literature

54d

<p>Previously Unknown Medieval Chronicle Discovered</p><p>A newly discovered chronicle from the early eighth century is giving medieval historians a rare new window onto the political shocks and religious debates that reshaped the eastern Mediterranean in the decades before and after the rise of Islam.</p><p><a href="https://www.medievalists.net/2026/02/previously-unknown-medieval-chronicle-discovered/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.medievalists.net/2026/02/previously-unknown-medieval-chronicle-discovered/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.medievalists.net/2026/02/p</span><span class="invisible">reviously-unknown-medieval-chronicle-discovered/</span></a></p><p>More articles about Maronite Chronicle of 713:<br><a href="https://medievalworlds.net/0xc1aa5572_0x004102d6.pdf" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="medievalworlds.net/0xc1aa5572_0x004102d6.pdf"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">medievalworlds.net/0xc1aa5572_</span><span class="invisible">0x004102d6.pdf</span></a></p><p><a href="https://www.academia.edu/145038749/Recovering_Syro_Chalcedonian_Historical_Memory_The_Maronite_Chronicle_of_713_and_its_Manuscript_Transmission" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.academia.edu/145038749/Recovering_Syro_Chalcedonian_Historical_Memory_The_Maronite_Chronicle_of_713_and_its_Manuscript_Transmission"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.academia.edu/145038749/Rec</span><span class="invisible">overing_Syro_Chalcedonian_Historical_Memory_The_Maronite_Chronicle_of_713_and_its_Manuscript_Transmission</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/old_manuscripts/" rel="tag">#old_manuscripts</a></p>

Arabic Manuscripts 597. Book of Daniel and Solomon's Proverbs.

The image shows two pages of Arabic text written in traditional calligraphy, appearing to be a biblical manuscript. St. Catherine's Monastery houses one of the world's most important collections of ancient manuscripts, including significant Arabic Christian texts. This manuscript represents the Arabic translation tradition of biblical books, important for understanding how scripture was transmitted and read in Arabic-speaking Christian communities.

Part of
Manuscripts in St. Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai: Microfilm 5014: Arabic (312)
Manuscripts in St. Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai (1,691)

https://www.loc.gov/resource/amedmonastery.00279390684-ms/?sp=19&st=image

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335d

<p>Warburg’s Werewolf: An Anamnesis</p><p>Aby Warburg spent his life finding forms that could hold their own against the flow of time. All the while, as Kevin Dann explores, he was churning on the brink of madness with the sense that he himself was changing — into a terrifying animal. What kind of history would a werewolf write?</p><p>By Kevin Dann</p><p><a href="https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/warburgs-werewolf-an-anamnesis/?utm_source=newsletter" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="publicdomainreview.org/essay/warburgs-werewolf-an-anamnesis/?utm_source=newsletter"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">publicdomainreview.org/essay/w</span><span class="invisible">arburgs-werewolf-an-anamnesis/?utm_source=newsletter</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

“Les Révélations Brutales”, illustration by Bertall (Charles Albert d’Arnoux) from Balzac’s Petites misères de la vie conjugale (1846)

The illustration “Les Révélations Brutales” by Bertall (Charles Albert d’Arnoux), from Honoré de Balzac’s Petites misères de la vie conjugale (1846), is a satirical and dramatic depiction of a domestic confrontation. In the scene, a husband and wife are caught in a moment of intense emotional tension—likely following a blunt or painful revelation, as the title suggests ("Brutal Revelations").

