iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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British Association for Romantic Studies @bars.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Call for Papers: Hogg’s Worlds Now, University of Glasgow, July 2027 Submit your abstracts for this new conference at the University of Glasgow on July 2-4, 2027. Deadline for submission 31 December 2026. More info: www.bars.ac.uk/blog/?p=6619

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Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 01/10/2026

To have got so far, alone Almost to the seventieth stone Is a wonder… —George Mackay Brown, “One Star in the West” published in Following A Lark (John Murray, 1996) Happy #NationalPoetryDay! The theme for 2026 is “Wonder” #poem #poetry

George Mackay Brown
One Star in the West

To have got so far, alone
Almost to the seventieth stone
Is a wonder.
There was thunder

A few miles back, a storm-shaken
Hill and sea, the bridge broken
(The bright fluent
Burn a bruised torrent.)

But all cleared, larks were singing
Again, the April rain ringing
Across the sown hills,
Among the daffodils.

The road winds uphill, but
A wonder will be to sit
On the stone at last –
One star in the west.

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Christine Ferguson @cferguson.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

So delighted to see this feature on my new scholarly edition of Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Land of Mist In today’s National! Thanks to @charlielynch.bsky.social for the interview!

A newspaper article with a photograph of Arthur Conan Doyle

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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!

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Women's History Scotland @womenshistscot.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

A new paperback edition of Scottish Women: A Documentary History, 1780–1914 is now available from @edinburghup.bsky.social 📚 This collection of sources brings Scottish women’s voices and experiences to life across a variety of themes. Read More 🔗 womenshistoryscotland.org/2026/08/22/s...

Book cover for Scottish Women: A Documentary History, 1780–1914, edited by Esther Breitenbach, Linda Fleming, S. Karly Kehoe, and Lesley Orr. The cover has a teal-blue header with the large white title and subtitle. Below is a collage of historical images and documents, including photographs of Scottish women and children, illustrations, handwritten letters, newspaper clippings, and a building, framed by a tan background.

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Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 05/09/2026

“Look round, ye sipplers of the poison’d cup From foreign plant distill’d!” @wilcocksonamy.bsky.social looks at food & drink in Robert Fergusson’s poems, & sees him take aim at what tea represents: overseas trade, cosmopolitanism, & exotic tastes #C18 #poetry www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2024/11/oyst...

thebottleimp.org.uk

Oysters and Aqua Vitae: Food and Drink in Robert Fergusson’s Poems - The Bottle Imp

In the 3 September 1772 issue of The Weekly Magazine, or Edinburgh Amusement, an anonymously authored poem was published. Written by someone referred to only as ‘J.S’, it was titled ‘To Mr Robert Ferg...

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Rhona Brown @rhonabrown.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Happy birthday to Robert Fergusson, born #OTD in 1750. A fearless satirist and poetic innovator in Scots language and tradition, he is one of the most erudite and influential Scottish writers. Watch this space for my new edition of his works, out with Edinburgh University Press in February!

Bronze sculpture of Robert Fergusson by David Annand, outside Edinburgh's Canongate Kirkyard. He is looking up and out with a book in his hand.

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Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 05/09/2026

Celebrating Robert Fergusson Prof @rhonabrown.bsky.social & Dr @wilcocksonamy.bsky.social share their insights into Fergusson’s life, works & legacy – listen free online, & hear extracts of his work read by @billykayscot.bsky.social & James Robertson #poetry #C18 shows.acast.com/633a8ff33566...

shows.acast.com

Celebrating Robert Fergusson | Stories From Glasgow

with Professor Rhona Brown & Dr Amy Wilcockson

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Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 05/09/2026

Daft gowk, in macaroni dress, Are ye come here to shaw your face, Bowden wi’ pride o’ simmer gloss, To cast a dash at Reikie’s cross… —“On Seeing a Butterfly in the Street”, by Robert Fergusson (1750–1774) – born #OTD, 5 Sept. In his short life he reinvigorated #poetry in Scots. A 🎂🧵 #C18

On Seeing a Butterfly in the Street
Robert Fergusson

Daft gowk, in macaroni dress,
Are ye come here to shaw your face,
Bowden wi’ pride o’ simmer gloss,
To cast a dash at Reikie’s cross;
And glowr at mony a twa-legg’d creature,
Flees, braw by art, tho’ worms by nature?

