literature

311d

<p>Memory & Moggies: McIlvanney, Muriel & Making a Novel<br>10 June, free online</p><p>Prof Zoë Strachan explores the inspiration behind her latest novel, the historical fiction Catch The Moments as They Fly (2023) – including the work of William McIlvanney, & Muriel Spark’s advice that writers should acquire a cat…</p><p>@writingcommunity <br>@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/writing/" rel="tag">#writing</a> <a href="/tags/historicalfiction/" rel="tag">#historicalfiction</a> <a href="/tags/novel/" rel="tag">#novel</a> <a href="/tags/iamwriting/" rel="tag">#IAmWriting</a> <a href="/tags/writingcommunity/" rel="tag">#WritingCommunity</a> <a href="/tags/scotland/" rel="tag">#Scotland</a> <a href="/tags/ayrshire/" rel="tag">#Ayrshire</a> <a href="/tags/memory/" rel="tag">#memory</a></p>

READING SCOTLAND
with Zoë Strachan

Memory and Moggies:
McIlvanney, Muriel and Making a Novel

Tuesday 10th June 2025
6:00 – 7:30pm (German time) on MS Teams

www.scotland.uni-mainz.de

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325d

<p>See Flannery O’Connor’s Little-Known Visual Artworks That Had Been Collecting Dust in Storage</p><p>From childhood cartoons to thoughtful self-portraits, the acclaimed Southern writer was always a keen observer of her surroundings</p><p>By Eli Wizevich</p><p><a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-flannery-oconnors-little-known-visual-artworks-that-had-been-collecting-dust-in-storage-180986591/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=editorial&lctg=93133550" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-flannery-oconnors-little-known-visual-artworks-that-had-been-collecting-dust-in-storage-180986591/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=editorial&lctg=93133550"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-n</span><span class="invisible">ews/see-flannery-oconnors-little-known-visual-artworks-that-had-been-collecting-dust-in-storage-180986591/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=editorial&lctg=93133550</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/art/" rel="tag">#art</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Top Row (left to right): Felix Nussbaum; Edith Sitwell; Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
Middle Row (left to right): Rachel Carson; Edvard Munch; Flannery O’Connor; Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Bottom Row (left to right): Glenn Miller; Wassily Kandinsky; Ian Fleming; Piet Mondrian

https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/class-of-2015/

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312d

<p>it is dawn and my wife is coming to bed<br>and she has been watching a film about the life of charlie parker</p><p>and the air in the bedroom is silent while she undresses<br>and the light is there at the side of the curtain beyond her head…</p><p> —Tom Leonard, “June the Second”, from outside the narrative: poems 1965–2009 (Etruscan Books/Word Power Books 2009)</p><p><a href="https://lighthousebookshop.com/book/9780956628336" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="lighthousebookshop.com/book/9780956628336"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">lighthousebookshop.com/book/97</span><span class="invisible">80956628336</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/tomleonard/" rel="tag">#TomLeonard</a></p>

June the Second
Tom Leonard

it is dawn and my wife is coming to bed
and she has been watching a film about the life of charlie parker

and the air in the bedroom is silent while she undresses
and the light is there at the side of the curtain beyond her head

and she tells me his body gave up of drink and drugs when he was 34
and I decide I am awake and go to the kitchen for a drink of water

and the sky in the north is translucent like a lake
translucent like a lake though it is only 3 am

and when I go back we lightly hold hands as we sometimes do
until the first to be falling asleep begins to twitch and tonight it’s Sonya

and I withdraw my hand and lie back looking at the ceiling
I am aged 51 years and nine months and nine to ten days

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311d

<p>“Of aal the fish there iss in the sea,” said Para Handy, “nothing bates the herrin’; it’s a providence they’re plentiful and them so cheap!”</p><p>Neil Munro (1863–1930) – journalist, novelist, short-story writer, & poet – was born <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a>, 3 June. Rigby’s Encyclopaedia of Herring discusses Munro’s PARA HANDY stories, as well as giving the full text of the tale “The Herring – A Gossip”</p><p>1/4</p><p><a href="https://www.herripedia.com/para-handy/" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.herripedia.com/para-handy/</a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/humour/" rel="tag">#humour</a> <a href="/tags/shortstory/" rel="tag">#shortstory</a> <a href="/tags/herring/" rel="tag">#herring</a> <a href="/tags/19thcentury/" rel="tag">#19thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/20thcentury/" rel="tag">#20thcentury</a></p>