The artwork captures the stiff posture and stunned expressions typical of 19th-century caricature, emphasizing the discomfort, irony, and dark humor Balzac often used to expose the complexities and hypocrisies of married life.

https://archive.org/details/petitesmisres00balz/page/272/mode/2up

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355d

<p>Maria Edgeworth’s Educational Philosophy in 5 Core Concepts</p><p>Maria Edgeworth's timeless educational philosophy focuses on practical skills, parental involvement, critical thinking, ethics, and individualized learning.</p><p>By Viktoriya Sus</p><p><a href="https://www.thecollector.com/maria-edgeworth-educational-philosophy-core-concepts/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.thecollector.com/maria-edgeworth-educational-philosophy-core-concepts/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.thecollector.com/maria-edg</span><span class="invisible">eworth-educational-philosophy-core-concepts/</span></a></p><p>Maria Edgeworth at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/630" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/630"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho</span><span class="invisible">r/630</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/education/" rel="tag">#education</a></p>

The Young Schoolmistress, Jean Siméon Chardin, c. 1736.

The painting shows a young woman, likely a governess or older sister, teaching a little girl how to read. They are seated at a simple wooden table, absorbed in a shared lesson. The girl’s eyes follow the text or image before her, while the young woman leans forward attentively, guiding her.

Both figures are rendered with serene concentration.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jean_Sim%C3%A9on_Chardin_-_The_Young_Schoolmistress_-_WGA04750.jpg

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29d

<p>RSE Investigates: The history of Scots and English in 10 objects</p><p>What can objects tell us about the history of our languages?<br>Prof Jeremy Smith uncovers the unique stories & histories of English & Scots through ten extraordinary objects: a bone, a piece of jewellery, a stone cross, a jug, two manuscripts, two letters, a broadside sheet, & an early printed book.</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8MEEn47TRc" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8MEEn47TRc"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8MEEn</span><span class="invisible">47TRc</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/scots/" rel="tag">#Scots</a> <a href="/tags/scotslanguage/" rel="tag">#Scotslanguage</a> <a href="/tags/languagehistory/" rel="tag">#languagehistory</a></p>

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53d

<p>The Scottish Highlands: Epic Mode<br>23 March, online – tickets from £3.35</p><p>Prof Dòmhnall Uilleam Stiùbhart investigates the ancient heroic tales of the Fèinn/Fianna & Fionn mac Cumhail/Finn Mac Cool. These exciting, complex, & often moving stories are part of the common heritage of Scotland & Ireland.</p><p><a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-scottish-highlands-epic-mode-domhnall-uilleam-stiubhart-zoom-tickets-1981483748231" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-scottish-highlands-epic-mode-domhnall-uilleam-stiubhart-zoom-tickets-1981483748231"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-sco</span><span class="invisible">ttish-highlands-epic-mode-domhnall-uilleam-stiubhart-zoom-tickets-1981483748231</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/irish/" rel="tag">#Irish</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/legends/" rel="tag">#legends</a> <a href="/tags/mythology/" rel="tag">#mythology</a> <a href="/tags/epic/" rel="tag">#epic</a> <a href="/tags/highlands/" rel="tag">#Highlands</a></p>

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55d

<p>The Ur-“Conspiracy”: History of a Pseudoconcept</p><p>By Barrett Brown</p><p><a href="https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2026/02/12/the-ur-conspiracy-history-of-a-pseudoconcept/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.theparisreview.org/blog/2026/02/12/the-ur-conspiracy-history-of-a-pseudoconcept/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.theparisreview.org/blog/20</span><span class="invisible">26/02/12/the-ur-conspiracy-history-of-a-pseudoconcept/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/literarycriticism/" rel="tag">#literarycriticism</a></p>

Theophilus Schweighardt, The Temple of the Rose Cross, 1618,

The representation was created around 1604 and was published in the Speculum sophicum Rhodostauroticum by Theophilus Schweighart. At the center of the picture is a wheeled, fortress-like building. Look at the picture from the OCCIDENS, i.e. from the west. The lower image caption provides us with an indication of this (it is difficult to recognize here in the picture). The entrance to this building, which is directly revealed to the viewer, is marked by a lettering. Above the archway you can read "VENITE DIGNI" ("COME HERE, WORTHY"). To the right of the archway you can see a cross and to the left a rose. Directly below the entrance you can read the word "MOVEAMVR" spread over two lines. Above the archway there are two windows along which the lettering "IESVS NOBIS OMNIA" ("JESUS [IS] EVERYTHING FOR US") runs along. It therefore becomes clear that, in addition to all the many other symbolic representations, it could be a rose cruiserical representation. The cross and rose can be clearly identified, but not presented united, as in today's form.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Templeofrosycross_highres.png