Like country laird in city cleeding,
Ye’re come to town to lear’ good breeding;
To bring ilk darling toast and fashion
In vogue amang the flee creation,
That they, like buskit belles and beaux,
May crook their mou’ fu’ sour at those
Whase weird is still to creep, alas!
Unnotic’d ʼmang the humble grass;
While you, wi’ wings new buskit trim,
Can far frae yird and reptiles skim;
Newfangle grown wi’ new-got form,
You soar aboon your mither worm.

Kind Nature lent but for a day
Her wings to mak ye sprush and gay;
In her habuliments a while
Ye may your former sell beguile,
And ding awa’ the vexing thought
O’ hourly dwinin’ into nought,
By beengin’ to your foppish brithers,
Black corbies dress’d in peacock’s feathers;
Like thee they dander here and there,
Whan Simmer’s blinks are warm and fair,
And lo’e to snuff the healthy balm,
Whan E’enin’ spreads her wing sae calm;
But whan she girns and glow’rs sae dour
Frae Borean houff in angry show’r,
Like thee they scour frae street or field,
And hap them in a lyther bield;
For they were never made to dree
The adverse gloom o’ Fortune’s e’e,
Nor ever pried life’s pinin’ woes,
Nor pu’d the prickles wi’ the rose.

Poor Butterfly! thy case I mourn,
To green kail-yard and fruits return:
How could you troke the mavis’ note
For “penny pies all-pipin’ hot?”
Can lintie’s music be compar’d
Wi’ gruntles frae the City Guard?
Or can our flow’rs, at ten hour’s bell,
The gowan or the spink excel?

Now shou’d our sclates wi’ hailstanes ring,
What cabbage-fauld wad screen your wing;
Say, fluttering fairy! wert thy hap
To light beneath braw Nanny’s cap,
Wad she, proud butterfly of May!
In pity let you skaithless gae?
The furies glancing frae her een
Wad rug your wings o’ siller sheen,
That, wae for thee! far, far outvy
Her Paris artist’s finest dye;
Then a’ your bonny spraings wad fall,
And you a worm be left to crawl.

To sic mishanter rins the laird
Wha quits his ha’-house and kail-yard,
Grows politician, scours to court,
Whare he’s the laughing-stock and sport
O’ Ministers, wha jeer and jibe,
And heeze his hopes wi’ thought o’ bribe,
Till in the end they flae him bare,
Leave him to poortith, and to care.
Their fleetchin’ words owre late he sees,
He trudges hame, repines, and dies.

Sic be their fa’ wha dirk their ben
In blackest business nae their ain;
And may they scad their lips fu’ leal,
That dip their spoons in ither’s kail.

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Petra Johana Poncarová @poncarova.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

After a long embargo, it is finally out: my ERC Starting Grant #ERCStG @erc.europa.eu has been funded. The 5-year project on creatively active new users of Celtic languages in the 19th and early 20th century starts in Jan 27 at @ff.unikarlova.cuni.cz. For news, follow us at @erc-nudgers.bsky.social.

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Scottish Poetry Library @byleaveswelive.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

A mighty gathering of the country's finest Gaelic speaking poets at The Tramway, Glasgow on Thurs 10th September.

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History Lab Plus @historylabplus.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

CALLING ALL HISTORY ECRS IN SCOTLAND! We invite you to join us for: Network Scotland 2026 Glasgow, Thursday 10 September A day of connection for history postdocs and late-stage PhDs Join us for an afternoon of discussions, networking, and getting to know what History Lab Plus can do for you!

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Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 01/09/2026

A 🎂 🧵 for Violet Jacob (1863–1946) – poet, novelist, short story writer, & key figure in the 20th-century Scottish renaissance & Scots language revival – born #OTD, 1 September #20thcentury #literature #womenwriters #booksky 1/8 www.scottishwomenwritersontheweb.net/writers-a-to...

scottishwomenwritersontheweb.net

Violet Jacob — Scottish Women Writers on the Web

Violet Jacob was a novelist, poet, and short story writer, who is best known for her use of the Scots vernacular. She spent five years in Mhow, India before settling with her husband in Wales, but he...

