Harriet Hustis
@harriethustis.bsky.social
Ph.D. Comparative Literature | Emerita Professor of English | Independent Scholar | Writer | Reader | Knitter | Cat Mom
My open access article on Lucy Grealy’s representation of shame in “Autobiography of a Face” is now available in the Spring 2025 special issue of Literature & Medicine on “Shame & Medicine.” muse.jhu.edu/article/975546
Project MUSE - "A World of Unknowing": Facing Shame in Lucy Grealy's Autobiography of a Face
muse.jhu.edu
December 4, 2025 at 7:39 PM
My open access article on Lucy Grealy’s representation of shame in “Autobiography of a Face” is now available in the Spring 2025 special issue of Literature & Medicine on “Shame & Medicine.” muse.jhu.edu/article/975546
On the blog today, the latest post in my "Write On" series explores what happens when a Writing "break" is not a "block"... and how to move forward. Day 1 #acadecawriteathon
www.harriethustis.com/blog/write-on-when-a-break-isnt-a-block
www.harriethustis.com/blog/write-on-when-a-break-isnt-a-block
Write On: When A Break Isn’t A Block — Making & Musing...
Conventional writing advice usually suggests that the best way to make progress on any writing project is to cultivate a daily writing habit. This line of thinking focuses on the simple mathematics ...
www.harriethustis.com
December 1, 2025 at 5:45 PM
On the blog today, the latest post in my "Write On" series explores what happens when a Writing "break" is not a "block"... and how to move forward. Day 1 #acadecawriteathon
www.harriethustis.com/blog/write-on-when-a-break-isnt-a-block
www.harriethustis.com/blog/write-on-when-a-break-isnt-a-block
November was busy & sad, & ALL the Writing got set aside, so I’m joining #acadecawriteathon this month to (try to) get back on track…
starting Dec 1st! ie tomorrow!
for structure to eke out pages at a bonkers time of year (that is also a precious writing-est time):
you can do 250 words a day! books get written that way! if more, amazing! if not when grading or festive-ing, that's ok!
check in daily at #acadecawriteathon
for structure to eke out pages at a bonkers time of year (that is also a precious writing-est time):
you can do 250 words a day! books get written that way! if more, amazing! if not when grading or festive-ing, that's ok!
check in daily at #acadecawriteathon
is there a NaNoWriMo but for December and academic/ nonfiction? Should we start it?
December 1, 2025 at 12:21 PM
November was busy & sad, & ALL the Writing got set aside, so I’m joining #acadecawriteathon this month to (try to) get back on track…
Really looking forward to returning to the Berkshires next June for a weekend of all things Edith Wharton! (I’ll be a presenter 🙂)
edithwharton.org/calendar/sum...
edithwharton.org/calendar/sum...
2026 Edith Wharton Summit - The Mount | Edith Wharton's Home | Lenox, MA
The Mount is the home of Edith Wharton in Lenox, MA - the Berkshires. This annual Summit presents new scholarship, experiences, and talks.
edithwharton.org
October 31, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Really looking forward to returning to the Berkshires next June for a weekend of all things Edith Wharton! (I’ll be a presenter 🙂)
edithwharton.org/calendar/sum...
edithwharton.org/calendar/sum...
On the blog this morning, the recent controversy surrounding Hank Green's flawed video about knitting & physics:
www.harriethustis.com/blog/knitting-amp-physics-the-scishow-controversy
www.harriethustis.com/blog/knitting-amp-physics-the-scishow-controversy
Knitting & Physics: The SciShow Controversy — Making & Musing...
In 2023, I decided to pursue certification as a Master Hand Knitter from The Knitting Guild Association . I’m currently working my way through Level 2 of the 3-Level Program (Level 1 takes a year,...
www.harriethustis.com
September 15, 2025 at 2:24 PM
On the blog this morning, the recent controversy surrounding Hank Green's flawed video about knitting & physics:
www.harriethustis.com/blog/knitting-amp-physics-the-scishow-controversy
www.harriethustis.com/blog/knitting-amp-physics-the-scishow-controversy
So, like any good literary comparatist, I binge-watched "The Sopranos" last fall... and then I got the box set ... and now I have to write about it.
www.harriethustis.com/blog/here-for-the-gabagool
www.harriethustis.com/blog/here-for-the-gabagool
Here for the Gabagool — Making & Musing...
In the autumn of 2024, I had a semester off from teaching, so I did what any self-respecting literary comparatist would do. I binge-watched The Sopranos . Several episodes in, and it had become a ...
www.harriethustis.com
September 8, 2025 at 1:54 PM
So, like any good literary comparatist, I binge-watched "The Sopranos" last fall... and then I got the box set ... and now I have to write about it.
www.harriethustis.com/blog/here-for-the-gabagool
www.harriethustis.com/blog/here-for-the-gabagool
On the blog, I finally read Octavia Butler’s “Kindred.” #Booksky #ReadingCommunity #blogpost
www.harriethustis.com/blog/kindred
www.harriethustis.com/blog/kindred
Kindred — The Questions Themselves...
