen a Museum publicly list the costs of an exhibition before. www.artnews.com/art-in-ameri... - It's actually super helpful for people to see what it takes.
artnews.com
A Museum Dares to Reveal What It Really Costs to Make an Exhibition
“Performing Conditions: Artistic Labor and Dependency as Form,” at the MIT List Visual Arts Center, stars Autumn Knight, Dread Scott, Ghislaine Leung.
8417142
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Marianne Doherty @mariannedoherty.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
My school English teachers taught me to pass exams but I never really understood what we were doing. But @kovesi.bsky.social was my first tutor at uni who talked about his love of The Magus and John Clare and helped me begin to realise it could also be about stuff you enjoyed and found interesting.
1195
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Fabulous time at @bars.bsky.social BARS conference in Birmingham. Home time. Well done everyone involved.
0141
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Cleo O’Callaghan Yeoman @drcleoocy.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Pleased to see this piece published in @theconversation.com yesterday. Thoughts I’ve had for a while made timely by our #NationalYearofReading: theconversation.com/from-moral-d... @uofgartshums.bsky.social
theconversation.com
From moral decay to pure escapism: how attitudes to reading have changed over three centuries
Getting lost in a book is now regarded as an enriching experience – but a few hundred years ago, reading novels was considered a corrupting force.
182
Reposted by Simon Kővesi
Nic Wilson @nicwilson.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
I've wanted to write this @theguardian.com country diary on a special place in #JohnClare and my family's lives for a while now. Many thanks to the Gatekeepers and the Puddocks for helping me... #countrydiary #naturewriting @johnclare.bsky.social @kovesi.bsky.social
theguardian.com
Country diary: In poet John Clare’s garden, I contemplate my ancestor who lived here too | Nic Wilson
Helpston, Cambridgeshire: I picture Henry as a young lad, hiding in flowerbeds, chasing butterflies, learning to love nature
127618
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Ooh now this is exciting. Coming soon. link.springer.com/book/9783032...
link.springer.com
Close Reading the Nineteenth Century
This book offers 18 new close readings of 19th‑century literature, linking Romantic and Victorian texts with fresh critical insights.
1134
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Finally, a politician is going to war with "cosy crime" fiction. Vote BIN.
031