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Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 18/08/2026

NAMING THE SNAKES: New Writing Scotland 44 Glasgow launch 8 September, Waterstones Sauchiehall St, Glasgow – £5 / £12 with book Celebrate the latest issue with a mix of readings of poetry, short fiction & non-fiction in English, Gaelic & Scots – all welcome! www.waterstones.com/events/new-w...

waterstones.com

New Writing Scotland 44 Launch | Events at Waterstones Bookshops | Waterstones

Events at Waterstones get you closer to the books and authors you admire most. Find information and tickets about New Writing Scotland 44 Launch today.

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Penny Fielding @penfielding.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

For an introduction to Scott's Lighthouse Tour, now transcribed by Abbotsford House, check out our animation of the Orkney and Shetland sections. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yvss...

youtube.com

walter scott travels to orkney and shetland animation

YouTube video by Abbotsford - The Home of Sir Walter Scott

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Jess O'Thomson @jessothomson.co.uk · 15/08/2026

We are writing to the Prime Minister, and the Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, calling for an immediate public inquiry into the British press, following the tragic death of Jason Arday. Sign here 👇

goodlaw.social

Jason Arday Letter | Good Law Project

Commission an immediate public inquiry into how to ensure a responsible press given its contribution to Dr Arday’s tragic death.

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Research Society for Victorian Periodicals @rs4vp.org · 10/08/2026

@miladaskalova.bsky.social writes to share that her open-access book, The Nineteenth-Century Asylum Periodical: Britain, America and Beyond, has physical copies now available from Cambridge UP. Congrats, Mila, and thanks for #SharingYourNews! We're so excited to read it! tinyurl.com/2nwyr3w6

cambridge.org

The Nineteenth-Century Asylum Periodical

Cambridge Core - Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology - The Nineteenth-Century Asylum Periodical

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International Association for the Study of Scottish Literatures @iassl.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

The call for submissions and nominations for the 2026 Jack Medal is open until 30 November 2026. The award recognises the best article / book chapter on a subject related to Reception or Diaspora in Scottish Literatures (including Scots, Gaelic, English, and Latin). scotlit-iassl.org/awards/the-j...

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SCROLL | Scottish Cultural Review of Language and Literature @scroll-scotlit.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

New publication in the SCROLL series! The collective monograph 'Hugh MacDiarmid 1923-2023: Visions and Revisions', edited by Camille Manfredi, Fiona Paterson, and Philippe Laplace, is now available as an e-book from @dgb-langlitcult.bsky.social @degruyterbrill.bsky.social. brill.com/display/titl...

brill.com

Hugh MacDiarmid 1923-2023

"Hugh MacDiarmid 1923-2023" published on 04 Aug 2026 by Brill.

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Darren S. Layne @funkyplaid.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

An incredible new PhD opportunity at @uhihistory.bsky.social under Dr Nicola Martin: An Environmental History of the Jacobite Risings in Scotland. This is a fresh and fascinating filter to apply to Jacobite Studies and the programme is under the very best of direction and care.

uhi.ac.uk

Postgraduate research - An Environmental History of the Jacobite Risings in Scotland

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International Association for the Study of Scottish Literatures @iassl.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

The latest issue of the Scottish Literary Review @asls.org.uk has been published! Edited by @rhonabrown.bsky.social and @scottlyall.bsky.social, it also features three essays by our members: @ainsley76.bsky.social on Stevenson; Rob Sutton on Anne Grant; and @wilcocksonamy.bsky.social on Fergusson.

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Scott Lyall @scottlyall.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

The latest edition of SCOTTISH LITERARY REVIEW, published by @asls.org.uk and edited by me and @rhonabrown.bsky.social, is now available @projectmuse.bsky.social. Essays on Robert Louis Stevenson, Muriel Spark, Anne Grant, and Robert Fergusson. Check it out: muse.jhu.edu/issue/57136

muse.jhu.edu

Project MUSE - Scottish Literary Review-Volume 18, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2026

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Protests and Suffragettes @scotsuffragette.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

We're excited to be at WestFest! Come and visit the Protests & Suffragettes stall at WestFest at Cottiers tomorrow 10am–3pm.We'll be celebrating Glasgow's rich history of protest, activism & the fight for equality, sharing of the women and movements that helped shape Scotland and beyond.