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325d

<p>A Question of Free Will: Inside the Final Days of Katherine Mansfield</p><p>Allison Buccola Complicates Some of Popular Culture's Common Narratives About Cults</p><p><a href="https://lithub.com/a-question-of-free-will-inside-the-final-days-of-katherine-mansfield/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_id=01JVN4QNGF8T03QHGNH5NAWAJB&_kx=3MZUehzXM-41qlWAMPUiuNZadX2p0SByuNf_t0eMLB0.U5D8ER" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="lithub.com/a-question-of-free-will-inside-the-final-days-of-katherine-mansfield/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_id=01JVN4QNGF8T03QHGNH5NAWAJB&_kx=3MZUehzXM-41qlWAMPUiuNZadX2p0SByuNf_t0eMLB0.U5D8ER"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">lithub.com/a-question-of-free-</span><span class="invisible">will-inside-the-final-days-of-katherine-mansfield/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_id=01JVN4QNGF8T03QHGNH5NAWAJB&_kx=3MZUehzXM-41qlWAMPUiuNZadX2p0SByuNf_t0eMLB0.U5D8ER</span></a></p><p>Katherine Mansfield at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/631" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/631"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho</span><span class="invisible">r/631</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Katherine Mansfield (14 October 1888 – 9 January 1923)

This is a black and white portrait photograph. In the image is a young woman with short, bobbed hair styled in a somewhat tousled fashion with bangs across her forehead. She has a serious, contemplative expression and is looking directly at the camera. She's wearing what appears to be a light-colored blouse or dress with a delicate collar detail.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Mansfield#/media/File:Katherine_Mansfield_(no_signature).jpg

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312d

<p>Get a head start by having a first name<br>that doesn’t really go with your second name.<br>Your parents were just trying to keep everyone happy…</p><p>—Palma McKeown, “How To Be Scots-Italian”<br>published in TALKING ABOUT LOBSTERS: New Writing Scotland 34 (ASL, 2016)<br>A poem for Festa della Repubblica 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇹</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/scotsitalian/" rel="tag">#ScotsItalian</a> <a href="/tags/italy/" rel="tag">#Italy</a> <a href="/tags/festadellarepubblica/" rel="tag">#FestaDellaRepubblica</a></p>

Get a head start by having a first name
that doesn’t really go with your second name.
Your parents were just trying to keep everyone happy.
Keep a bottle of Lacryma Christi for when
your Auntie Anna calls in unexpectedly.
Hide the jar of instant coffee in case
she comes into the kitchen & dust off
the old metal coffee pot that unscrews in the middle.
Put out that panettone you got at Christmas
then watch as she scoffs all the Tunnock’s Teacakes.
Learn to sidle down side streets or
melt into shop doorways when you see
old Mr D’Ambrosio coming because, despite
the fact he’s lived here for over sixty years,
you still can’t make out a word he’s saying.
Be prepared to serve sausage rolls & salami di Milano
at Hogmanay parties & give equal play time
to Jimmy Shand & Dean Martin.
You’re just trying to keep everyone happy.
Listen politely to your Auntie Carmen from Coatbridge
when she phones at three in the morning to ask
if everything’s okay because she’s had a dream
about you & the number 62
which signifies death & pestilence.
Try unsuccessfully to get back to sleep.
Feel torn when Italy is playing Scotland at football
until the crowd starts to sing ‘Flower of Scotland’
and a wee tear runs down your cheek.
Try not to get bitter that you never knew
your Italian granddad because during the war
he was taken away by two Scottish policemen
in the middle of the night, herded onto a ship
and was lost at sea when it was torpedoed.
Churchill was just trying to keep everyone happy.

