literature

131d

<p>“[P]ay attention to the moments of contradiction and uncertainty threaded through character dialogue and self-reflection […] Watch his tone. Watch his humour. For me, that’s where the sharpest lessons are.”</p><p>—Bethany Jacobs on the worldbuilding of Iain M. Banks</p><p><a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2506129-why-sci-fi-novelist-iain-m-banks-was-an-astounding-world-builder/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.newscientist.com/article/2506129-why-sci-fi-novelist-iain-m-banks-was-an-astounding-world-builder/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.newscientist.com/article/2</span><span class="invisible">506129-why-sci-fi-novelist-iain-m-banks-was-an-astounding-world-builder/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/iainbanks/" rel="tag">#IainBanks</a> <a href="/tags/iainmbanks/" rel="tag">#IainMBanks</a> <a href="/tags/theculture/" rel="tag">#TheCulture</a> <a href="/tags/sciencefiction/" rel="tag">#ScienceFiction</a> <a href="/tags/scifi/" rel="tag">#Scifi</a> <a href="/tags/worldbuilding/" rel="tag">#worldbuilding</a></p>

2 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

118d

<p>“No Extra Words“ – The Scottish Poet Norman MacCaig (1910–1996)<br>16 Dec, free online</p><p>Anette Degott looks at the life & work of Norman MacCaig<br>via Scotland HUB at Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz</p><p>@litstudies </p><p><a href="https://www.scotland.uni-mainz.de/reading-scotland/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.scotland.uni-mainz.de/reading-scotland/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.scotland.uni-mainz.de/read</span><span class="invisible">ing-scotland/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/20thcentury/" rel="tag">#20thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/normanmaccaig/" rel="tag">#NormanMacCaig</a></p>

Reading Scotland with Anette Degott

“No Extra Words“ – The Scottish Poet Norman MacCaig (1910–1996)

Tuesday, 16th December 2025
6.00–7.30 pm (German time) on MS Teams

www.scotland.uni-mainz.de

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

131d

<p>Oot behind a lorry,<br>Peyin nae heed,<br>Ablow a doubledecker,<br>A poor wean deid…</p><p>—James Copeland (1918–2002), “Black Friday”</p><p>Actor & writer James Gordon Copeland’s much anthologised poem “Black Friday” packs tragedy, compassion, & a sense of close community into nine short verses</p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/20thcentury/" rel="tag">#20thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/glasgow/" rel="tag">#Glasgow</a> <a href="/tags/scots/" rel="tag">#Scots</a> <a href="/tags/scotslanguage/" rel="tag">#Scotslanguage</a></p>

Black Friday
James Copeland

Oot behind a lorry,
Peyin nae heed,
Ablow a doubledecker,
A poor wean deid.

Perra worn sannies,
Wee durrty knees,
Heh, erra polis,
Stand back please!

Lookit the conductriss.
Face as white as chalk,
Heh, see the driver but
Cannae even talk.

Anyone a witness?
Na, we niver saw.
Glad ah’m no the polis
Goin tae tell its maw.

Weemen windae-hingin
Herts in their mooth,
It’s no oor close, Lizzie
Oh Gawdstrewth!

Screams on the landin,
Twa closes doon,
It’s no wee Hughie!
Poor Nellie Broon.

Phone up the shipyard.
Oh, what a shame!
Yes, we'll inform him,
Please repeat the name.

See Big Hughie,
Jokin wi the squad,
Better knock off, Heug,
Oh dear God.

Whit – no his laddie?
Aw, bloody hell!
D’ye see Hughie’s face but,
He’s just a boy himsel.

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

<p><a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1914.</p><p>Arthur Machen's short story "The Bowmen" is published in The Evening News (London).</p><p>In this story, written and published during World War I, the ghosts of archers from the battle of Agincourt, led by Saint George, come to the aid of British troops. This is cited as the origin of the Angels of Mons legend.</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Machen" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Machen"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_M</span><span class="invisible">achen</span></a></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_of_Mons" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_of_Mons"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_o</span><span class="invisible">f_Mons</span></a></p><p>The Angels of Mons: The Bowmen and Other Legends of the War at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14044" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14044</a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

<p><a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1909.</p><p>Franz Kafka's short story "The Aeroplanes at Brescia (Die Aeroplane in Brescia)", based on a real event, is published in the Prague newspaper Bohemia, as the first description of airplanes in German literature.</p><p>It describes an airshow near the Italian city of Brescia, which Kafka saw with two of his friends (Max and his brother Otto Brod) during their journey to Italy.</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aeroplanes_at_Brescia" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aeroplanes_at_Brescia"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aero</span><span class="invisible">planes_at_Brescia</span></a></p><p>Full transcription here:<br><a href="https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Die_Aeroplane_in_Brescia" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="de.wikisource.org/wiki/Die_Aeroplane_in_Brescia"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">de.wikisource.org/wiki/Die_Aer</span><span class="invisible">oplane_in_Brescia</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Part of its publication in Bohemia, 29 September 1909.

