Very excited to be speaking along with the other wonderful 2025 Chawton House Visiting Fellows on 11th Feb at a BARS digital event! My first time chairing too as I was lucky enough to be the BARS fellow, so extra exciting!
@bars.bsky.social @chawtonhouse.bsky.social
Today marks the 175th anniversary of Mary W. Shelley’s passing. She was more than just the author of Frankenstein. She was a versatile writer who contributed greatly to literature with novels, short stories, a children’s book, travel writings, and poems. Here is one of my favorite poems by Mary:
01.02.2026 17:01 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
📣Upcoming deadline!
Don't forget to submit your abstract for the 2026 NASSR/NAVSA conference (in-person and virtual) by February 15th!
🔗More information on their website: traffic2026.ucr.edu/call-for-pap...
#cfp #NASSR #NAVSA
We remember William T. Buice, III—lawyer, collector, friend, and past President. The Grolier Club will host a memorial celebrating his life on February 2, 2026. Join fellow members & friends in honoring a leader and most beloved figure. Details and RSVP: www.k-saa.org/blog/in-memo...
01.02.2026 05:46 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Romantic Elements: Rocks, and Stones, and Soil, 1750–1850 Symposium at The University of Manchester, 25–26 June, 2026 Keynote Speakers Dr Jeremy Davies (University of Leeds) Dr Stephanie O’Rourke (University of St Andrews) Earth and earthiness are ubiquitous in the period’s many modes of nature writing, but elements of the ground do not flow or yield their depths like water, nor mediate like air. Earth as physical entity obscures, obstructs, and sullies, proving a less tractable ground for what we might still think of as defining Romantic-era postures of idealism and spontaneity. What literary forms, what knowledge practices, does earthly matter press poetics into? Is the geological record hostile to the human and human expression in its radical alterity, as Heringman at times suggests? Or are there underground places of passage, sympathy, even love, as Mary Jacobus, Susan Wolfson, and Tristram Wolff have more recently proposed? Is there a whole spectrum of attachments to rocks and stones, amounting to (in Wolff’s phrase) a ‘gray romanticism’, in which writers can both resist and relish digging in the dirt? ‘Romantic Elements: Rocks, and Stones, and Soil, 1750–1850’ aims to explore these questions. We seek to go beyond the exhilarating stony subjects of mountains, deep time, and fossils, widening the remit of Romantic-era writing about the earth to include more particulate matter and more conceptual treatments. We want to add soil, dirt, dust, sand, and ashes to the Wordsworthian catalogue of Romantic elements; and we want to expand our theoretical and metaphoric range to excavate the implications of Barbauld’s and Shelley’s ‘unearthly forms’. We invite proposals for 20-minute papers on the theme of earth, unearthing, and the unearthly in Romantic-era poetry and prose (1750–1850). When engaging with the theme, prospective speakers may wish to explore topics such as the following:
Earth, earthiness, and literary form/genre The subterranean/undercommons The components of earth: mud, soil, clods, dust, sand Earthy elements as sites of affect or criticality Poetic and/or epistemological obscurity Images or forms of burial and concealment Images or forms of unearthing, unveiling, or revelation Earth as generative, fertile, life-giving Earth as a site of labour and resource extraction Earth as gendered, queered/queering, racialized, classed Formalist, ecocritical, queer, and affective approaches to earth, earthiness, and unearthing Please send proposals for 20-minute papers in the form of a 250-word abstract and an author biography (150 words) to James Metcalf (james.metcalf@manchester.ac.uk) and Millie Schurch (millie.schurch@english.su.se) by Friday 30 January 2026. Please note: this will be an in-person meeting only. With thanks to support from the Swedish Research Council, there will be no conference fee for speakers, other than to attend the optional conference dinner at the end of the first day. Food and refreshments will be provided on both days (coffee and pastries; lunch; tea-break snack). We are particularly keen to encourage the participation of early career researchers and scholars on precarious employment contracts. We are pleased to be able to offer up to 10 bursaries to cover accommodation and travel within the UK for those without access to institutional support for research activities. Please indicate with your abstract submission if you do not have access to institutional financial support and would like to be considered for a bursary. We hope to hear from you! Millie and James
🗣️🗣️🗣️ Brilliant CfP for Romantic Elements: Rocks, and Stones, and Soil, 1750–1850 Symposium at The University of Manchester, 25–26 June, 2026. Keynotes Jeremy Davies and Stephanie O’Rourke. Organised by two @cecs-york.bsky.social alumni! No conference fee!