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312d

nudity

Edited 312d ago

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312d

<p>Whether the weather be dreich or fair, my luve,<br>if guid times greet us, or we hae tae face the worst,<br>ahint and afore whit will happen tae us:<br>blind in the present, eyes open to the furore…</p><p>—Jackie Kay, “A Lang Promise”<br>published in BANTAM (Picador, 2017)</p><p>A poem for Pride Month 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️</p><p><a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/jackie-kay/bantam/9781509887927" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.panmacmillan.com/authors/jackie-kay/bantam/9781509887927"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.panmacmillan.com/authors/j</span><span class="invisible">ackie-kay/bantam/9781509887927</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/scots/" rel="tag">#Scots</a> <a href="/tags/scotslanguage/" rel="tag">#Scotslanguage</a> <a href="/tags/love/" rel="tag">#love</a> <a href="/tags/lovepoem/" rel="tag">#lovepoem</a> <a href="/tags/pride/" rel="tag">#Pride</a> <a href="/tags/pridemonth/" rel="tag">#PrideMonth</a> <a href="/tags/jackiekay/" rel="tag">#JackieKay</a></p>

A Lang Promise
Jackie Kay

Whether the weather be dreich or fair, my luve,
if guid times greet us, or we hae tae face the worst,
ahint and afore whit will happen tae us:
blind in the present, eyes open to the furore,
unkempt or perjink, suddenly puir or poorly,
peely-wally or in fine fettle, beld or frosty,
calm as a ghoul or in a feery-farry,
in dork December or in springy spring weather,
doon by the Barrows, on the Champs-Elysees,
at midnicht, first licht, whether the mune
be roond or crescent, and yer o’ soond mind
or absent, I’ll tak your trusty haun
and lead you over the haw – hame, ma darlin.
I’ll carry ma lantern, and daur defend ye agin ony foe;
and whilst there is breath in me, I’ll blaw it intae ye.
Fir ye are ma true luve, the bonnie face I see;
nichts I fall intae slumber, it’s ye swimming up
in all yer guidness and blitheness, yer passion.
You’ll be mine, noo, an’ till the end o’ time,
ma bonnie lassie, I’ll tak the full guid o’ ye’
and gie it back, and gie it back tae ye:
a furst kiss, a lang promise, time’s gowden ring.

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298d

<p><a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a> in 1816.</p><p>At the Villa Diodati, Lord Byron reads Fantasmagoriana to Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley, Claire Clairmont, and John Polidori, then challenges each to write a ghost story, culminating in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, John Polidori’s story “The Vampyre,” and Byron’s poem “Darkness.” </p><p>Fantasmagoriana:<br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasmagoriana" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasmagoriana"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasma</span><span class="invisible">goriana</span></a></p><p>The Vampyre:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6087" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6087</a></p><p>Frankenstein:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/84" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/84</a></p><p>Darkness:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20158" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20158</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>

(Left to Right):
Mary Shelley: She wears a dark gown with a bare neckline, consistent with early 19th-century fashion.

Her image likely comes from Richard Rothwell’s 1840 posthumous portrait.

John Polidori: The author of The Vampyre (1819), often considered the first modern vampire story. He appears youthful, with curly dark hair and a romantic expression.

Claire Clairmont: The stepsister of Mary Shelley and mother of Lord Byron’s daughter, Allegra. She is depicted with reddish-brown curls and wearing a modest white dress.

Percy Bysshe Shelley: The radical Romantic poet known for Prometheus Unbound and Ode to the West Wind. He is shown with intense eyes and a loosely worn open shirt and dark coat.

Lord Byron: He is shown in a contemplative pose with his hand to his face, wearing a deep red coat—this mirrors Thomas Phillips’s famous portrait of Byron.