Franz Kafka - Bohemia, 29. September 1909, Morgen-Ausgabe. 82. Jahrgang, 269. Ausgabe

Edited 1y ago

3 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

132d

<p>Hoy Sound Unscrolled<br>a poetry reading with Heather H. Yeung<br>9 Dec, Stromness, ticketed</p><p>On the 9th anniversary of the creation of her 9-metre-long scroll-poem KENNINGS, Orkney poet Heather Yeung (楊希蒂) launches the book version of her poem/artefact</p><p><a href="https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/stromness/stromness-kirk-church-of-scotland/hoy-sound-unscrolled-a-poetry-reading-with-heather-h-yeung/2025-12-09/19:30/t-zozgorv" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/stromness/stromness-kirk-church-of-scotland/hoy-sound-unscrolled-a-poetry-reading-with-heather-h-yeung/2025-12-09/19:30/t-zozgorv"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-o</span><span class="invisible">n/stromness/stromness-kirk-church-of-scotland/hoy-sound-unscrolled-a-poetry-reading-with-heather-h-yeung/2025-12-09/19:30/t-zozgorv</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/orkney/" rel="tag">#Orkney</a></p>

A piece of paper stained a deep blue, with a more concentrated colour forming waves at the bottom above the paper's white edge. The words

HOY SOUND UNSCROLLED

are printed in white across the top, and spill over the edges of the image. The author's name,

HEATHER H. YEUNG

is printed in white across the bottom.

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

114d

<p>The Many Primes of Muriel Spark<br>First broadcast in 2018. Available on BBC iPlayer until 27 December.</p><p>Kirsty Wark celebrates the life and work of Dame Muriel Spark, author of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and one of the twentieth century’s most enigmatic cultural figures.</p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09qlx14" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09qlx14"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09ql</span><span class="invisible">x14</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/20thcentury/" rel="tag">#20thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/womenwriters/" rel="tag">#womenwriters</a> <a href="/tags/murielspark/" rel="tag">#MurielSpark</a></p>

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

<p>"Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful."<br>The History of Rasselas</p><p>British author, linguist & lexicographer Samuel Johnson was born <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1709.</p><p>Johnson’s most famous achievement is his Dictionary, which was the first major comprehensive dictionary of English. It became the standard reference work for decades and influenced the way dictionaries were compiled.</p><p>Samuel Johnson at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/297" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/297"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho</span><span class="invisible">r/297</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Johnson (1775) showing his intense concentration and the weakness of his eyes; he did not want to be depicted as "Blinking Sam". This unique portrait showing his nearsightedness is in the Huntington Library in San Marino, California.

3 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

<p>English philosopher, painter, and critic William Hazlitt died <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1830.</p><p>He is considered one of the greatest critics and essayists in the history of the English language. He is also acknowledged as the finest art critic of his age. His works includes "On the Pleasure of Hating" (1826), "The Fight" (1822), "On the Fear of Death" (1822), "Characters of Shakespeare's Plays" (1817).</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hazlitt" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hazlitt"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_</span><span class="invisible">Hazlitt</span></a></p><p>Books by William Hazlitt at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/800" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/800"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho</span><span class="invisible">r/800</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Portrait of William Hazlitt, derived from an 1825 sketch by William Bewick - Frontispiece in Alexander Ireland, William Hazlitt, Essayist and Critic (1889)

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

135d

<p>Reading Scotland with Margaret Bennet<br>Why Scotland Celebrates St Andrew's Day<br>2 Dec, online – free</p><p>Dr Margaret Bennet talks about the relevance of celebrating St Andrew’s Day today & dives into the origins of this national holiday</p><p><a href="https://www.scotland.uni-mainz.de/reading-scotland/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.scotland.uni-mainz.de/reading-scotland/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.scotland.uni-mainz.de/read</span><span class="invisible">ing-scotland/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scotland/" rel="tag">#Scotland</a> <a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/culture/" rel="tag">#culture</a> <a href="/tags/standrewsday/" rel="tag">#StAndrewsDay</a></p>