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55d

<p>"Heaven did not seem to be my home; and I broke my heart with weeping to come back to earth; ..."</p><p>Don’t fall in love this Valentine’s Day – read Wuthering Heights</p><p>Emily Brontë’s novel celebrates the head-spinning, hair-raising, all-consuming experience of falling in love.</p><p>by Andrew McInnes</p><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-fall-in-love-this-valentines-day-read-wuthering-heights-275600?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Weekender%20-%203675037557&utm_content=The%20Weekender%20-%203675037557+CID_d1468951185c9327ba8ce1dd485dfe68&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=Dont%20fall%20in%20love%20this%20Valentines%20Day%20%20read%20Wuthering%20Heights" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="theconversation.com/dont-fall-in-love-this-valentines-day-read-wuthering-heights-275600?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Weekender%20-%203675037557&utm_content=The%20Weekender%20-%203675037557+CID_d1468951185c9327ba8ce1dd485dfe68&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=Dont%20fall%20in%20love%20this%20Valentines%20Day%20%20read%20Wuthering%20Heights"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">theconversation.com/dont-fall-</span><span class="invisible">in-love-this-valentines-day-read-wuthering-heights-275600?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Weekender%20-%203675037557&utm_content=The%20Weekender%20-%203675037557+CID_d1468951185c9327ba8ce1dd485dfe68&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=Dont%20fall%20in%20love%20this%20Valentines%20Day%20%20read%20Wuthering%20Heights</span></a></p><p>Wuthering Heights at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/768" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/768</a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Photo of Sir Laurence Olivier knighted 1947-page 144 and Merle Oberon from the 1939 film Wuthering Heights.

This is a publicity still from the 1939 film adaptation of "Wuthering Heights," showing Laurence Olivier (later knighted in 1947) as Heathcliff and Merle Oberon as Catherine Earnshaw seated together on the Yorkshire moors. The romantic scene captures the passionate, doomed lovers from Emily Brontë's classic novel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuthering_Heights#/media/File:Laurence_Olivier_Merle_Oberon_Wuthering_Heights.jpg

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54d

<p>Not a red rose or a satin heart.</p><p>I give you an onion.<br>It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.<br>It promises light<br>like the careful undressing of love…</p><p>—Carol Ann Duffy, “Valentine”<br>published in A Red Rose or a Satin Heart: An Anthology of Scottish Love Poems, <span class="h-card"><a href="https://bookish.community/@canongatebooks" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>canongatebooks</span></a></span> 2010<br>💝 </p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/valentinesday/" rel="tag">#ValentinesDay</a> <a href="/tags/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/womenwriters/" rel="tag">#womenwriters</a> <a href="/tags/lovepoem/" rel="tag">#lovepoem</a> <a href="/tags/carolannduffy/" rel="tag">#CarolAnnDuffy</a></p>

Valentine
Carol Ann Duffy

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
like the careful undressing of love.

Here.
It will blind you with tears
like a lover.
It will make your reflection
a wobbling photo of grief.

I am trying to be truthful.

Not a cute card or a kissogram.

I give you an onion.
Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,
possessive and faithful
as we are,
for as long as we are.

Take it.
Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring,
if you like.
Lethal.
Its scent will cling to your fingers,
cling to your knife.