This week, I had a beach day planned, so I decided to (FINALLY) finish a book that I (FINALLY) started in September of 2023— Kindred , by Octavia E. Butler. First published in 1979, Kindred tells t...
www.harriethustis.com
August 14, 2025 at 1:46 PM
On the blog, I finally read Octavia Butler’s “Kindred.” #Booksky #ReadingCommunity #blogpost
www.harriethustis.com/blog/kindred
www.harriethustis.com/blog/kindred
On the blog today, thinking about the question of persistence and "grit." www.harriethustis.com/blog/nevertheless-she-persisted
Nevertheless, She Persisted? — The Questions Themselves...
This past weekend, I ran a race that has become a bit of a tradition for me. The first couple of times I attended, I was a spectator of friends who run. Watching them inspired me to take up running...
www.harriethustis.com
August 11, 2025 at 3:59 PM
On the blog today, thinking about the question of persistence and "grit." www.harriethustis.com/blog/nevertheless-she-persisted
On the blog this morning, what is the psychology of patience?
www.harriethustis.com/blog/what-is...
www.harriethustis.com/blog/what-is...
What is Patience? — The Questions Themselves...
As I mentioned previously, I retired at the start of July. When I did, in one of life’s odd coincidences, I ended up dealing with a major bureaucratic snafu that reminded me of a major bureaucratic ...
www.harriethustis.com
August 7, 2025 at 12:14 PM
On the blog this morning, what is the psychology of patience?
www.harriethustis.com/blog/what-is...
www.harriethustis.com/blog/what-is...
New blog post: www.harriethustis.com/blog/can-we-...
Can We Rant? (About Lolita?) — The Questions Themselves...
I’ve been biting my tongue when it comes to writing about the whole Jeffrey Epstein debacle. In part, I’m afraid that once I start, I’ll never stop. But hey, what’s a blog for, if you can’t rant on i...
www.harriethustis.com
August 4, 2025 at 4:35 PM
New blog post: www.harriethustis.com/blog/can-we-...
Reposted by Harriet Hustis
The News: the world is terrible and all the things are f**.
The World: hold my beer.
The World: hold my beer.
August 1, 2025 at 10:09 AM
The News: the world is terrible and all the things are f**.
The World: hold my beer.
The World: hold my beer.
On the blog today, the mindset that propelled me towards retirement
www.harriethustis.com/blog/ready-f...
www.harriethustis.com/blog/ready-f...
Ready for the Luck? — The Questions Themselves...
In Spring of 2024, I made the decision to retire early from my job as a professor of literature. The institution where I’d worked for nearly 30 years offered a voluntary separation incentive, and I d...
www.harriethustis.com
July 31, 2025 at 4:32 PM
On the blog today, the mindset that propelled me towards retirement
www.harriethustis.com/blog/ready-f...
www.harriethustis.com/blog/ready-f...
On the blog this morning, metaphors of resilience & hope in Melville’s “Moby-Dick” www.harriethustis.com/blog/why-july
Why July? — The Questions Themselves...
I dread the month of July. Some of the most painful events of my life have taken place in July. So now I always feel like the 4th comes way too early to do any good, and afterward, we still have a ...
www.harriethustis.com
July 28, 2025 at 2:45 PM
On the blog this morning, metaphors of resilience & hope in Melville’s “Moby-Dick” www.harriethustis.com/blog/why-july
On the blog this morning, what happens when we show intellectual vulnerability & practice “learning in the open”?
www.harriethustis.com/blog/how-muc...
Photo by 2y.kang on Unsplash
www.harriethustis.com/blog/how-muc...
Photo by 2y.kang on Unsplash
How Much to Share? — The Questions Themselves...
As I mentioned in “ Where to Start ,” one of the questions I’ve recently considered is the question of, how much we should share online? As I think through this question, I’m reminded of Austin Kleo...
www.harriethustis.com
July 24, 2025 at 11:32 AM
On the blog this morning, what happens when we show intellectual vulnerability & practice “learning in the open”?
www.harriethustis.com/blog/how-muc...
Photo by 2y.kang on Unsplash
www.harriethustis.com/blog/how-muc...
Photo by 2y.kang on Unsplash
The new blog is finally up and running!
Posts every Monday & Thursday.
www.harriethustis.com/blog/where-do-i-start
Posts every Monday & Thursday.
www.harriethustis.com/blog/where-do-i-start
Where To Start? — The Questions Themselves...
In 2010, I began a blog that I posted to regularly. I styled myself “the thinker” and wrote about whatever was on my mind at the time. I ended that blog in 2021, because I felt that it had run its ...
www.harriethustis.com
July 21, 2025 at 3:36 PM
The new blog is finally up and running!