READING SCOTLAND
with Margaret Bennett

Why Scotland Celebrates St Andrew's Day

Tuesday 2nd December 2025
6.00–7.30 pm (German time) on MS Teams

www.scotland.uni-mainz.de

0 0 1 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

<p>"He's not quite blue yet, but that will come, you shall see!"</p><p><a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1908.</p><p>Maurice Maeterlinck's L'Oiseau bleu is premièred, at Konstantin Stanislavsky's Moscow Art Theatre.</p><p> The French composer Albert Wolff wrote an opera (first performed at the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1919) based on Maeterlinck's original play, and Maeterlinck's inamorata Georgette Leblanc produced a novelization.</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blue_Bird_(play)" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blue_Bird_(play)"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blue</span><span class="invisible">_Bird_(play)</span></a></p><p>The Blue Bird at PG:<br><a href="https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/8606" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>gutenberg.org/ebooks/8606</a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a></p>

Alisa Coonen (Mytyl; left) & Sofya Khalyutina (Tyltyl; right) in The Blue Bird of Moscow Art Theatre (1908).

Karl Fischer (Фишер, Карл Андреевич) - http://www.gazeta.lv/story/11970.html

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

37d

<p>Imagine you are driving<br>nowhere, with no one beside you;<br>with the empty road unravelling and ravelling<br>in sympathy as the wheel turns in your hands…</p><p>—John Glenday, “Imagine You are Driving”<br>published in GRAIN (Picador, 2009)</p><p>Listen to John Glenday read “Imagine You are Driving” online via the Poetry Archive:</p><p><a href="https://poetryarchive.org/poem/imagine-you-are-driving/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="poetryarchive.org/poem/imagine-you-are-driving/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">poetryarchive.org/poem/imagine</span><span class="invisible">-you-are-driving/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a></p>

John Glenday
Imagine You are Driving

Imagine you are driving
nowhere, with no one beside you;
with the empty road unravelling and ravelling
in sympathy as the wheel turns in your hands.

On either side the wheatfields go shimmering
past in an absence of birdsong, and the sky
decants the shadows of the weather from itself.
So you drive on, hopeful of a time

when the ocean will rise up before you like dusk
and you will make landfall at last –
some ancient, long-forgotten mooring,
which both of you, of course, will recognise;

though as I said before, there is no one beside you
and neither of you has anywhere to go.

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

<p>Let’s Not Forget Charles Dickens’s Other Christmas Ghost Stories!</p><p>He loved writing these. There are very many.</p><p>By Olivia Rutigliano</p><p><a href="https://crimereads.com/lets-not-forget-charles-dickenss-other-christmas-ghost-stories/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="crimereads.com/lets-not-forget-charles-dickenss-other-christmas-ghost-stories/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">crimereads.com/lets-not-forget</span><span class="invisible">-charles-dickenss-other-christmas-ghost-stories/</span></a></p><p>There are several editions of Christmas Carol in the PG collection:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46</a><br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19337" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19337</a><br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24022" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24022</a><br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30368" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30368</a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

This image appears is an illustration from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The scene features three central figures and a ghostly presence in the background.

The central figure on the right is an elderly man, depicted in a long robe and a nightcap, likely representing Ebenezer Scrooge. He stands hunched over, reaching out with a curious or concerned gesture, emphasizing his transformation and vulnerability.

On the left are two children, "Ignorance" and "Want," who are emaciated and ragged, symbolizing societal neglect. They cling to each other, their expressions reflecting desperation and suffering. These figures are allegorical, representing Dickens' critique of social inequality and the consequences of indifference.

Behind the children looms a spectral figure, likely the Ghost of Christmas Present. The spirit has an imposing, ethereal presence, guiding Scrooge to confront the harsh realities of the world. The transparency and faint details of the ghost emphasize its otherworldly nature.