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54d

<p>O dastram, dastram,<br>Dastram Mòrag!<br>Rìbhinn bhuidh’, bhasdalach,<br>Leac-ruiteach ròsach…</p><p>—Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair, bho “Moladh Mòrag”<br>published in DASTRAM/DELIRIUM: Selected Poems of Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair, Versions by Taylor Strickland (Broken Sleep Books, 2023)</p><p><a href="https://www.brokensleepbooks.com/product-page/taylor-strickland-dastram-delirium" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.brokensleepbooks.com/product-page/taylor-strickland-dastram-delirium"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.brokensleepbooks.com/produ</span><span class="invisible">ct-page/taylor-strickland-dastram-delirium</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/valentinesday/" rel="tag">#ValentinesDay</a> <a href="/tags/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/18thcentury/" rel="tag">#18thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/love/" rel="tag">#love</a> <a href="/tags/lovepoem/" rel="tag">#lovepoem</a> <a href="/tags/lovepoetry/" rel="tag">#lovepoetry</a></p>

bho Moladh Mòraig
Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair

O dastram, dastram,
Dastram Mòrag!
Rìbhinn bhuidh’, bhasdalach,
Leac-ruiteach ròsach;
A gruaidhean air lasadh
Mar an lasair-chlach dhathte,
’S a deud mar a’ sneachda,
Cruinn-shnaighte ’n dlùth òrdugh;
Ri Venus cho tlachdmhor
An taitneachdainn fheòlmhor,
Ri Dido cho maiseach,
Cho snasmhor ’s cho còrr rith’;
’S e thionnsgain dhomh caitheamh
’S a lùghdaich mo ràithean,
A’ bhallag ghrinn laghach
Chuir na gathan sa ’m fheòil-sa.

from Praised be Morag
translated by Taylor Strickland

Delirium! Delirium
from her, a girl blonde,
lurid: how she snuffs out
her own flint-spark glow,
and in one white bite
hewn from snow.
As sex and excess,
as body and beauty,
so Dido, so Venus,
so Morag ravishes
my seasons,
my genius
spent.
A girl with sharp agency
can pierce the heart
clean through.

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54d

<p>Here is a letter<br>come across the ocean<br>over the back of a world<br>curved like a whale…</p><p>—Hugh McMillan, “Letter”<br>published in THE OTHER CREATURES IN THE WOOD (Mariscat, 2014)</p><p><a href="https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/letter/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/letter/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.</span><span class="invisible">uk/poem/letter/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/valentinesday/" rel="tag">#ValentinesDay</a> <a href="/tags/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/lovepoem/" rel="tag">#lovepoem</a> <a href="/tags/lovepoetry/" rel="tag">#lovepoetry</a> <a href="/tags/valentine/" rel="tag">#Valentine</a></p>

Letter
Hugh McMillan

Here is a letter
come across the ocean
over the back of a world
curved like a whale.
I unwrap it, like tissue,
and sentences spill out,
as though the seal on a jar has broken,
coils of cornflower blue
on paper thin as shell.

I saw a sailor’s valentine once
in a museum in Nantucket Sound,
a mosaic of broken scallop
glued in a compass rose.
‘Writ from the heart’ it said.
Words come best like that:
in ink or blood,
when the source is from a major vein.

I read, and understand this much:
if ink sees off time and miles, then so must love.

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54d

<p>There were never strawberries<br>like the ones we had<br>that sultry afternoon<br>sitting on the step<br>of the open french window<br>facing each other<br>your knees held in mine…</p><p>—Edwin Morgan, “Strawberries”🍓<br>published in CENTENARY SELECTED POEMS (Carcanet, 2020)</p><p><a href="https://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=9781784109967" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=9781784109967"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/ind</span><span class="invisible">exer?product=9781784109967</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/valentinesday/" rel="tag">#ValentinesDay</a> <a href="/tags/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/lgbtq/" rel="tag">#LGBTQ</a> <a href="/tags/lgbtqplushm/" rel="tag">#LGBTQplusHM</a> <a href="/tags/valentine/" rel="tag">#Valentine</a> <a href="/tags/lovepoem/" rel="tag">#lovepoem</a> <a href="/tags/lovepoetry/" rel="tag">#lovepoetry</a> <a href="/tags/edwinmorgan/" rel="tag">#EdwinMorgan</a> <a href="/tags/20thcentury/" rel="tag">#20thcentury</a></p>

