Irina Dumitrescu
@irinadumitrescu.bsky.social
Writer and professor of medieval literature. I'm a columnist at the TLS, sometimes co-host a podcast with Mary Wellesley at the LRB, and am one of the editors of @creativecritical.bsky.social.
irinadumitrescu.com
irinadumitrescu.com
Pinned
Doorbell just rang. A package from Australia. The bookseller Nicholas Pounder sent me a small press print of my Times Literary Supplement poem, "Criseyde." It's a private, gift copy, and it has brought tears to my eyes this morning, for so many reasons.
Reposted by Irina Dumitrescu
No one could ever make me eat Brussels Sprouts as a kid - I would sit at the dinner table until hell froze over before I’d take a bite (now I like them).
Well chuffed to see my picky eating essay for @seriouseats.bsky.social featured by @longreads.com as one of their five weekly picks!
3. "The Kid Is All Right: In Defense of Picky Eating" @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social
"If you, too, were made to eat as a child or love someone who was, you’ll find Dumitrescu’s incisive piece a refreshing and satisfying palate cleanser."
www.seriouseats.com/the-kid-is-a...
"If you, too, were made to eat as a child or love someone who was, you’ll find Dumitrescu’s incisive piece a refreshing and satisfying palate cleanser."
www.seriouseats.com/the-kid-is-a...
November 14, 2025 at 10:17 AM
No one could ever make me eat Brussels Sprouts as a kid - I would sit at the dinner table until hell froze over before I’d take a bite (now I like them).
Reposted by Irina Dumitrescu
Irina is always worth a read; this one is now a favourite of mine. And the cover is fun as well.
November 14, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Irina is always worth a read; this one is now a favourite of mine. And the cover is fun as well.
Today I wish to share with you one of my first forays into food writing, an essay on Currywurst that appeared in Petits Propos Culinaires. My first attempt at understanding German culture, something that would become a long-term project!
irinadumitrescu.com/wp-content/u...
irinadumitrescu.com/wp-content/u...
irinadumitrescu.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Today I wish to share with you one of my first forays into food writing, an essay on Currywurst that appeared in Petits Propos Culinaires. My first attempt at understanding German culture, something that would become a long-term project!
irinadumitrescu.com/wp-content/u...
irinadumitrescu.com/wp-content/u...
Today is the OFFICIAL publication day for TEXTILE SHAKESPEARE! Please indulge me: I want to say a little (perhaps rather a lot) about it and share my acknowledgements - and a discount code! Appropriately,🧵1/10
November 12, 2025 at 6:10 AM
I can't be there, sadly, but some of my Toronto friends might want to know about the launch of this year's Best Canadian Poetry!
November 10, 2025 at 8:23 PM
I can't be there, sadly, but some of my Toronto friends might want to know about the launch of this year's Best Canadian Poetry!
Reposted by Irina Dumitrescu
'Each course also featured a “sotelte”, or subtlety, an ornamental dish meant to impress, often sculpted in sugar.'
Irina Dumitrescu on medieval attitudes to social class
Irina Dumitrescu on medieval attitudes to social class
Medieval attitudes to social class
www.the-tls.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:11 AM
'Each course also featured a “sotelte”, or subtlety, an ornamental dish meant to impress, often sculpted in sugar.'
Irina Dumitrescu on medieval attitudes to social class
Irina Dumitrescu on medieval attitudes to social class
On bad luck. I was more right in this newsletter than I knew.
irinadumitrescu.substack.com/p/and-then-a...
irinadumitrescu.substack.com/p/and-then-a...
And then again, it could just be luck
I used to run a blog called Food Gone Wrong.
irinadumitrescu.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:27 PM
On bad luck. I was more right in this newsletter than I knew.
irinadumitrescu.substack.com/p/and-then-a...
irinadumitrescu.substack.com/p/and-then-a...