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310d

<p>Moby-Dick doesn’t deserve the ‘difficult’ label – this sea romance was once loved by office workers, sailors and children</p><p>Early readers knew Moby-Dick for what it was: an extreme and ambitious form of popular genre fiction.</p><p>By Edward Sugden</p><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/moby-dick-doesnt-deserve-the-difficult-label-this-sea-romance-was-once-loved-by-office-workers-sailors-and-children-252764?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20June%203%202025%20-%203399134654&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20June%203%202025%20-%203399134654+CID_883bf765c02875a3531f2b057c9fd507&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=Moby-Dick%20doesnt%20deserve%20the%20difficult%20label%20%20this%20sea%20romance%20was%20once%20loved%20by%20office%20workers%20sailors%20and%20children" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="theconversation.com/moby-dick-doesnt-deserve-the-difficult-label-this-sea-romance-was-once-loved-by-office-workers-sailors-and-children-252764?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20June%203%202025%20-%203399134654&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20June%203%202025%20-%203399134654+CID_883bf765c02875a3531f2b057c9fd507&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=Moby-Dick%20doesnt%20deserve%20the%20difficult%20label%20%20this%20sea%20romance%20was%20once%20loved%20by%20office%20workers%20sailors%20and%20children"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">theconversation.com/moby-dick-</span><span class="invisible">doesnt-deserve-the-difficult-label-this-sea-romance-was-once-loved-by-office-workers-sailors-and-children-252764?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20June%203%202025%20-%203399134654&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20June%203%202025%20-%203399134654+CID_883bf765c02875a3531f2b057c9fd507&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=Moby-Dick%20doesnt%20deserve%20the%20difficult%20label%20%20this%20sea%20romance%20was%20once%20loved%20by%20office%20workers%20sailors%20and%20children</span></a></p><p>Moby Dick at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2701" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2701</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>

Illustration of the final chase of Moby-Dick in a 1902 edition.

The scene is dramatic and chaotic, set against a stormy sea. At the center is Captain Ahab, standing defiantly on the deck of the whaleboat or leaning forward with harpoon raised, his face twisted with obsession and fury.

The great white whale, Moby-Dick, dominates the composition—immense, ghostly pale, and terrifying, thrashing violently as it breaches the ocean surface.

Ahab’s ship, the Pequod, is shown in the distance or beginning to sink, impaled or struck by the whale’s massive bulk.

I. W. Taber - Moby Dick - edition: Charles Scribner's Sons, New York

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby-Dick#/media/File:Moby_Dick_final_chase.jpg

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307d

<p>Aonghas Dubh – Ceòl às na Briathran<br>The poet & writer Aonghas MacNeacail (1942–2022) was born <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a>, 7 June. This programme, originally aired on the BBC, is drawn from “Skerries, Trawlings, Tides” – a literary event celebrating Aonghas’s 80th birthday</p><p>1/2</p><p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAb0LdDuaSk" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAb0LdDuaSk"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAb0Ld</span><span class="invisible">DuaSk</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/gaelic/" rel="tag">#Gaelic</a> <a href="/tags/gaidhlig/" rel="tag">#Gaidhlig</a></p>

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54d

<p>The Cross-Dressing Marquess Who Made Arthur Conan Doyle Turn Detective</p><p>"Henry Paget, the fifth Marquess of Anglesey, who loved expensive costumes and jewelry, turned to Arthur Conan Doyle when his jewels mysteriously disappeared"</p><p><a href="https://www.thecollector.com/henry-paget-arthur-conan-doyle/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.thecollector.com/henry-paget-arthur-conan-doyle/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.thecollector.com/henry-pag</span><span class="invisible">et-arthur-conan-doyle/</span></a></p><p>Books by Doyle at PG:</p><p><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/69" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/69"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho</span><span class="invisible">r/69</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/history/" rel="tag">#history</a> <a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/lgbtqia/" rel="tag">#lgbtqia</a></p>

"Photo portrait of Henry Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey by John Wickens" - picryl.com

He is dressed in a theatrical costume. It is a long stripped robe with an elaborate headdress. He is holding a stick with ribbons tied around it.

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310d

<p>Twa Cats anes on a Cheese did light,<br>To which baith had an equal Right,<br>But Disputes, sic as aft arise,<br>Fell out at sharing of the Prize…</p><p>“The twa Cats & the Cheese”, by Allan Ramsay (1686–1758)<br>😾😾🧀🐵</p><p>Today, 4 June, is National Cheese Day!</p><p><a href="https://digital.nls.uk/special-collections-of-printed-music/archive/105690319" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="digital.nls.uk/special-collections-of-printed-music/archive/105690319"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">digital.nls.uk/special-collect</span><span class="invisible">ions-of-printed-music/archive/105690319</span></a><br> <br><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/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/18thcentury/" rel="tag">#18thCentury</a> <a href="/tags/cats/" rel="tag">#cats</a> <a href="/tags/cheese/" rel="tag">#cheese</a> <a href="/tags/nationalcheeseday/" rel="tag">#NationalCheeseDay</a></p>

The Twa Cats and the Cheese
Fable IX
by Allan Ramsay

Twa Cats anes on a Cheese did light,
To which baith had an equal Right,
But Disputes, sic as aft arise,
Fell out at sharing of the Prize;
Fair Play said ane, Ye bite o’er thick
Thae Teeth of yours gang wonder quick:
Let’s part it, else lang or the Moon
Be chang’d, the Kebuck will be done.