Strawberries
Edwin Morgan

There were never strawberries
like the ones we had
that sultry afternoon
sitting on the step
of the open french window
facing each other
your knees held in mine
the blue plates in our laps
the strawberries glistening
in the hot sunlight
we dipped them in sugar
looking at each other
not hurrying the feast
for one to come
the empty plates

laid on the stone together
with the two forks crossed
and I bent towards you
sweet in that air
in my arms
abandoned like a child
from your eager mouth
the taste of strawberries
in my memory
lean back again
let me love you

let the sun beat
on our forgetfulness
one hour of all
the heat intense
and summer lightning
on the Kilpatrick hills

let the storm wash the plates

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54d

<p>The Mercator Projection<br>Currently on BBC Sounds</p><p>In a short work for Valentine’s Day by Heather Parry, a cartographer redraws the map for those she loves</p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0027v47" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0027v47"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0027</span><span class="invisible">v47</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/shortfiction/" rel="tag">#shortfiction</a> <a href="/tags/shortstory/" rel="tag">#shortstory</a> <a href="/tags/audio/" rel="tag">#audio</a> <a href="/tags/valentine/" rel="tag">#Valentine</a> <a href="/tags/valentinesday/" rel="tag">#ValentinesDay</a></p>

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53d

<p>This week's <a href="/tags/newbooks/" rel="tag">#NewBooks</a> at the library:<br>- I expanded my collection of <a href="/tags/tolkien/" rel="tag">#Tolkien</a> books with The Tower and the Ruin: J.R.R. Tolkien's Creation from W.W. Norton<br>- I used my employer's Christmas voucher to buy a copy of Simon Parkin's The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad: A True Story of Science and Sacrifice in a City under Siege from Sceptre (look out for a review in due course).<br>- I also found a second-hand copy of What Is Regeneration? from the University of Chicago Press. </p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/scicomm/" rel="tag">#Scicomm</a> <a href="/tags/tolkien/" rel="tag">#Tolkien</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#Literature</a> <a href="/tags/developmentalbiology/" rel="tag">#DevelopmentalBiology</a> <a href="/tags/seedbank/" rel="tag">#SeedBank</a> <a href="/tags/botany/" rel="tag">#Botany</a> <a href="/tags/bookstodon/" rel="tag">#Bookstodon</a> <span class="h-card"><a href="https://fedigroups.social/@bookstodon" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>bookstodon</span></a></span></p>

A photo of three books standing on a small, brown, wooden table. The out-of-focus background shows black shelves full of books.

On the left, standing up, The Tower and the Ruin, showing a black-and-white photo of J.R.R. Tolkien on a black background. He is wearing a suit and lighting his pipe.

In the middle, lying down, What Is Regeneration?, showing several blue drawings of hydras, a stalked underwater hydrozoan with a crown of tentacles at its free end.

On the right, standing up, The Forbidden Garden of Leningrad, showing part of a black-and-white photo of two women wearing head scarves, seated against a background of concrete rubble. The top half of the cover shows several technical botanical drawings of plants in colour and black-and-white.

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331d

<p>Breakfast time: I am reading the book "The Last Goddess" by Kateřina Tučková.<br>(Translated from Czech by Andrew Oakland)<br>And it touches me because the book begins with themes that have also influenced my life - women, health care and intelligence service. I won't say any more so as not to spoil anything ;) </p><p><a href="/tags/thelastgoddess/" rel="tag">#TheLastGoddess</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#Books</a> <a href="/tags/iamreading/" rel="tag">#IAmReading</a> <a href="/tags/reading/" rel="tag">#Reading</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#Literature</a> </p><p>@lesekreis<br>@boeken<br>@bookstodon</p>

A paperback copy of "The Last Goddess" by Katerina Tuckova sits on a white plate next to a cup of coffee on a white wooden table.