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Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 15/06/2026

“The Muirs gave Kafka a distinctive voice in English for half a century: fluent, formal, enigmatic and mesmeric” – but a new, award-winning study of Kafka’s translators has almost completely erased their work from literary history, says Boyd Tonkin engelsbergideas.com/reviews/the-...

engelsbergideas.com

The forgotten Scots who gave Kafka his voice

For half a century, Edwin and Willa Muir's translations were how the Anglophone world read Kafka. A prize-winning study of his translators barely registers their contribution.

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Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 13/06/2026

Love rules. Love laughs. Love marches. Love is the wolf that guards the gate… —Edwin Morgan, “Love” published in A BOOK OF LIVES, @carcanet.bsky.social 2011 #BookWormSat #poem #poetry #PrideMonth 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ www.carcanet.co.uk/978185754918...

Love
by Edwin Morgan

Love rules. Love laughs. Love marches. Love is the wolf that guards the gate.
Love is the food of music, art, poetry. It fills us and fuels us and fires us to create.
Love is terror. Love is sweat. Love is bashed pillow, crumpled sheet, unenviable fate.
Love is the honour that kills and saves and nothing will ever let that high ambiguity abate.
Love is the crushed ice that tingles and shivers and clinks fidgin-fain for the sugar-drenched absinthe to fall on it and alter its state.
With love you send a probe
So far from the globe
No one can name the shoals the voids the belts the zones the drags the flares it signals all to leave all and to navigate.

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Scottish Universities Press @scotunipress.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Last chance to apply | Journal Publishing Coordinator The closing date for this freelance opportunity with Scottish Universities Press (SUP) is Monday 15 June 2026. If you've been considering applying, now is the time. To apply: www.sup.ac.uk/news/d9aldr4xeox9ux9f…

Scottish Universities Press is recruiting a Journal Publishing Coordinator, last chance to apply announcement.

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Should researchers still be posting their data openly online? It’s a question being debated by some researchers now that bots are routinely mining open-access databases and scientific publications to train artificial-intelligence tools'.

nature.com

Bots are scraping open data — how should researchers respond?

The snowballing ability of artificial intelligence to trawl open data sets has some scientists worried about losing control of their information.

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The Quietus @thequietus.com · 25/04/2026

'A thoroughly disquieting depiction of voyeurism, mania and deadly self-estrangement, on which Spark worked intensely over a few short weeks and finished from a hospital bed. “I frightened myself writing it”, she later recalled.' James Bailey on The Driver’s Seat by #MurielSpark buff.ly/JtnRonc

Muriel Spark - The Driver's Seat book cover. Arms holding a handbag, and a striped skirt with knees visible.

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NAVSA @navsa.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

CFP: Hogg’s World Now (Conference) navsa.org/News/13637856 Image Source: Portrait by John Watson Gordon, 1830

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Brian G. aka urbanbohemian 🪩🥂💖 @urbanbohemian.com · 01/06/2026

First day of #Pride month. Be kind to yourself, stay hydrated, and take care of each other. Promote smaller LGBTQIA2S+ artists, projects, and products. Ignoring the latest "discourse" is self-care. It can feel like a lot just existing, but please keep at it. The world is better with you in it. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️💖

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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 29/05/2026

We are stronger, and better historians, together. Historical societies abound in the UK, and we've listed 150 with BlueSky accounts in this updated Starter Pack. go.bsky.app/AZaYQDd Other societies appear on a new listing of subject societies on the RHS website bit.ly/4ebwP9r #Skystorians

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Rhona Brown @rhonabrown.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Lovely to be in James Thomson Country in the Borders. This is the Temple of the Muses at Dryburgh which commemorates Thomson's influential poem, The Seasons. 🌞

A view of a sandstone obelisk on a hill surrounded by trees. The Temple of the Muses features four female figures representing James Thomson's poem, The Seasons.