But wha’s to do’t,—They’re Parties baith,
And ane may do the other Skaith,
Sae with Consent away they trudge,
And laid the Cheese before a Judge,
A Monkey with a campsho Face,
Clerk to a Justice of the Peace,
A Judge he seem’d in Justice skill’d,
When he his Master’s Chair fill’d;
Now Umpire chosen for Division,
Baith sware to stand by his Decision.
Demure he looks.—The Cheese he pales,—
He prives it good,—Ca’s for the Scales,
His Knife whops throw’t,—In twa it fell,
He puts ilk Haff in either Shell;
Said he, We’ll truly weigh the Case,
And strickest Justice shall have Place,
Then lifting up the Scales, he fand
The tane bang up, the ither stand;
Syne out he took the heaviest Haff,
And ate a Knoost o’t quickly aff,
And try’d it syne,—It now prov’d light,
Friend Cats, said he, We’ll do ye right.
Then to the ither Haff he fell,
And laid till’t teughly Tooth and Nail,
Till weigh’d again it lightest prov’d:
The Judge wha this sweet Process lov’d,
Still weigh’d the Case, and still ate on,
Till Clients baith were weary grown,

And tenting how the Matter went,
Cry’d, Come, come Sir, We’re baith content.
Ye Fools, quoth he, and Justice too
Maun be content as well as you.
Thus grumbled they, thus he went on,
Till baith the Haves were near hand done;
Poor Pousies now the Daffine saw
Of gawn for Nignyes to the Law:
And bill’d the Judge that he wad please
To give them the remaining Cheese:
To which his Worship grave reply’d,
The Dues of Court maun first be paid.
Now Justice pleas’d,—What’s to the Fore
Will but right scrimply clear your Score;
That’s our Decreet,—Gae Hame and Sleep,
And thank us ye’re win aff sae cheap.

Edited 310d ago

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322d

<p>Out of the fog</p><p>It’s a ‘failed painting’ that obscures the profound power of German Romanticism. Why do we love the ‘Wanderer’ so much?</p><p>By Gianluca Didino</p><p><a href="https://aeon.co/essays/why-caspar-david-friedrichs-wanderer-is-a-failed-painting?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=138e1ff597-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_05_22&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-4ef8a26106-72664972" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="aeon.co/essays/why-caspar-david-friedrichs-wanderer-is-a-failed-painting?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=138e1ff597-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_05_22&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-4ef8a26106-72664972"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">aeon.co/essays/why-caspar-davi</span><span class="invisible">d-friedrichs-wanderer-is-a-failed-painting?utm_source=Aeon+Newsletter&utm_campaign=138e1ff597-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_05_22&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-4ef8a26106-72664972</span></a></p><p>German Romanticism at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=German+Romanticism" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=German+Romanticism"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/searc</span><span class="invisible">h/?query=German+Romanticism</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/art/" rel="tag">#art</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog (c1817) by Caspar David Friedrich.

The hiker stands as a back figure in the center of the composition. He looks down on an almost impenetrable sea of fog in the midst of a rocky landscape - a metaphor for life as an ominous journey into the unknown.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanderer_above_the_Sea_of_Fog#/media/File:Caspar_David_Friedrich_-_Wanderer_above_the_Sea_of_Fog.jpeg

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322d

<p>“The Tale of Genji:” 1,000 Years of Romance</p><p>Posted by: Neely Tucker</p><p>This Japanese work is considered the world's first novel.</p><p><a href="https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2025/05/the-tale-of-genji-1000-years-of-romance/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="blogs.loc.gov/loc/2025/05/the-tale-of-genji-1000-years-of-romance/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">blogs.loc.gov/loc/2025/05/the-</span><span class="invisible">tale-of-genji-1000-years-of-romance/</span></a></p><p>Books by Murasaki Shikibu at PG</p><p><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Murasaki+Shikibu" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=Murasaki+Shikibu"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/searc</span><span class="invisible">h/?query=Murasaki+Shikibu</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a></p>

