Aran Ward Sell
@aranws.bsky.social
W. B. Yeats Fellow @ Notre Dame. Contemporary Irish lit, modernism, weird fic, environmental lit. Writer and reviewer. Music: Writhe & Succumb, Prophet Rossi. Cite as "Ward Sell, Aran", whatever your citation software may tell you.
Reposted by Aran Ward Sell
Yes! The thing abt public libraries that is so beautiful & crucial is the idea that *anybody* could do this — you need no credential, there’s no gatekeeping, literally any person can be an intellectual. You can come from absolutely nothing & yet, by means of curiosity + work, create real knowledge
I wrote a significant chunk of my first book at a Chicago Public Library, an amazing public space where people could read books and newspapers, access the internet, or just keep warm for a while on a cold day. This is appalling.
CPL is an absolute palace to the people and these proposed cuts are abominable. Artificial austerity. Chicago folks, read this, check the links to bug the mayor and your alders—this can be fought and won.
November 8, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Yes! The thing abt public libraries that is so beautiful & crucial is the idea that *anybody* could do this — you need no credential, there’s no gatekeeping, literally any person can be an intellectual. You can come from absolutely nothing & yet, by means of curiosity + work, create real knowledge
Reposted by Aran Ward Sell
October 17, 2025 at 6:28 PM
The moment a main character is revealed to be (or want to be) a writer, English major, or English teacher, the book should self-destruct and be composted.
(Ofc the rare exceptions know this and charge it head-on, e.g. Portrait of the Artist, If On A Winter's Night a Traveler)
(Ofc the rare exceptions know this and charge it head-on, e.g. Portrait of the Artist, If On A Winter's Night a Traveler)
Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat
October 13, 2025 at 10:19 PM
The moment a main character is revealed to be (or want to be) a writer, English major, or English teacher, the book should self-destruct and be composted.
(Ofc the rare exceptions know this and charge it head-on, e.g. Portrait of the Artist, If On A Winter's Night a Traveler)
(Ofc the rare exceptions know this and charge it head-on, e.g. Portrait of the Artist, If On A Winter's Night a Traveler)
New/Old publication day! My 2018 article on Eimear McBride's "A Girl is a Half-formed Thing" has been spruced up for a new book: "Tradition and Experimentation in Irish Literature and Theatre"
Big thanks to editors Katarzyna Ojrzyńska and Wit Pietrzak
reference-global.com/book/9788368...
Big thanks to editors Katarzyna Ojrzyńska and Wit Pietrzak
reference-global.com/book/9788368...
Tradition and Experimentation in Irish Literature and...
The book presents Irish literature and theatre as an intricate knotwork of voices, styles, and genres, intertwining tradition and experimentation. Through a compelling selection of texts by recognized...
reference-global.com
October 13, 2025 at 3:17 PM
New/Old publication day! My 2018 article on Eimear McBride's "A Girl is a Half-formed Thing" has been spruced up for a new book: "Tradition and Experimentation in Irish Literature and Theatre"
Big thanks to editors Katarzyna Ojrzyńska and Wit Pietrzak
reference-global.com/book/9788368...
Big thanks to editors Katarzyna Ojrzyńska and Wit Pietrzak
reference-global.com/book/9788368...
Reposted by Aran Ward Sell
How is this repeatedly made into a policy issue - by *all* parties - when the blunt fact of the matter is that grown adults who are obliged to pay for their own education, and relentlessly pursued to repay their loans, should be able to study whatever the fuck they want.
October 8, 2025 at 8:20 AM
How is this repeatedly made into a policy issue - by *all* parties - when the blunt fact of the matter is that grown adults who are obliged to pay for their own education, and relentlessly pursued to repay their loans, should be able to study whatever the fuck they want.
Reposted by Aran Ward Sell
Reposted by Aran Ward Sell
Budget 2026: Basic income for artists to become permanent www.rte.ie/news/budget-...
Budget 2026: Basic income for artists to become permanent
The Basic Income for the Arts scheme will be put on a permanent footing in the Budget tomorrow.
www.rte.ie
October 6, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Budget 2026: Basic income for artists to become permanent www.rte.ie/news/budget-...