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313d

<p>Are we reading Machiavelli wrong?</p><p>What we’re missing in Machiavelli’s The Prince, explained by an expert.</p><p>by Sean Illing</p><p><a href="https://www.vox.com/the-gray-area/414753/machiavelli-prince-authoritarian-critique-political-philosophy" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.vox.com/the-gray-area/414753/machiavelli-prince-authoritarian-critique-political-philosophy"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.vox.com/the-gray-area/4147</span><span class="invisible">53/machiavelli-prince-authoritarian-critique-political-philosophy</span></a></p><p>Machiavelli at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1232" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1232</a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Portrait of Niccolò Machiavelli by Santi di Tito.

In this classic Renaissance portrait by Santi di Tito, Niccolò Machiavelli is depicted in a half-length pose, turned slightly to his left but with his gaze directed outward, engaging the viewer with a calm and penetrating expression. His face is oval-shaped, with high cheekbones, a prominent nose, and tightly drawn lips.

He wears a dark, simple tunic with a high collar and red sleeves underneath

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Portrait_of_Niccol%C3%B2_Machiavelli_by_Santi_di_Tito.jpg

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313d

<p>Twentieth-Century Radical Scottish Gaelic Magazines and Contacts with Wales</p><p>A recording of Dr Petra Johana Poncarová’s talk, given on 22 May at the Centre for Advanced Welsh Celtic Studies</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiKkgWYyhW8" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiKkgWYyhW8"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiKkgW</span><span class="invisible">YyhW8</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/magazines/" rel="tag">#magazines</a> <a href="/tags/20thcentury/" rel="tag">#20thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/gaelic/" rel="tag">#Gaelic</a> <a href="/tags/gaidhlig/" rel="tag">#Gaidhlig</a> <a href="/tags/wales/" rel="tag">#Wales</a> <a href="/tags/welsh/" rel="tag">#Welsh</a> <a href="/tags/celticstudies/" rel="tag">#CelticStudies</a></p>

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330d

<p>So, they say Abercrombie's The Devils is absolutely worth it?</p><p><a href="https://joeabercrombie.com/books/the-devils/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="joeabercrombie.com/books/the-devils/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">joeabercrombie.com/books/the-d</span><span class="invisible">evils/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/amreading/" rel="tag">#amreading</a> <a href="/tags/reading/" rel="tag">#reading</a> <a href="/tags/kindle/" rel="tag">#kindle</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/bookwyrm/" rel="tag">#bookwyrm</a> <a href="/tags/booktoot/" rel="tag">#booktoot</a> <a href="/tags/book/" rel="tag">#book</a> <a href="/tags/knihy/" rel="tag">#knihy</a> <a href="/tags/fantasy/" rel="tag">#fantasy</a> @bookstodon @fantasy @knihy</p>

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328d

<p>L. Frank Baum’s Literary Vision of an American Century: The Wizard of Oz at 125 Years </p><p>Ed Simon on Grifters, the Chicago World Fair, and Oz as Symbol of a Modern USA</p><p><a href="https://lithub.com/l-frank-baums-literary-vision-of-an-american-century-the-wizard-of-oz-at-125-years/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="lithub.com/l-frank-baums-literary-vision-of-an-american-century-the-wizard-of-oz-at-125-years/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">lithub.com/l-frank-baums-liter</span><span class="invisible">ary-vision-of-an-american-century-the-wizard-of-oz-at-125-years/</span></a></p><p>The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at PG:<br><a href="https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/43936" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>gutenberg.org/ebooks/43936</a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

"The Soldier with the green whiskers led them through the streets."

