Gareth Prior
@garethprior.bsky.social
Poet. By day, Bursar at St Hugh’s College, Oxford.
“Entire regions, especially those marked by structural fragility and limited geopolitical relevance, are currently subjected to a new mindset of extraction: that of health data, epidemiological profiles, genetic maps and demographic information.” [1/2]
“For an algorithm, an error is a flaw to be corrected; for a person, however, an error can be a catalyst for profound change.” — Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas
“So-called artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean. Nor do they have a moral conscience, since they do not...” [1/2]
“To translate a text is to be conducted into its mysteries in a way that no mere act of reading — however conscientious or frequent — makes possible.” — David Bentley Hart
It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I don’t feel fine…).
"Deadloch" (Aussie crime detective black comedy drama) is absolute genius. Witty and angry and brilliant. "Yeah no the investigating officer is, well, his commitment to diversity goes as far as a bloke with contact lenses"
8yo twins have homework to write a story. We talked about great opening lines: Dickens; Gibson; Camus (I skipped Earthly Powers). I’m deeply sceptical of the way children are now taught to write, but there’s something deeply real in hearing someone’s story — and surely that’s all there is?
J. H. Prynne, who died today, taught me how to read, and how to think. "Sooner or later you will find yourself concerned with matters of serious worth--"
“Choosing to kill the innocent as a means to your ends is always murder. Naturally, killing the innocent as an end in itself is murder too; but that is no more than a possible future development for us.” — Elizabeth Anscombe, Mr Truman’s Degree, 1956
One of the happiest places I’ve ever known for cooking. Little Haven, Pembrokeshire.
It’s straining credulity to suggest that an entire team of detectives in Death in Paradise could miss a giant cat in the middle of the crime scene.
27 St John St (sans blue plaque) where Elizabeth Anscombe lived while producing some of her most influential work (Intention, double effect) and simultaneously compiling/translating Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations. Mostly unchanged, though the landlord has now fixed the ceiling/heating.
“North Oxford (being unfashionable and therefore cheaper) had become the home for many of the refugees who had arrived in the city before the war. Although some moved on once the fighting stopped, for many Park Town…was now a permanent home.” — Mac Cumhaill & Wiseman, _Metaphysical Animals_
Just spent a fascinating half-hour teaching my 8yo twins about Philippa Foot and trolley problems. After some wrong turns (“are any of the people tied to the track your family?”, “is the woman walking her dog on the other line a bad person?”)… [1/2]
I have a book out in less than a month and so I am plugging it shamelessly. Here is the opening poem. Please consider joining our attendance to the office of the moment by pre-ordering a copy here! www.bluediode.co.uk/product-page...
Everything happens all at once. My debut poetry collection, Little Griefs, is out in March...but available now for pre-order: www.bluediode.co.uk/product-page...
Little Griefs by Andrew Neilson | Blue Diode Publishin
ISBN: 978-1-915108-40-1Published 4 March 202670 pages “This collection has got everything – philosophy, myth, elegy, hilarity, grace, tenderness, pain and wisdom, all in brilliant proportion.” —Racha...
bluediode.co.uk
“We know that it is the right frontal lobe…which makes empathy, humour, irony possible, and helps us to communicate and express not just facts, but our selves. Here language becomes not a tool of manipulation but a way of reaching out to the ‘Other’.” — Iain McGilchrist
Characteristically acute and engaging close reading from @andrewjamesneilson.bsky.social. Well worth a read.
Bad Lilies@badlilies.bsky.social · 6mo agoOur co-florist @andrewjamesneilson.bsky.social has written a guest post for @northseapoets.bsky.social on Auden and 'Imaginary Friends' northseapoets.substack.com/p/audens-ima...
I genuinely enjoy cleaning squid. As with filleting fish, it’s part of the privilege of being able to prepare food from scratch and understand what you’re eating. But there’s no denying it can get a bit HP Lovecraft…
I'm thrilled with this review by Harry Speirs - really perceptive and insightful - www.indiependent.co.uk/poetry-revie...
Poetry Review: Dirt Rich // Graeme Richardson : The Indiependent
Harry Spiers reviews the debut collection from The Sunday Times poetry critic Graeme Richardson
indiependent.co.uk
Listening to OK Computer for the first time in years, and remembering a colleague claiming with a straight face that Radiohead were clearly an Oxford band because only locals would have known that the Karma (best restaurant in East Oxford for a 20+ year window) was next door to the police station…
’90s night on Osney Island: “..from a great height / From a great height…”
Watching the almost-a-decade-old Death in Paradise episode where Kris Marshall gets replaced by Ardal O’Hanlon, and there’s a single shared scene in a car where it becomes clear that the changing-detective trope is just a different-genre version of Doctor Who.
Please be there for the online launch! And I welcome being attacked in the Q and A - www.carcanet.co.uk/events/dirt-...
Dirt Rich: Carcanet Online Launch - Carcanet Press
Join us online to celebrate the launch of Dirt Rich by Graeme Richardson. The event will be hosted by Jeremy Noel-Tod.
carcanet.co.uk
Here's a thing I wrote for Carcanet about my forthcoming book: featuring toast, marmite, Tom Baker, and taphophobia
Carcanet Press@carcanet.bsky.social · 7mo agoFrom Graeme Richardson's article on his new collection Dirt Rich, which is published this month!🏦 Read in full here: open.substack.com/pub/carcanet...
It’s also time to thank the editors/florists @kathryngray.bsky.social & @andrewjamesneilson.bsky.social for their tireless effort in continuing to produce one of the most vibrant outlets for seriously good English-language verse on either side of the Atlantic, from which we all benefit.
Bad Lilies@badlilies.bsky.social · 7mo agoIt's almost the end of the year, and so it's time to thank all of our contributors for 2025. CONSIDER THE LILIES! badlilies.uk/poets