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

127d

<p>“I met people who gave me books, who handed me a thousand lives so that I might learn to live my own”</p><p>—Andrew O’Hagan, on why he supports the Scottish Book Trust Christmas appeal</p><p><a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/25609921.andrew-ohagan-join-scottish-book-trusts-appeal-change-lives/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/25609921.andrew-ohagan-join-scottish-book-trusts-appeal-change-lives/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.heraldscotland.com/busines</span><span class="invisible">s_hq/25609921.andrew-ohagan-join-scottish-book-trusts-appeal-change-lives/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/reading/" rel="tag">#reading</a> <a href="/tags/christmas/" rel="tag">#Christmas</a> <a href="/tags/charity/" rel="tag">#charity</a></p>

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

<p>"A poet of one mood in all my lays,<br>Ranging all life to sing my only love,<br>Like a west wind across the world I move,<br>Sweeping my harp of floods mine own wild way."</p><p>British writer and poet Alice Meynell was born <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1847.</p><p>She was considered for the position of Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom twice, first in 1892 on the death of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and later in 1913 on the death of Alfred Austin, but was never appointed to the position.</p><p><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/546" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/546"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho</span><span class="invisible">r/546</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Alice Meynell in 1912

Published by Herder, MO, USA - https://archive.org/details/poetschantry00bregiala

In the portrait, Meynell is depicted as an elegant woman in her early fifties, with a composed and introspective expression. Her features are soft yet defined, capturing her intellectual depth and delicate beauty. She has an oval-shaped face, with high cheekbones and expressive eyes that give her a thoughtful, almost meditative look.

Meynell’s hair is styled in the fashion of the time, pulled back neatly and coiled into a bun.

She is dressed in a high-collared blouse or dress, typical of early 20th-century women's fashion.

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

<p>Fossil hunter, folklorist, evangelist, stonemason, newspaper editor, social justice campaigner, & geologist, Hugh Miller (1802–1856) – born <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a>, 10 Oct – deserves to be remembered in the company of Carlyle, Ruskin, Matthew Arnold & JS Mill as one of the leading moral & social thinkers of the 19th century</p><p>A 🎂🧵</p><p>1/4</p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/19thcentury/" rel="tag">#19thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/victorian/" rel="tag">#Victorian</a> <a href="/tags/geology/" rel="tag">#geology</a> <a href="/tags/fossil/" rel="tag">#fossil</a> <a href="/tags/hughmiller/" rel="tag">#HughMiller</a></p>

A faded 19th-century sepia photograph of Hugh Miller. He is standing, dressed in workman's overalls, his shirt-sleeves rolled up. He has bushy hair and large sideburns, and his left elbow is propped up on a carved gravestone. His right hand rests on a large stonemason's maul, and he holds a chisel in his left hand.

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

128d

<p>This month's Distributed Proofreaders (DP) Blog is a book that was one of the special projects to celebrate DP's 25th anniversary. "Here foloweth a lytell treatyse of the beaute of women" was published around 1525.</p><p><a href="https://blog.pgdp.net/2025/12/01/on-the-beauty-of-women/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="blog.pgdp.net/2025/12/01/on-the-beauty-of-women/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">blog.pgdp.net/2025/12/01/on-th</span><span class="invisible">e-beauty-of-women/</span></a></p><p>The book at PG:</p><p><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/77124" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/77124</a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

A woodcut "depicts a voluptuous woman wearing nothing but a fancy plumed hat and slippers, playing a lute to a jester sitting at her feet. The Latin inscription in its border, “Peccati forma femina est et mortis condicio,” can be translated roughly as, “Sin and death take the shape of woman.” - https://blog.pgdp.net/2025/12/01/on-the-beauty-of-women/

Edited 128d ago

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

<p><a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1869.</p><p>Model, poet and artist Elizabeth Siddal (d. 1862) is exhumed at Highgate Cemetery in London in order to recover the manuscript of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Poems buried with her.</p><p>Rossetti then published the contents in Poems (1870). These became part of Rossetti's sonnet sequence entitled The House of Life. </p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Siddal#After_Siddal's_death" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Siddal#After_Siddal's_death"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabet</span><span class="invisible">h_Siddal#After_Siddal's_death</span></a></p><p>The House of Life at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3692" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3692</a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a></p>

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Portrait of Elizabeth Siddal 1854

Dante Gabriel Rossetti - Marsh, Jan (1996). The Pre-Raphaelites: Their Lives in Letters and Diaries. London: Collins & Brown

In the portrait, Siddal is shown with her characteristic long, flowing red hair, which became a hallmark of Rossetti's paintings. Her features are soft but marked by a melancholy or introspective expression, reflecting the delicate and enigmatic quality she embodied in much of Rossetti’s work. The artist’s use of line and color accentuates her pale complexion and ethereal beauty, while her elongated neck and serene posture give her an almost otherworldly grace.