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Rhona Brown @rhonabrown.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

It feels strange to say that I’ve submitted the Collected Works of Robert Fergusson to @edinburghup.bsky.social… feeling equally relieved and bereft! But delighted that the edition is on its way in early 2027. Thanks to @wilcocksonamy.bsky.social for being a brilliant RA and all who supported ❤️

Bronze sculpture of poet Robert Fergusson outside Edinburgh’s Canongate Kirk.

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

'The key findings were said to be “surprisingly simple”: “a good student academic experience ultimately comes down to quality teaching, access to in person interaction with teachers and a strong sense of belonging”.' 2/3

hepi.ac.uk

What Matters Most? 20 years of the student experience - HEPI

Half of students miss one-third of their lectures. 20 years of data show undergraduates are struggling to access the high-quality teaching, in-person interactions and satisfying student experience the...

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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

now thats an anecdote with a punch, from Gillian Tett www.ft.com/content/c0ae...

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Oxford Seminar for Epistolary Research @oser-oxford.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

We are delighted to share the programme for this term's instalment of OSER. All welcome!

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Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 01/05/2026

Here’s Hamish Henderson’s “Freedom Come-All-Ye”, sung by Karine Polwart in the Italian Chapel, Orkney. The chapel was built & decorated by Italian POWs during WW2 using scraps & reclaimed materials, & is still in use today #MayDay #InternationalWorkersDay www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Phu...

youtube.com

“Freedom Come All Ye” performed by Karine Polwart in The Italian Chapel, Orkney, August 2013.

YouTube video by Alan Ferrier

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The Alasdair Gray Archive @agrayarchive.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Tickets still available for Polygon book launch for Agnes Owens new title release, stellar line up! @aowensarchive.bsky.social

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

'The researchers said...“hyper-competitive research culture in universities is likely to increase costs, partly driven by low success rates”, and “without fundamental reform, academics will continue to apply for research grants in pursuit of reward and recognition”.' (Well, also to do research) 1/2

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The Agnes Owens Archive @aowensarchive.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

Delighted to share our new short film on Agnes Owens, marking her 2026 centenary, now live on AGA’s YouTube. Discover her life, work, and legacy—or watch it on a retro TV at the Lillie Art Gallery exhibition from today!

youtube.com

Agnes Owens: Out of the Margins

YouTube video by Alasdair Gray Archive

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The Edwin Morgan Trust @edmorgantrust.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Happy #WorldArtDay! 🎨 In 2005, #EdwinMorgan wrote 10 poems responding to the 10 artworks named as Scotland’s favourite paintings held in Scottish public collections. EM’s personal favourite among the works was ‘Flood Tide’ (1962) by #JoanEardley, painted the year before she died.

Flood Tide

Joan Eardley

Lonely people are drawn to the sea.
Not for this artist the surge and glitter of salons,
Clutch of a sherry or making polite conversation.
See her when she is free: -
Striding into the salty bluster of a cliff-top
In her paint-splashed corduroys,
Humming as she recalls the wild shy boys
She sketched in the city, allowing nature's nations
Of grasses and wild shy flowers to stick
To the canvas they were blown against
By the mighty Catterline wind -
All becomes art, and as if it was incensed
By the painter's brush the sea growls up
In a white flood
The artist's cup is overflowing with what she dares
To think is joy, caught unawares
As if on the wing. A solitary clover,
Unable to read WET PAINT, rolls over
Once, twice, and then it's fixed,
Part of a field more human than the one
That took the gale and is now
As she is, beyond the sun.

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Laurie Ulster @floobish.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Octavia E. Butler, 1998:

From EARTHSEED: THE BOOKS OF THE LIVING

Choose your leaders

with wisdom and forethought.

To be led by a coward

is to be controlled

by all that the coward fears.
To be led by a fool

is to be led

by the opportunists

who control the fool.

To be led by a thief

is to offer up

your most precious treasures

to be stolen.
To be led by a liar

is to ask

to be told lies.

To be led by a tyrant

is to sell yourself

and those you love

into slavery.

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Rhona Brown @rhonabrown.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Looking forward to speaking at this @bars.bsky.social event - hope to see you online!