Title: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Author: L. Frank Baum

Illustrator: W. W. Denslow

https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/43936/pg43936-images.html

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313d

<p>‘A culture is no better than its woods’ – what our trees reveal about us, by W H Auden</p><p>The trees encountered on a country stroll<br>Reveal a lot about a country’s soul.<br>– from Bucolics (1952-53) by W H Auden</p><p><a href="https://aeon.co/videos/a-culture-is-no-better-than-its-woods-what-our-trees-reveal-about-us-by-w-h-auden" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="aeon.co/videos/a-culture-is-no-better-than-its-woods-what-our-trees-reveal-about-us-by-w-h-auden"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">aeon.co/videos/a-culture-is-no</span><span class="invisible">-better-than-its-woods-what-our-trees-reveal-about-us-by-w-h-auden</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Hunt Piero di Cosimo Oil and tempera on panel, 70.5 x 169.5 cm New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The painting portrays a dynamic and chaotic hunting scene set in a dense forest. Human figures, satyrs, and centaurs are depicted engaging in a fierce hunt, wielding clubs and other primitive weapons. They pursue various animals, including lions and bears, which are fleeing from a forest fire in the background.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Piero_di_cosimo,_scena_di_caccia_primitiva,_1494-1500_ca._(met)_09_uomini_con_preda_di_caccia.jpg#/media/File:Piero_di_cosimo,_scena_di_caccia_2.jpg/2

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277d

<p>SHIPS: Live Poetry & Music<br>10 July, An Tobar, Mull – tickets from £8</p><p>A live evening of poetry & music with five acclaimed poets: Sharon Black, Leonie Charlton, Julie Antill, Jon Miller, & Cait O’Neill McCullagh.</p><p><a href="https://www.antobarandmulltheatre.co.uk/whats-on/ec276n5cy0uxkyu4xc55hrskyopw6r" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.antobarandmulltheatre.co.uk/whats-on/ec276n5cy0uxkyu4xc55hrskyopw6r"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.antobarandmulltheatre.co.u</span><span class="invisible">k/whats-on/ec276n5cy0uxkyu4xc55hrskyopw6r</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/highlands/" rel="tag">#Highlands</a> <a href="/tags/highlandsandislands/" rel="tag">#HighlandsandIslands</a></p>

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313d

<p>We needed it—and he stood there,<br>feet on the dry porch, saying rain,<br>cloud and skyful, the sound of drumming…</p><p>—Niall Campbell, “The Rainmaker”<br>published in POETRY (July/August 2020)<br><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/153822/the-rainmaker" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/153822/the-rainmaker"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.poetryfoundation.org/poetr</span><span class="invisible">ymagazine/poems/153822/the-rainmaker</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/rain/" rel="tag">#rain</a></p>

The Rainmaker
by Niall Campbell

We needed it—and he stood there,
feet on the dry porch, saying rain,
cloud and skyful, the sound of drumming;

the bath trough in the garden listened,
white and bone dry, as he described
a bright wash across the dust fields,

the surest downpour, the flushed skin,
my soaked shirt, heavy as a bell.
Then off he went to the scorched fields,

humming, and weighing what we paid.
What did he say: prayer is moisture;
hope is a well—I didn’t care,

I wanted just the words from him—
what I couldn’t dare say—not there
beneath that sun, that blur of fire-sky.

My thoughts all thoughts of water, I
spun my head round—to hear the spill
of the word rain across the boards,

and nothing grew dark, nothing fell—
but something fell, and the ground took,
and something wild as garlic grew.

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312d

<p>Love rules. Love laughs. Love marches. Love is the wolf that guards the gate.<br>Love is the food of music, art, poetry. It fills us and fuels us and fires us to create.<br>Love is terror. Love is sweat. Love is bashed pillow, crumpled sheet, unenviable fate…</p><p>—Edwin Morgan, “Love”<br>A poem for Pride Month 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️<br>published in A BOOK OF LIVES (Carcanet, 2011)</p><p><a href="https://www.carcanet.co.uk/9781857549188/a-book-of-lives/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.carcanet.co.uk/9781857549188/a-book-of-lives/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.carcanet.co.uk/97818575491</span><span class="invisible">88/a-book-of-lives/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/edwinmorgan/" rel="tag">#EdwinMorgan</a> <a href="/tags/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/love/" rel="tag">#love</a> <a href="/tags/lovepoem/" rel="tag">#lovepoem</a> <a href="/tags/loveislove/" rel="tag">#loveislove</a> <a href="/tags/pride/" rel="tag">#Pride</a> <a href="/tags/pridemonth/" rel="tag">#PrideMonth</a> <a href="/tags/pridemonth2025/" rel="tag">#PrideMonth2025</a></p>