Rossetti’s portrayal of Siddal in this piece emphasizes her as an idealized figure of beauty and fragility, embodying the Pre-Raphaelite ideal of the "tragic muse." Siddal was often depicted by Rossetti in this way, reflecting both her personal struggles with illness and her symbolic role in his artistic vision.

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

<p>American illustrator, author and naturalist William Hamilton Gibson was born <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1850.</p><p>Gibson illustrated S. A. Drake's In the Heart of the White Mountains, and E. P. Roe's Nature's Serial Story; and his own books, The Complete American Trapper; Pastoral Days; Highways and Byways; Happy Hunting Grounds; Strolls by Starlight and Sunshine; Sharp Eyes; and My Studio Neighbours.</p><p>Books illustrated or by W. Hamilton Gibson at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=W.+Hamilton+Gibson&submit_search=Go%21" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=W.+Hamilton+Gibson&submit_search=Go%21"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/searc</span><span class="invisible">h/?query=W.+Hamilton+Gibson&submit_search=Go%21</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/illustrations/" rel="tag">#illustrations</a></p>

Harvested from the Book "William Hamilton Gibson; artist--naturalist--author" (1901) by John Coleman Adams. This is the frontispiece from the book. The book is in the public domain and scans can be found at https://archive.org/details/williamhamiltong00adam

CONWAY MEADOWS. By W. HAMILTON GIBSON

Engraved by W. H. Morse

In: The Heart of the White Mountains, Their Legend and Scenery by Samuel Adams Drake

Available at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42447

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

128d

<p>When the day-birds have settled<br>in their creaking trees,<br>the doors of the forest open<br>for the flitting<br>drift of deer<br>among the bright croziers<br>of new ferns<br>and the legible stars…</p><p>—Robin Robertson, “What the Horses See at Night”<br>published in SAILING THE FOREST: Selected Poems (Picador, 2014)</p><p><a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/robin-robertson/sailing-the-forest/9781447231554" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.panmacmillan.com/authors/robin-robertson/sailing-the-forest/9781447231554"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.panmacmillan.com/authors/r</span><span class="invisible">obin-robertson/sailing-the-forest/9781447231554</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/naturewriting/" rel="tag">#naturewriting</a> <a href="/tags/naturepoetry/" rel="tag">#naturepoetry</a></p>

What the Horses See at Night
by Robin Robertson

When the day-birds have settled
in their creaking trees,
the doors of the forest open
for the flitting
drift of deer
among the bright croziers
of new ferns
and the legible stars;
foxes stream from the earth;
a tawny owl
frisks the long meadow.
In a slink of river-light,
the mink’s face
is already slippery with yolk,
and the bay’s
tiny islands are drops
of solder
under a drogue moon.
The sea’s a heavy sleeper,
dreaming in and out with a catch
in each breath, and is not disturbed

by that plowt – the first
in a play of herring, a shoal
silvering open
the sheeted black skin of the sea.
Through the starting rain, the moon
skirrs across the sky dragging
torn shreds of cloud behind.
The fox’s call is red
and ribboned
in the snow’s white shadow.
The horses watch the sea climb
and climb and walk
towards them on the hill,
hear the vole
crying under the alder,
our children
breathing slowly in their beds.

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

128d

<p>Robert Burns & the Glenriddell Manuscripts<br>22 January 2026, National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh – free</p><p>Discover the incredible story of the Glenriddell Manuscripts – the largest collection of Robert Burns’s original writings in the world.</p><p><a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/robert-burns-and-the-glenriddell-manuscripts-tickets-1975276014733" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/robert-burns-and-the-glenriddell-manuscripts-tickets-1975276014733"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/robert-</span><span class="invisible">burns-and-the-glenriddell-manuscripts-tickets-1975276014733</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/robertburns/" rel="tag">#RobertBurns</a> <a href="/tags/18thcentury/" rel="tag">#18thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/song/" rel="tag">#song</a> <a href="/tags/letters/" rel="tag">#letters</a> <a href="/tags/manuscripts/" rel="tag">#manuscripts</a></p>

