Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Well this is exciting. global.oup.com/academic/pro...global.oup.com 020
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Goodhart'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 KővesiSimon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Love 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 KővesiNic Wilson @nicwilson.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Very 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.socialeventbrite.co.ukWriting the Rural Seasons: Colours of AutumnGuardian 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 · 23/09/2026Become a friend of John Clare Cottage for £40 a year. www.clarecottage.org/7/become-a-f...clarecottage.orgBecome a Friend 033
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Love 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 · 21/09/2026Coffee shop, 1821 style. From Pierce Egan's "Life in London", a novel richly illustrated by the Cruikshank brothers. 050
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 20/09/2026One 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: 1112
Reposted by Simon KővesiThe Agnes Owens Archive @aowensarchive.bsky.social · 20/09/2026We’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 KővesiLondon Topographical Society @londontopsoc.bsky.social · 17/09/2026The 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 KővesiJohn Clare @johnclare.bsky.social · 17/09/2026night 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 KővesiJohn Clare @johnclare.bsky.social · 17/09/20261824: 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 KővesiJessica R Valdez @jrvaldez.bsky.social · 14/09/2026We'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.comAssistant Professor - 18th-Century British LiteratureAll 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 · 14/09/2026Alumnus 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.beRobert Robertson from Tide Lines | UofG Alumni SpotlightYouTube video by Official University of Glasgow Alumni 021
Reposted by Simon KővesiKarin Wulf @kawulf.bsky.social · 13/09/20262. 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 KővesiNicki @nickinde.bsky.social · 12/09/2026“an important challenge for university leaders”static.klipy.comI Think You Should Leave Hot Dog SuspectAlt: I Think You Should Leave Hot Dog Suspect 0266
Reposted by Simon KővesiHardeep Matharu @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Now 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 · 04/09/2026Colin Burrow, defining literary criticism, brilliantly, in the LRB: @lrb.co.uk 23119
Reposted by Simon KővesiDana @danalai6.bsky.social · 21/08/2026The 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 KővesiDr. Emily Friedman @ecfriedman.com · 19/08/2026Even 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 · 19/08/2026Circulating 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 KővesiClaire Connolly @claireconnolly.bsky.social · 18/01/2024Come 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.ukSimon 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 KővesiSeth L. Sanders @nabalkattu.bsky.social · 18/08/2026pioneering the concept of Analog Humanities 1132
Reposted by Simon KővesiWill Tattersdill @tattersdill.bsky.social · 14/08/2026So 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 1525158
Reposted by Simon KővesiSimon Weschle @simonweschle.bsky.social · 11/08/2026Michigan 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.comUniversity of Michigan Will Ease Up on Grades for Student Mental HealthThe 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 KővesiSheila Liming @seeshespeak.bsky.social · 26/05/2026The book is dead! Long live the book! yalereview.org/article/shei...yalereview.orgSheila 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 · 10/08/2026i encourage all of you, regardless of your age, to not take this shit advice 6865501460
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 11/08/2026My 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.comRemembrancesThe Meeting · Episode 0135
Reposted by Simon KővesiDavid Hayden @seventydys.bsky.social · 04/08/2026future happiness John Clare, ‘Meadow Butterflyes’, from ‘The Midsummer Cushion’ 0358
Reposted by Simon KővesiHetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 07/08/2026We’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... 06073
Reposted by Simon KővesiKevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 07/08/2026Sneering 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 · 05/08/2026Are 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 · 05/08/2026March 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 KővesiLisa Rullsenberg @rullsenberg.bsky.social · 03/08/2026So 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 · 03/08/2026Four 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 Kővesiwill pooley @willpooley.bsky.social · 03/08/2026on 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 · 02/08/2026Email 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. 131
Reposted by Simon KővesiGodwin_lives @pamelaclemit.bsky.social · 01/08/2026Lovely 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 KővesiAnnette Yoshiko Reed @annetteyreed.bsky.social · 01/08/2026August as an academic 82073290
Reposted by Simon KővesiPrisonculture @prisonculture.bsky.social · 30/07/2026I 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.comA 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 KővesiMarianne Doherty @mariannedoherty.bsky.social · 01/08/2026My 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 · 31/07/2026Fabulous time at @bars.bsky.social BARS conference in Birmingham. Home time. Well done everyone involved. 0141
Reposted by Simon KővesiCleo O’Callaghan Yeoman @drcleoocy.bsky.social · 30/07/2026Pleased 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.socialtheconversation.comFrom moral decay to pure escapism: how attitudes to reading have changed over three centuriesGetting 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 KővesiNic Wilson @nicwilson.bsky.social · 29/07/2026I'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.socialtheguardian.comCountry diary: In poet John Clare’s garden, I contemplate my ancestor who lived here too | Nic WilsonHelpston, Cambridgeshire: I picture Henry as a young lad, hiding in flowerbeds, chasing butterflies, learning to love nature 127618
Simon Kővesi @kovesi.bsky.social · 28/07/2026Ooh now this is exciting. Coming soon. link.springer.com/book/9783032...link.springer.comClose Reading the Nineteenth CenturyThis 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 · 27/07/2026Finally, a politician is going to war with "cosy crime" fiction. Vote BIN. 031