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The Agnes Owens Archive @aowensarchive.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

PLEASE SHARE ✨ Agnes Owens at 100 ‘Out of the Margins’ celebrates her life & work with exhibitions, events & talks across Milngavie & Alexandria this spring. Join us to rediscover a vital Scottish voice. More details soon! Curated by @sorchadallas.bsky.social @agrayarchive.bsky.social

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Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 29/03/2026

Frae fields whare Spring her sweets has blawn Wi’ caller verdure our the lawn, The Gowdspink comes in new attire, The brawest ’mang the whistling choir… —Robert Fergusson (1750–1774), “Ode to the Gowdspink” from The Poetical Works of Robert Fergusson (Glasgow, 1800) #poem #poetry #C18th

Ode to the Gowdspink
Robert Fergusson

Frae fields whare Spring her sweets has blawn
Wi’ caller verdure our the lawn,
The Gowdspink comes in new attire,
The brawest ’mang the whistling choir,
That, ere the sun can clear his ein,
Wi glib notes sain the simmer’s green.

Sure Nature herried mony a tree,
For spraings and bonny spats to thee:
Nae mair the rainbow can impart
Sic glowing ferlies o’ her art,
Whase pencil wrought its freaks at will
On thee the sey-piece o’ her skill.
Nae mair thro’ straths in simmer dight
We seek the rose to bless our sight;
Or bid the bonny wa’-flowers sprout
On yonder Ruin’s lofty snout.
Thy shining garments far outstrip
The cherries upo’ Hebe’s lip,

And fool the tints that Nature chose
To busk and paint the crimson rose.

’Mang man, wae’s heart! we aften find
The brawest drest want peace o’ mind,
While he that gangs wi’ ragged coat
Is weel contentit wi’ his lot.
Whan wand wi’ glewy birdlime’s set,
To steal far aff your dautit mate,
Blyth wad ye change your cleething gay
In lieu of lavrock’s sober grey.
In vain thro’ woods you sair may ban
The envious treachery of man,
That, wi’ your gowden glister ta’en,
Still hunts you on the simmer’s plain,
And traps you ’mang the sudden fa’s
O’ winter’s dreary dreepin snaws.
Now steekit frae the gowany field,
Frae ilka fav’rite houff and bield,
But mergh, alas! to disengage
Your bonny buik frae fettering cage,
Your free-born bosom beats in vain
For darling liberty again.
In window hung, how aft we see
Thee keek around at warblers free,
That carol saft, and sweetly sing
Wi’ a’ the blythness o’ the spring?
Like Tantalus they hing you here,
To spy the glories o’ the year;
And tho’ you’re at the burnie’s brink,
They douna suffer you to drink.

Ah, Liberty! thou bonny dame,
How wildly wanton is the stream,
Round whilk the birdies a’ rejoice,
An’ hail you wi’ a gratefu’ voice.

The Gowdspink chatters joyous here,
And courts wi’ gleesome sangs his peer:
The mavis frae the new-bloom’d thorn
Begins his lauds at earest morn;
And herd lowns loupin oe’r the grass,
Needs far less fleetching till his lass,
Than paughty damsels bred at courts
Wha thraw their mou’s, and take the dorts;
But, reft of thee, fient flee we care
For a’ that life ahint can spare.
The Gowdspink, that sae lang has kend
Thy happy sweets (his wonted friend),
Her sad confinement ill can brook
In some dark chaumer’s dowy nook;
Tho’ Mary’s hand his nebb supplies,
Unkend to hunger’s painfu’ cries,
Ev’n beauty canna chear the heart
Frae life, frae liberty apart;
For now we tyne its wonted lay,
Sae lightsome sweet, sae blythly gay.

Thus Fortune aft a curse can gie,
To wyle us far frae liberty;
Then tent her syren smiles wha list,
I’ll ne’er envy your girnel’s grist;
For whan fair Freedom smiles nae mair,
Care I for life? Shame fa’ the hair;
A field o’ergrown wi’ rankest stubble,
The essence o’ a paltry bubble.

0155

Reposted by Rhona Brown

Daniel Bellingradt @dbellingradt.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Text mining before the age of LLM training.

Detail from a woodcut from Dürer's Apocalypse, showing a man (St John) devouring a book. Source: http://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bvb:29-uer-dr-ah-0333-5

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