Reposted by Aran Ward Sell
Great news!
JSTOR now have a free account with an Independent Researcher category. You can access 100 documents per month
www.jstor.org/action/showL...
JSTOR now have a free account with an Independent Researcher category. You can access 100 documents per month
www.jstor.org/action/showL...
September 29, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Great news!
JSTOR now have a free account with an Independent Researcher category. You can access 100 documents per month
www.jstor.org/action/showL...
JSTOR now have a free account with an Independent Researcher category. You can access 100 documents per month
www.jstor.org/action/showL...
Reposted by Aran Ward Sell
Arsenal dont throw in the towel
September 28, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Arsenal dont throw in the towel
Reposted by Aran Ward Sell
This final post from Kaleb Horton is very beautiful and hits hard. This is just so sad. RIP.
2025, So Far
I wish I had a time machine so I could go back in time and talk to my dad in 1988, just before I was born, and tell him what it’s like to live in the future. I’d tell him all the amazing things that a...
kalebhorton.ghost.io
September 27, 2025 at 5:45 PM
This final post from Kaleb Horton is very beautiful and hits hard. This is just so sad. RIP.
Rise of the War for the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
September 27, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Rise of the War for the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Deleted Academia.Edu. Shame, the concept had its merits.
Work still listed on ORCiD at: orcid.org/0000-0001-59...
Work still listed on ORCiD at: orcid.org/0000-0001-59...
September 24, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Deleted Academia.Edu. Shame, the concept had its merits.
Work still listed on ORCiD at: orcid.org/0000-0001-59...
Work still listed on ORCiD at: orcid.org/0000-0001-59...
It's more efficient to electrify [the energy of the sun] than to electrify [the energy of the sun filtered through the fossilisation process of Mesozoic plankton]. V cool that we have the technology to do the former now, at scale.
"To create the batteries we need to keep the whole world's lights on when the sun goes down and the wind stops blowing, we will need to extract *one seventeenth* of the amount of minerals we burn *every year* in the fossil fuel system" pluralistic.net/2025/09/23/o...
Pluralistic: The enshittification of solar (and how to stop it) (23 Sep 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow
pluralistic.net
September 23, 2025 at 2:55 PM
It's more efficient to electrify [the energy of the sun] than to electrify [the energy of the sun filtered through the fossilisation process of Mesozoic plankton]. V cool that we have the technology to do the former now, at scale.
Tolkien was a gorgeous illustrator. Able to express the same alchemy of fairytale whimsy and high, mythic grace that animates his novels.
Happy birthday to J.R.R. #Tolkien’s The Hobbit, published #OTD in 1937, with a gorgeous dust jacket and illustrations by Tolkien himself! @tolkiensociety.org @tolkienwonder.bsky.social @uofgfantasy.bsky.social #Hobbit 🐉
September 21, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Tolkien was a gorgeous illustrator. Able to express the same alchemy of fairytale whimsy and high, mythic grace that animates his novels.
Reposted by Aran Ward Sell
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor,
American Literature before World War I
University of Notre Dame
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOR277/t...
American Literature before World War I
University of Notre Dame
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOR277/t...
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, American Literature before World War I at University of Notre Dame
Discover Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, American Literature before World War I jobs and more in higher education on jobs.ac.uk. Apply for further details on the top job board.
www.jobs.ac.uk
September 17, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor,
American Literature before World War I
University of Notre Dame
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOR277/t...
American Literature before World War I
University of Notre Dame
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOR277/t...
Reposted by Aran Ward Sell
I don't disagree with the first two sentences, but I think in general there's been far too much movement from 'not really noticing the problem' to 'despair'. Let's experiment with 'people and organisations try and enforce the norm' and then see if it is actually hard for it to be re-bottled.
I worry that the decades it took to build anti-racism norms are unravelling quite quickly. Clearly the protests/social media drumbeat has created a permission structure that makes people think they can behave like this. Hard to see how it can be easily re-bottled.
Sickening footage from Nuneaton tonight, where a Sky News interview with a local businessman was disrupted by racists hurling abuse.
Another local said, "Warwickshire Council Council has gone to Reform... It's given certain people a licence to be aggressive and racist."