Bonjour, fellow medievalists! I'm very pleased to announce a conference on Beowulf next March at the @cema-su.bsky.social Sorbonne. I have the honour of joining Francis Leneghan in giving one of the keynotes. Link below has the CFP and registration info, please spread the word!
cemasorbonne.org
cemasorbonne.org
(no title)
CEMA
cemasorbonne.org
November 8, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Bonjour, fellow medievalists! I'm very pleased to announce a conference on Beowulf next March at the @cema-su.bsky.social Sorbonne. I have the honour of joining Francis Leneghan in giving one of the keynotes. Link below has the CFP and registration info, please spread the word!
cemasorbonne.org
cemasorbonne.org
Reposted by Irina Dumitrescu
Time to bring a twitter series to Bluesky: Given the incredible number of 20th-century churches in Northrhine-Westphalia (the topic of my dissertation), I’m going post one or two every day. None of these images are mine, they're all credited in the alt text, and I'll take any down if asked
March 11, 2024 at 12:25 AM
Time to bring a twitter series to Bluesky: Given the incredible number of 20th-century churches in Northrhine-Westphalia (the topic of my dissertation), I’m going post one or two every day. None of these images are mine, they're all credited in the alt text, and I'll take any down if asked
Reposted by Irina Dumitrescu
A former picky eater and mother of a selective son makes a contrarian case for letting children listen to their taste buds and develop their own palates.
www.seriouseats.com/the-kid-is-a...
www.seriouseats.com/the-kid-is-a...
The Kid Is All Right: In Defense of Picky Eating
On learning to accept your child's discriminating tastes, even when it hurts.
www.seriouseats.com
October 24, 2025 at 3:32 PM
A former picky eater and mother of a selective son makes a contrarian case for letting children listen to their taste buds and develop their own palates.
www.seriouseats.com/the-kid-is-a...
www.seriouseats.com/the-kid-is-a...
I talked to the @unibonn.bsky.social magazine forsch about perfectionism, the Middle Ages, and why we could do with more creativity in scholarship. This is the English translation.
www.uni-bonn.de/en/universit...
www.uni-bonn.de/en/universit...
Effortlessly flawless?
www.uni-bonn.de
November 7, 2025 at 7:12 PM
I talked to the @unibonn.bsky.social magazine forsch about perfectionism, the Middle Ages, and why we could do with more creativity in scholarship. This is the English translation.
www.uni-bonn.de/en/universit...
www.uni-bonn.de/en/universit...
This was pretty awesome for me too!
Bloody delighted to see a piece from a favourite writer (& fellow Canadian) recommended by another of my favourite (although not Canadian) writers
@irinadumitrescu.bsky.social's defense of picky eaters in @roxanegay.bsky.social's Nov 3 Audacious Roundup
www.seriouseats.com/the-kid-is-a...
@irinadumitrescu.bsky.social's defense of picky eaters in @roxanegay.bsky.social's Nov 3 Audacious Roundup
www.seriouseats.com/the-kid-is-a...
The Kid Is All Right: In Defense of Picky Eating
On learning to accept your child's discriminating tastes, even when it hurts.
www.seriouseats.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:37 PM
This was pretty awesome for me too!
Reposted by Irina Dumitrescu
Book review by @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social on Bee Wilson's new book about kitchen objects and the stories they tell. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/b...
The Wedding Cake Was a Triumph. The Marriage Went Stale.
www.nytimes.com
November 5, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Book review by @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social on Bee Wilson's new book about kitchen objects and the stories they tell. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/b...
As a four-time immigrant who has learned how much you have to leave behind -- and how meaningful the things you can still hold on to are -- I was particularly happy to review Bee Wilson's new book about kitchen objects and the stories they tell.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/b...
The Wedding Cake Was a Triumph. The Marriage Went Stale.
www.nytimes.com
November 5, 2025 at 10:32 AM
As a four-time immigrant who has learned how much you have to leave behind -- and how meaningful the things you can still hold on to are -- I was particularly happy to review Bee Wilson's new book about kitchen objects and the stories they tell.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/b...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/05/b...
I was so very pleased to blurb Peter Jones' new book on the seven deadly sins and medieval psychology. It's an unexpectedly addictive read!
www.penguin.co.uk/books/469085...
www.penguin.co.uk/books/469085...
Self-Help From the Middle Ages
What can a twelfth-century monk teach us about burnout, envy, or despair? Far more than we might imagine. In Self-Help from the Middle Ages, historian Peter Jones travels through Europe’s archives and...
www.penguin.co.uk
November 4, 2025 at 8:50 PM
I was so very pleased to blurb Peter Jones' new book on the seven deadly sins and medieval psychology. It's an unexpectedly addictive read!
www.penguin.co.uk/books/469085...
www.penguin.co.uk/books/469085...