"Scenes from the Tale of Genji, late 1700s. Japan, Edo period (1615–1868). Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on gilded paper; image: 154.4 x 351.2 cm (60 13/16 x 138 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of William G. Mather 1948.124

Folding screens served as temporary dividers in traditional Japanese open-plan architectural spaces. This pair was inspired by Japan’s most celebrated work of literature, the Tale of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu, an attendant to the empress in the early 11th-century imperial court. The novel follows the love life of the “Shining Prince” Genji and delves into the psychological states of his many companions. Distinct episodes are nestled within a matrix of golden clouds and landscape elements. Each screen includes six episodes presented in a nonlinear fashion, capturing scattered highlights of the story." - from the Internet Archive

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322d

<p>The Secret Link Between Raymond Chandler and P.G. Wodehouse</p><p>Arvind Ethan David on the Surprising Connection Between Two Legendary Authors</p><p><a href="https://lithub.com/the-secret-link-between-raymond-chandler-and-p-g-wodehouse/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_id=01JVWWXN4FM4JT4W1X4BY8VY6F&_kx=3MZUehzXM-41qlWAMPUiuNZadX2p0SByuNf_t0eMLB0.U5D8ER" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="lithub.com/the-secret-link-between-raymond-chandler-and-p-g-wodehouse/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_id=01JVWWXN4FM4JT4W1X4BY8VY6F&_kx=3MZUehzXM-41qlWAMPUiuNZadX2p0SByuNf_t0eMLB0.U5D8ER"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">lithub.com/the-secret-link-bet</span><span class="invisible">ween-raymond-chandler-and-p-g-wodehouse/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_id=01JVWWXN4FM4JT4W1X4BY8VY6F&_kx=3MZUehzXM-41qlWAMPUiuNZadX2p0SByuNf_t0eMLB0.U5D8ER</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>

American author Raymond Chandler circa 1943.

Back cover of the dust jacket of The Lady in the Lake (1943), published by Alfred A. Knopf.

This black-and-white portrait of American author Raymond Chandler, taken circa 1943, features him in a formal pose, wearing a suit and tie. His expression is composed and introspective, reflecting the cool, cerebral demeanor often attributed to his famed detective fiction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Chandler#/media/File:Raymond_Chandler_(Lady_in_the_Lake_portrait,_1943).jpg

Image of the writer PG Wodehouse from 1930.

This 1930 photograph by P.G. Wodehouse shows the British author in a non-formal pose, dressed in a suit and a fitted tie. Underneath his jacket, he is wearing a V-neck sweater. His expression is calm and slightly smiling.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._G._Wodehouse#/media/File:P.G._Wodehouse,_1930.jpg

Edited 321d ago

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321d

<p>I love all films that start with rain:<br>rain, braiding a windowpane<br>or darkening a hung-out dress<br>or streaming down her upturned face…</p><p>—Don Paterson, “Rain”<br>Published in RAIN (Faber, 2010)</p><p><a href="https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/rain-2/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/rain-2/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.</span><span class="invisible">uk/poem/rain-2/</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> <a href="/tags/film/" rel="tag">#film</a> <a href="/tags/cinema/" rel="tag">#cinema</a></p>

Don Paterson
Rain

I love all films that start with rain:
rain, braiding a windowpane
or darkening a hung-out dress
or streaming down her upturned face;

one big thundering downpour
right through the empty script and score
before the act, before the blame,
before the lens pulls through the frame

to where the woman sits alone
beside a silent telephone
or the dress lies ruined on the grass
or the girl walks off the overpass,

and all things flow out from that source
along their fatal watercourse.
However bad or overlong
such a film can do no wrong,

so when his native twang shows through
or when the boom dips into view
or when her speech starts to betray
its adaptation from a play,

I think to when we opened cold
on a starlit gutter, running gold
with the neon of a drugstore sign
and I’d read into its blazing line:

forget the ink, the milk, the blood –
all was washed clean with the flood
we rose up from the falling waters
the fallen rain’s own sons and daughters

and none of this, none of this matters.