Another local said, "Warwickshire Council Council has gone to Reform... It's given certain people a licence to be aggressive and racist."
September 1, 2025 at 11:18 PM
I don't disagree with the first two sentences, but I think in general there's been far too much movement from 'not really noticing the problem' to 'despair'. Let's experiment with 'people and organisations try and enforce the norm' and then see if it is actually hard for it to be re-bottled.
One of the many little culture shocks about moving to America from the UK was finding ourselves in a Know-A-Guy economy in which we did not Know any Guys
my father-in-law is a “I know a guy” Guy. sadly all the old Guys are aging out of the Guy Economy. Guys are fundamentally incompatible with Hustle Culture because it’s not about “winning” a deal, it’s about collecting favors and goodwill in a mutually-beneficial cycle. protect your local Guy Economy
August 31, 2025 at 5:37 PM
One of the many little culture shocks about moving to America from the UK was finding ourselves in a Know-A-Guy economy in which we did not Know any Guys
Reposted by Aran Ward Sell
Scottish government trial of four-day week improves productivity and staff wellbeing
Scottish government trial of four-day week improves productivity and staff wellbeing
Employees at two public bodies reported less work-related stress and one organisation had drop in sick days
Increased productivity and improved staff wellbeing were among the results of a year-long trial of the four-day week by the Scottish government.
Two public bodies, South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) and Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB), took part in the pilot, which was launched by Holyrood in early 2024. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
August 27, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Scottish government trial of four-day week improves productivity and staff wellbeing
Nice of Eberi Eze to provide me with some writing feedback 🙏
August 25, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Nice of Eberi Eze to provide me with some writing feedback 🙏
Reposted by Aran Ward Sell
pls RT, modernists - CFP now out for 'Weird Modernisms', the collaborative conference between @modernistudies.bsky.social and @moderniststudies.bsky.social !
July 2026, Loughborough University.
www.moderniststudies.org/conference/M...
July 2026, Loughborough University.
www.moderniststudies.org/conference/M...
August 18, 2025 at 12:32 PM
pls RT, modernists - CFP now out for 'Weird Modernisms', the collaborative conference between @modernistudies.bsky.social and @moderniststudies.bsky.social !
July 2026, Loughborough University.
www.moderniststudies.org/conference/M...
July 2026, Loughborough University.
www.moderniststudies.org/conference/M...
Reposted by Aran Ward Sell
teachers!
excited to share a new website at this late date of Aug 15 to try to help us collectively prepare for back to school in the interpretative humanities classroom assaulted by the AI grift, so we don't have to go it alone.
take a look, share, + most importantly: CONTRIBUTE
against-a-i.com
excited to share a new website at this late date of Aug 15 to try to help us collectively prepare for back to school in the interpretative humanities classroom assaulted by the AI grift, so we don't have to go it alone.
take a look, share, + most importantly: CONTRIBUTE
against-a-i.com
AGAINST AI
against-a-i.com
August 15, 2025 at 5:39 PM
teachers!
excited to share a new website at this late date of Aug 15 to try to help us collectively prepare for back to school in the interpretative humanities classroom assaulted by the AI grift, so we don't have to go it alone.
take a look, share, + most importantly: CONTRIBUTE
against-a-i.com
excited to share a new website at this late date of Aug 15 to try to help us collectively prepare for back to school in the interpretative humanities classroom assaulted by the AI grift, so we don't have to go it alone.
take a look, share, + most importantly: CONTRIBUTE
against-a-i.com
Good question, people. It's actually pronounced "detritus."
August 9, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Good question, people. It's actually pronounced "detritus."
Reposted by Aran Ward Sell
Ozzy going out after raising $190 million for sick kids and a Parkinson’s cure is metal AF.
Ozzy Osbourne Farewell Show Was The Highest-Grossing Charity Concert Of All Time
On July 5, Ozzy Osbourne put on a farewell concert, performing as a solo artist and with Black Sabbath for the last time in the band’s hometown of Birmingham, UK. Billed as the “Back To The Beginning”...
www.stereogum.com
July 22, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Ozzy going out after raising $190 million for sick kids and a Parkinson’s cure is metal AF.