Reposted by Irina Dumitrescu
“Romania in the early 1980s was brutalized by government austerity policies... My parents stood outdoors for hours in sub-freezing temperatures to buy potatoes and meat... Faced with this hard-won fare, their wispy, sickly daughter clammed her mouth shut... I would not eat.”
The Kid Is All Right: In Defense of Picky Eating
On learning to accept your child's discriminating tastes, even when it hurts.
www.seriouseats.com
November 3, 2025 at 6:59 AM
“Romania in the early 1980s was brutalized by government austerity policies... My parents stood outdoors for hours in sub-freezing temperatures to buy potatoes and meat... Faced with this hard-won fare, their wispy, sickly daughter clammed her mouth shut... I would not eat.”
Reposted by Irina Dumitrescu
"I do not want the family table to be a battleground for his bodily autonomy."
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗱 𝗜𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: 𝗜𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘆 𝗘𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
https://bit.ly/4nudUZ4
📸: Annelise Capossela
1/4
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗱 𝗜𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: 𝗜𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘆 𝗘𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
https://bit.ly/4nudUZ4
📸: Annelise Capossela
1/4
October 29, 2025 at 12:30 AM
"I do not want the family table to be a battleground for his bodily autonomy."
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗱 𝗜𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: 𝗜𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘆 𝗘𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
https://bit.ly/4nudUZ4
📸: Annelise Capossela
1/4
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗱 𝗜𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: 𝗜𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘆 𝗘𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
https://bit.ly/4nudUZ4
📸: Annelise Capossela
1/4
Well chuffed to see my picky eating essay for @seriouseats.bsky.social featured by @longreads.com as one of their five weekly picks!
3. "The Kid Is All Right: In Defense of Picky Eating" @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social
"If you, too, were made to eat as a child or love someone who was, you’ll find Dumitrescu’s incisive piece a refreshing and satisfying palate cleanser."
www.seriouseats.com/the-kid-is-a...
"If you, too, were made to eat as a child or love someone who was, you’ll find Dumitrescu’s incisive piece a refreshing and satisfying palate cleanser."
www.seriouseats.com/the-kid-is-a...
The Kid Is All Right: In Defense of Picky Eating
On learning to accept your child's discriminating tastes, even when it hurts.
www.seriouseats.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Well chuffed to see my picky eating essay for @seriouseats.bsky.social featured by @longreads.com as one of their five weekly picks!
Reposted by Irina Dumitrescu
In our Weekly Top 5:
* Media mistrust @harpers.bsky.social
* Hunting identity @bittersouth.bsky.social
* Meat and pota-woes @serious-eats.bsky.social
* Celebrating cinephilia @lrb.co.uk
* Knightley news @thetimes.com
longreads.com/2025/10/31/t...
* Media mistrust @harpers.bsky.social
* Hunting identity @bittersouth.bsky.social
* Meat and pota-woes @serious-eats.bsky.social
* Celebrating cinephilia @lrb.co.uk
* Knightley news @thetimes.com
longreads.com/2025/10/31/t...
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week - Longreads
Showcasing stories from Jelani Cobb, Taylor Lorenz, Jack Shafer, and Max Tani; Nylah Iqbal Muhammad; Irina Dumitrescu; Leo Robson; and Caitlin Moran.
longreads.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:23 PM
In our Weekly Top 5:
* Media mistrust @harpers.bsky.social
* Hunting identity @bittersouth.bsky.social
* Meat and pota-woes @serious-eats.bsky.social
* Celebrating cinephilia @lrb.co.uk
* Knightley news @thetimes.com
longreads.com/2025/10/31/t...
* Media mistrust @harpers.bsky.social
* Hunting identity @bittersouth.bsky.social
* Meat and pota-woes @serious-eats.bsky.social
* Celebrating cinephilia @lrb.co.uk
* Knightley news @thetimes.com
longreads.com/2025/10/31/t...