Posts every Monday & Thursday.
www.harriethustis.com/blog/where-do-i-start
Posts every Monday & Thursday.
www.harriethustis.com/blog/where-do-i-start
News stories to make you less pessimistic. 🙂
304: Superprogressive
Reclaiming the value of immersion in an era of compression. Plus, the most hopeful statistic in four decades of writing about the climate, Burundi eliminates trachoma, Sweden goes cage-free, and wild ...
fixthenews.com
July 17, 2025 at 10:11 AM
News stories to make you less pessimistic. 🙂
Reposted by Harriet Hustis
Dementia risk down 50% for cohorts born after 1945, especially women. Clean air, schooling and heart health quietly reshape ageing. 🧠
Younger generations less likely to have dementia, study suggests
Researchers say people born more recently, particularly women, have lower risk at same age as their grandparents
www.theguardian.com
July 13, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Dementia risk down 50% for cohorts born after 1945, especially women. Clean air, schooling and heart health quietly reshape ageing. 🧠
Reposted by Harriet Hustis
This week's good news:
Drones clean up Everest, another country eliminates malaria, Italy's homicide rate plummets, Ecuador and Peru protect more area, China quietly converts hundreds of coal mines into solar, first regulated psychedelic medicine for depression.
fixthenews.com/303-superwood/
Drones clean up Everest, another country eliminates malaria, Italy's homicide rate plummets, Ecuador and Peru protect more area, China quietly converts hundreds of coal mines into solar, first regulated psychedelic medicine for depression.
fixthenews.com/303-superwood/
303: Superwood
Bulletproof, fire-resistant, stronger than steel. Plus, malaria vaccines get cheaper, global electricity access up, European air pollution down, genuine hope for coral reefs, and giant river otters re...
fixthenews.com
July 10, 2025 at 6:47 AM
This week's good news:
Drones clean up Everest, another country eliminates malaria, Italy's homicide rate plummets, Ecuador and Peru protect more area, China quietly converts hundreds of coal mines into solar, first regulated psychedelic medicine for depression.
fixthenews.com/303-superwood/
Drones clean up Everest, another country eliminates malaria, Italy's homicide rate plummets, Ecuador and Peru protect more area, China quietly converts hundreds of coal mines into solar, first regulated psychedelic medicine for depression.
fixthenews.com/303-superwood/
Reposted by Harriet Hustis
Read more books.
Become wiser and more empathetic. Gain knowledge. Practice deep focus in a world full of distraction. Be entertained. Improve your critical thinking. Increase your creativity. Write better. Learn about concepts that will help you day in and day out.
Become wiser and more empathetic. Gain knowledge. Practice deep focus in a world full of distraction. Be entertained. Improve your critical thinking. Increase your creativity. Write better. Learn about concepts that will help you day in and day out.
July 7, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Read more books.
Become wiser and more empathetic. Gain knowledge. Practice deep focus in a world full of distraction. Be entertained. Improve your critical thinking. Increase your creativity. Write better. Learn about concepts that will help you day in and day out.
Become wiser and more empathetic. Gain knowledge. Practice deep focus in a world full of distraction. Be entertained. Improve your critical thinking. Increase your creativity. Write better. Learn about concepts that will help you day in and day out.
If you’d like links to snippets of worldwide GOOD news, check out fixthenews.com
The universe is universal.
Plus, China's crazy month of solar, synthetic life, Gavi hits its target (despite US sabotage), painkillers from plastic, and good news for tigers in Thailand and turtles in Florida.
fixthenews.com/302-all-seei...
Plus, China's crazy month of solar, synthetic life, Gavi hits its target (despite US sabotage), painkillers from plastic, and good news for tigers in Thailand and turtles in Florida.
fixthenews.com/302-all-seei...
302: All Seeing Eye
"The universe is universal." Plus, China's crazy month of solar, synthetic life, Gavi hits its target (despite US sabotage), painkillers from plastic, and good news for tigers in Thailand and turtles ...
fixthenews.com
June 27, 2025 at 11:13 AM
If you’d like links to snippets of worldwide GOOD news, check out fixthenews.com
Reposted by Harriet Hustis
--Now available--Hotel booking for ALA 2025 Symposium "American Fiction: Forms, Genres, and Traditions" (October 16-18; Santa Fe, NM). Book your room at americanliteratureassociation.org/ala-conferen...
Housing Information – The American Literature Association
americanliteratureassociation.org
June 25, 2025 at 6:52 PM
--Now available--Hotel booking for ALA 2025 Symposium "American Fiction: Forms, Genres, and Traditions" (October 16-18; Santa Fe, NM). Book your room at americanliteratureassociation.org/ala-conferen...
Toe beans, anyone? #catsoffbluesky #cats
June 25, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Toe beans, anyone? #catsoffbluesky #cats