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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312d

<p>Tenderness is mandatory.<br>Careless lurches may draw blood,<br>enthusiasms leave abrasions,<br>excessive ardour has been known<br>to snap off spinal plates…</p><p>—“The Mating of Dinosaurs”, by William Oliphant (1920–2004)<br>published in The Mating of Dinosaurs (Taranis Books, 1992)</p><p>Today, 1 June, is Dinosaur Day 🦖 </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/dinosaurs/" rel="tag">#dinosaurs</a> <a href="/tags/dinosaurday/" rel="tag">#DinosaurDay</a></p>

The Mating of Dinosaurs
William Oliphant

Tenderness is mandatory.
Careless lurches may draw blood,
enthusiasms leave abrasions,
excessive ardour has been known
to snap off spinal plates.

There is the constant burden of
the force of gravity that pulls
against the need for viable eggs.

The wear and tear on genitalia,
like spoil of grind of glacier, is
lost in some future fossil count.

The adaptationists suggest
that gentleness emerges here,
and some will come to call it love.

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327d

<p>Tagore in Saigon: Culture, Contradictions, Champagne</p><p>Rabindranath Tagore’s visit to Vietnam in 1929 fanned the debate about the region’s potential future without the French.</p><p>By: H.M.A. Leow </p><p><a href="https://daily.jstor.org/tagore-in-saigon-culture-contradictions-champagne/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="daily.jstor.org/tagore-in-saigon-culture-contradictions-champagne/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">daily.jstor.org/tagore-in-saig</span><span class="invisible">on-culture-contradictions-champagne/</span></a></p><p>At PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/942" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/942"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho</span><span class="invisible">r/942</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Rabindranath with Einstein in 1930

UNESCO - UNESCO Gallery

In the image, Tagore, the Indian poet-philosopher and Nobel laureate in literature, stands beside Einstein, the renowned physicist and Nobel laureate in physics. Both are seen in thoughtful poses—Einstein with his characteristically wild hair and simple attire, and Tagore draped in traditional Indian robes with a composed, serene expression.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabindranath_Tagore#/media/File:Rabindranath_with_Einstein.jpg

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<p>Only Surviving Roman Cookbook Reveals Origins of Europe’s Most Iconic Recipes</p><p>By Filio Kontrafouri</p><p><a href="https://greekreporter.com/2025/05/16/roman-cookbook-europe-iconic-recipes/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="greekreporter.com/2025/05/16/roman-cookbook-europe-iconic-recipes/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">greekreporter.com/2025/05/16/r</span><span class="invisible">oman-cookbook-europe-iconic-recipes/</span></a></p><p>Cookbooks at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=cookbook&submit_search=Search" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=cookbook&submit_search=Search"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/searc</span><span class="invisible">h/?query=cookbook&submit_search=Search</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Roman Feast by Roberto Bompiani, Getty Museum. Apicius’ cookbook still intrigues scholars and cooks with its glimpses of Roman life. Credit: Roberto Bompiani/Public Domain

The artwork portrays elegantly robed Roman men and women reclining on couches around a lavish table, engaging in conversation and indulgence. Servants and musicians attend to the guests, enhancing the sense of luxury and leisure.

Set within a richly adorned interior—with marble columns, classical décor, and detailed frescoes—the painting evokes the grandeur and sensuality of elite Roman dining.

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