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303d

<p>A Past Most Queer: Remembering Sylvia Townsend Warner’s Radical Gay Historical Fiction</p><p>B. Pietras on Queering “Flint Anchor,” LGBTQ Historical Stories, and Finding the Present in the Past</p><p><a href="https://lithub.com/a-past-most-queer-remembering-sylvia-townsend-warners-radical-gay-historical-fiction/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="lithub.com/a-past-most-queer-remembering-sylvia-townsend-warners-radical-gay-historical-fiction/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">lithub.com/a-past-most-queer-r</span><span class="invisible">emembering-sylvia-townsend-warners-radical-gay-historical-fiction/</span></a></p><p>Sylvia Townsend at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=sylvia+townsend" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=sylvia+townsend"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/searc</span><span class="invisible">h/?query=sylvia+townsend</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/lgbt/" rel="tag">#lgbt</a></p>

Photo of Sylvia Nora Townsend Warner.

She is depicted seated in a modest setting, dressed in simple yet elegant clothing typical of the early to mid-20th century, with her hair neatly styled, parted at the side.

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

Edited 303d ago

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305d

<p>The International Council on Archives / Conseil international des archives was founded <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a>, 9 June, 1948, under the auspices of UNESCO.</p><p>To celebrate, here’s Edwin Morgan’s poem “Archives”, 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/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/archives/" rel="tag">#archives</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/internationalarchivesday/" rel="tag">#InternationalArchivesDay</a> <a href="/tags/unesco/" rel="tag">#UNESCO</a> <a href="/tags/edwinmorgan/" rel="tag">#EdwinMorgan</a></p>

Archives
by Edwin Morgan

generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
generation upon
g neration up n
g nerat on up n
g nerat n up n
g nerat n p n
g erat n p n
g era n p n
g era n n
g er n n
g r n n
g n n
g n
g

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320d

<p>A Restless Intellect</p><p>“Widely respected – & regularly attacked (once physically) – in her lifetime, she is now largely neglected; an intriguing aside to feminism or to agnosticism. Dixie deserves better.”</p><p>Florence Dixie (1855–1905) – novelist, poet, dramatist, war correspondent, campaigning journalist, suffragist, & more – was born <a href="/tags/otd/" rel="tag">#OTD</a>, 25 May. Valentina Bold explores Dixie’s roving life</p><p>@litstudies </p><p>1/2</p><p><a href="https://www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2021/12/a-restless-intellect-florence-dixie-1855-1905/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2021/12/a-restless-intellect-florence-dixie-1855-1905/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.thebottleimp.org.uk/2021/1</span><span class="invisible">2/a-restless-intellect-florence-dixie-1855-1905/</span></a></p><p><a href="/tags/scottish/" rel="tag">#Scottish</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/victorian/" rel="tag">#Victorian</a> <a href="/tags/19thcentury/" rel="tag">#19thcentury</a> <a href="/tags/womenwriters/" rel="tag">#womenwriters</a></p>

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305d

<p>Well Versed Author Event: Peter Mackay</p><p>18 June, free online</p><p>Open Book welcomes Scotland’s Makar Peter Mackay to share some poems, have a chat, & give attendees a chance to ask questions. Part of Open Book’s Well Versed series in partnership with StAnza International Poetry Festival.</p><p><a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/well-versed-author-events-peter-mackay-tickets-1383659144749" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/well-versed-author-events-peter-mackay-tickets-1383659144749"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/well-ve</span><span class="invisible">rsed-author-events-peter-mackay-tickets-1383659144749</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></p>

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305d

<p>Where’s Brude? Where’s Brude?<br>So many souls to be saved!</p><p>—Edwin Morgan, “Columba’s Song”<br>in CENTENARY SELECTED POEMS (Carcanet, 2020)</p><p>Today, 9 June, is the feast day of St Columba (c.521–597), who led the Irish monastic missions to Dál Riata & the kingdoms of the Picts</p><p>1/4</p><p><a href="https://www.carcanet.co.uk/9781784109967/centenary-selected-poems/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.carcanet.co.uk/9781784109967/centenary-selected-poems/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.carcanet.co.uk/97817841099</span><span class="invisible">67/centenary-selected-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/edwinmorgan/" rel="tag">#EdwinMorgan</a> <a href="/tags/saints/" rel="tag">#saints</a> <a href="/tags/stcolumba/" rel="tag">#StColumba</a></p>