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

113d

<p>goodk kkkkk unjam ingwe nches lass? start again goodk<br>lassw enche sking start again kings tart! again sorry…</p><p>—Edwin Morgan, “The Computer’s Second Christmas Card”<br>published in COLLECTED POEMS (Carcanet, 1990)</p><p><a href="https://www.carcanet.co.uk/9781857541885/collected-poems/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.carcanet.co.uk/9781857541885/collected-poems/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.carcanet.co.uk/97818575418</span><span class="invisible">85/collected-poems/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/concretepoetry/" rel="tag">#concretepoetry</a> <a href="/tags/20thcentury/" rel="tag">#20thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/computing/" rel="tag">#computing</a> <a href="/tags/edwinmorgan/" rel="tag">#EdwinMorgan</a></p>

(written in bright green text, in a monospaced font on a black background, to emulate an old CRT computer monitor; the text is divided up into blocks of five letters each)

The Computer's Second Christmas Card
by Edwin Morgan

goodk kkkkk unjam ingwe nches lass? start again goodk
lassw enche sking start again kings tart! again sorry
goodk ingwe ncesl ooked outas thef? unmix asloo kedou
tonth effff rewri tenow goodk ingwe ncesl asloo kedou
tonth effff fffff unjam feast ofsai ntste venst efanc
utsai ntrew ritef easto fstep toeso rryan dsons orry!
start again good? yesgo odkin gwenc eslas looke dout?
doubt wrong track start again goodk ingwe ncesl asloo
kedou tonth efeas tofst ephph phphp hphph unjam phphp
repea tunja mhphp scrub carol hphph repea tscru bcaro
lstop subst itute track merry chris tmasa ndgoo dnewy
earin 1699? check digit banks orryi n1966 endme ssage

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

113d

<p>Marking the centenary of the birth of journalist, author, & native Gaelic speaker Finlay J. Macdonald (1925–1987), the BBC has commissioned John Urquhart to make Gaelic translations of a series of readings recorded by Macdonald for Radio 4</p><p><a href="https://www.welovestornoway.com/index.php/articles/40837-celebrating-the-work-of-finlay-j-macdonald" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.welovestornoway.com/index.php/articles/40837-celebrating-the-work-of-finlay-j-macdonald"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.welovestornoway.com/index.</span><span class="invisible">php/articles/40837-celebrating-the-work-of-finlay-j-macdonald</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/gaidhlig/" rel="tag">#Gaidhlig</a> <a href="/tags/gaelic/" rel="tag">#Gaelic</a> <a href="/tags/hebrides/" rel="tag">#Hebrides</a></p>

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

<p>French illustrator, etcher, lithographer, caricaturist, and novelist Albert Robida died <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1926.</p><p>He was an early pioneer of science fiction and founding father of science fiction art. He edited and published La Caricature magazine for 12 years. Through the 1880s, he wrote an acclaimed trilogy of futuristic novels. In the 1900s he created 520 illustrations for Pierre Giffard's weekly serial La Guerre Infernale.</p><p>Albert Robida at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1043" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1043"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho</span><span class="invisible">r/1043</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/illustration/" rel="tag">#illustration</a></p>

Notre-Dame de Paris. Illustration by Albert Robida published in Le Rire, no. 382, “À l'occasion du centenaire de Victor Hugo”, March 1, 1902.

Albert Rodida - La Vie Electrique

Map flanked by vignettes of major cities. Includes notes. Published as a supplement of La Caricature. Map of Europe with cartoon-like allegorical and human figures representing individual countries.

Albert Robida — https://id.lib.harvard.edu/curiosity/scanned-maps/44-990142735370203941

1 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

1y

<p><a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1893.</p><p>Finley Peter Dunne introduces the fictional character Mr. Dooley in the Chicago Evening Post.</p><p>Dunne's essays contain the bartender's commentary on various topics (often national or international affairs). They became extremely popular during the 1898 Spanish–American War and remained so afterwards; they are collected in several books. </p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Dooley" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Dooley"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Dool</span><span class="invisible">ey</span></a></p><p>Books by Finley Peter Dunne at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1559" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1559"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho</span><span class="invisible">r/1559</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Drawing of the fictional bartender Mr. Dooley and his customer Hennessy.

E. W. Kemble (1861–1933) - Mr. Dooley's Philosophy, frontispiece https://books.google.pt/books?id=yqhaAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA241&dq=mr+dooley+hennessy&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

Dooley (right) and Hennessy, by E. W. Kemble (1900)

0 0 0 View Post & Replies See Original

Previous Page Next Page