For Hallowe'en, I'm sharing "Shift," my one and only work of fiction, a short Cortazar-inspired piece about transformation that I wrote for a pandemic-era online collaborative project.
www.enneadecameron.com/shift/
www.enneadecameron.com/shift/
Shift – The Enneadecameron
www.enneadecameron.com
October 31, 2025 at 10:44 AM
For Hallowe'en, I'm sharing "Shift," my one and only work of fiction, a short Cortazar-inspired piece about transformation that I wrote for a pandemic-era online collaborative project.
www.enneadecameron.com/shift/
www.enneadecameron.com/shift/
Reposted by Irina Dumitrescu
7/27... Poem by @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social: bsky.app/profile/irin... #AmReading 💙📚 #BookSky #poetry
Doorbell just rang. A package from Australia. The bookseller Nicholas Pounder sent me a small press print of my Times Literary Supplement poem, "Criseyde." It's a private, gift copy, and it has brought tears to my eyes this morning, for so many reasons.
October 30, 2025 at 11:43 AM
7/27... Poem by @irinadumitrescu.bsky.social: bsky.app/profile/irin... #AmReading 💙📚 #BookSky #poetry
Reposted by Irina Dumitrescu
1/27... Daily(ish) #SmallPress #books: Best Canadian Stories 2026 (selected by Zsuzsi Gartner) and Poetry (Mary Dalton), both @biblioasis.bsky.social - and a thread of writing online by some of the folks in these anthologies (although mostly not the pieces in the anthologies). #DSPBposts 💙📚 #BookSky
October 30, 2025 at 11:43 AM
1/27... Daily(ish) #SmallPress #books: Best Canadian Stories 2026 (selected by Zsuzsi Gartner) and Poetry (Mary Dalton), both @biblioasis.bsky.social - and a thread of writing online by some of the folks in these anthologies (although mostly not the pieces in the anthologies). #DSPBposts 💙📚 #BookSky
Reposted by Irina Dumitrescu
Détruire d’un regard, histoire du mauvais œil au Moyen Âge
👁️
Du collier de corail aux recueils de charmes, comment se protéger du mauvais œil ?
Le Cours de l’histoire @franceculture.fr @radiofrance.fr
www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...
👁️
Du collier de corail aux recueils de charmes, comment se protéger du mauvais œil ?
Le Cours de l’histoire @franceculture.fr @radiofrance.fr
www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...
October 27, 2025 at 6:41 AM
Détruire d’un regard, histoire du mauvais œil au Moyen Âge
👁️
Du collier de corail aux recueils de charmes, comment se protéger du mauvais œil ?
Le Cours de l’histoire @franceculture.fr @radiofrance.fr
www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...
👁️
Du collier de corail aux recueils de charmes, comment se protéger du mauvais œil ?
Le Cours de l’histoire @franceculture.fr @radiofrance.fr
www.radiofrance.fr/francecultur...
Love this, especially since I'm fascinated (ha!) by the ways beliefs in the Evil Eye are still active in many places, including my culture of origin. But you can't ask people what they believe about it -- you have to ask what their grandparents believe!
Ok, so let's talk a little bit about how the Romans understand magic and why they think putting phallus-shaped objects (fascina, sing. fascinum) are witch-craft related and how that connects to our word 'fascinate.' 1/
Hmmm: Borrowed from Latin fascinātus (“to enchant, bewitch, fascinate”) [makes sense so far] from fascinum (“a phallus-shaped [lol wut] amulet [wait what] worn around the neck [WHAT THE TARPEIAN FUCK] in Ancient Rome; witchcraft”) ... itself of obscure origin.
October 26, 2025 at 8:42 AM
Love this, especially since I'm fascinated (ha!) by the ways beliefs in the Evil Eye are still active in many places, including my culture of origin. But you can't ask people what they believe about it -- you have to ask what their grandparents believe!
Told knitting friends that I bought a hat pattern because I simply cannot find a hat that fits my head *and* my hair. Already have the yarn. Super excited to have a hat that may or may not fit me in about 3 to 4 years!
October 26, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Told knitting friends that I bought a hat pattern because I simply cannot find a hat that fits my head *and* my hair. Already have the yarn. Super excited to have a hat that may or may not fit me in about 3 to 4 years!