Columba's Song
by Edwin Morgan

Where's Brude? Where's Brude?
So many souls to be saved!
The bracken is thick, the wildcat is quick,
the foxes dance in the moonlight,
the salmon dance in the waters,
the adders dance in the thick brown bracken.
Where's Brude? Where's man?
There's too much nature here,
eagles and deer,
but where's the mind and where's the soul?
Show me your kings, your women, the man of the plough.
And cry me to your cradles.
It wasn't for a fox or an eagle I set sail!

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319d

<p>Circe in The Odyssey: The Enchantress Who Defied a Hero</p><p>A goddess, a witch, a sorceress—Circe in The Odyssey has been called many things.</p><p>By Mandy Nachampassack-Maloney</p><p><a href="https://www.thecollector.com/circe-the-odyssey-enchantress/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="www.thecollector.com/circe-the-odyssey-enchantress/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">www.thecollector.com/circe-the</span><span class="invisible">-odyssey-enchantress/</span></a></p><p>The Odyssey at PG:<br><a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1727" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1727</a></p><p><a href="/tags/books/" rel="tag">#books</a> <a href="/tags/literature/" rel="tag">#literature</a> <a href="/tags/mythology/" rel="tag">#mythology</a></p>

Circe Offering the Cup to Odysseus by John William Waterhouse.

The painting depicts the enchantress Circe, seated regally on a golden throne, clad in a flowing, deep-blue gown. She holds a golden cup aloft in her right hand, offering it to Odysseus, whom she has attempted to seduce and enchant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circe#/media/File:Circe_Offering_the_Cup_to_Odysseus.jpg

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308d

<p>“The Sodgers”, by Alexander Scott (1920–1989)</p><p>Alexander Scott landed in Normandy with the Gordon Highlanders, & saw action in the Ardennes & crossing the Rhine. He later became Head of Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow, & was president of ASL from 1976–79</p><p>Published in FROM THE LINE: Scottish War Poetry 1914–1945, ed. David Goldie & Roderick Watson</p><p><a href="https://asls.org.uk/publications/books/volumes/from_the_line/" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="asls.org.uk/publications/books/volumes/from_the_line/"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">asls.org.uk/publications/books</span><span class="invisible">/volumes/from_the_line/</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/poem/" rel="tag">#poem</a> <a href="/tags/poetry/" rel="tag">#poetry</a> <a href="/tags/dday/" rel="tag">#DDay</a> <a href="/tags/ww2/" rel="tag">#WW2</a> <a href="/tags/warpoetry/" rel="tag">#WarPoetry</a></p>

The Sodgers
by Alexander Scott

Nae wi the gallus captains
That niver jinkit war
But socht for glory's wildfire lowe
As wise men aince for anither star—

And nae wi the ramstam colonels
That leuch at the din o the drum
And skirled for the bleeze o battle's Inferno
As saunts micht skirl for Kingdom Come—

But aye wi the sweirt sodgers
That niver wished tae dee
And anelie marched the forrart road
Sen onie back they cudna see—

Near blind wi the reek o wappins
And the reek o leean words,
But niver near sae blind wi bluid
As faa in luve wi guns and swords.

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305d

<p>‘Do you know what we should do<br>what turns over in my mind?<br>Begin to sing old songs!<br>Lend voice to our runes.’</p><p>Reading the Kalevala</p><p>By Lyonel Perabo </p><p><a href="https://wildhunt.org/2025/06/reading-the-kalevala.html" rel="nofollow" class="ellipsis" title="wildhunt.org/2025/06/reading-the-kalevala.html"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">wildhunt.org/2025/06/reading-t</span><span class="invisible">he-kalevala.html</span></a></p><p>Kalevala at PG:<br><a href="https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/5186" rel="nofollow"><span class="invisible">https://</span>gutenberg.org/ebooks/5186</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>

Inside front title page of The "Old" Kalevala, Finnish national epos, collection of old Finnish poems, by Elias Lönnrot. First edition; volume 1, 1835.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalevala#/media/File:Kalevala1.jpg

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