[full CfP in image alt texts]
Have you interacted with someone on Romanticist Bluesky whose TBR you want to shamelessly peruse? We are continuing the "What Are You Reading?" #KSAABlog series soon! If you'd like to be featured or have someone in mind, DM us! In the meantime, read past features here: www.k-saa.org/blog/tag/Wha...
03.12.2025 02:53 — 👍 8 🔁 5 💬 0 📌 0
Heading to MLA 2026 in Toronto? Make K-SAA part of your #MLA26 plans! Don’t miss our panel, Mary Shelley At Last, and our annual Awards Reception. We look forward to welcoming members, friends, and colleagues. See you soon!
www.k-saa.org/blog/celebra...
Ready for #MLA26? We made a list of the Romanticism-related panels for you! See it on the #KSAABlog www.k-saa.org/blog/mla-pan...
30.12.2025 17:29 — 👍 4 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
Excited to share 'Percy Bysshe Shelley in Collaboration: Influence and Intertextuality', ed. with Merrilees Roberts and @paulstephens.bsky.social, forthcoming with @themhra.bsky.social 📖✨️ www.mhra.org.uk/publications...
15.12.2025 09:42 — 👍 15 🔁 6 💬 0 📌 1
Funding opportunity!
Applications for the John Galt Society Research Grant close at the end of January. Don't forget to apply! www.k-saa.org/blog/announc...
✨New on the #KSAABlog: K-SAA's Buice Travel Fund recipient shares her experience at ICR and with the 1819 Social! www.k-saa.org/blog/christi...
#ICR2025 #The1819Social
Headed to Toronto for the MLA conference in January? Visit the #KSAABlog for our round-up of Romanticism-related panels! www.k-saa.org/blog/mla-pan... #MLA26
08.12.2025 18:57 — 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0Have you interacted with someone on Romanticist Bluesky whose TBR you want to shamelessly peruse? We are continuing the "What Are You Reading?" #KSAABlog series soon! If you'd like to be featured or have someone in mind, DM us! In the meantime, read past features here: www.k-saa.org/blog/tag/Wha...
03.12.2025 02:53 — 👍 8 🔁 5 💬 0 📌 0
Share how you have incorporated K-SAA’s public outreach theme, Birdsong, in your teaching! Contact kacie.wills@hancockcollege.edu to share teaching materials (assignments, syllabi, readings, student work, or pedagogical reflections). Learn more: www.k-saa.org/birdsong
01.12.2025 22:35 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
🎉 Upcoming BARS Digital Event: Romantic Creativity Roundtable
8th Dec, 1-2:30pm GMT
6 speakers reflect on the relationship between Romanticism & creativity as it permeates writing, teaching and research. Chaired by @adamneikirk.bsky.social
More details & free tickets: www.bars.ac.uk/blog/?p=6228
5 days to submit! Scribble down those ideas! ✍️
25.11.2025 12:01 — 👍 15 🔁 13 💬 0 📌 0
#CfP: Please see the K-SAA blog for information about the upcoming Keats Conference! Paper proposals are due to the conference secretary Saturday, Feb. 21, 12 noon UK time.
www.k-saa.org/blog/keats-c...
New Blog Post: “‘The 1819 Social’ in 2025: Building Community in (and beyond) Romantic Studies.” Chris Rovee discusses the K-SAA’s reimagined approach to mentorship. www.k-saa.org/blog/the-181...
18.11.2025 18:23 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
New KSJ+ content: An interview with Grant F. Scott, whose article for volume 73 of the Keats-Shelley Journal details his discovery of two manuscript letters addressed to Joseph Severn and raises new questions about the origins of Keats’s gravestone www.k-saa.org/blog/scott-i...
13.11.2025 19:07 — 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Are you exploring the works, life, or influence of John Galt? The John Galt Society is offering up to £1,000 to defray expenses associated with research into the works, life or influence of John Galt. Apply by Jan. 31, 2026.
Find more information on the K-SAA Blog: www.k-saa.org/blog/announc...
The deadline for the Wordsworth Winter Conference CfP has been extended to 1st December 2025!
The conference will be in Grasmere on 4th-7th March 2026, with the theme of "Romantic Ballads and Romantic Songs".
www.bars.ac.uk/blog/?p=6214
The K-SAA is excited to share about an exciting digital event celebrating the publication of Volume IV of the Johns Hopkins University Press edition of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poetry! Please find more info on the #KSAABlog: www.k-saa.org/blog/jhu4-ev...
08.11.2025 20:07 — 👍 3 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
The Western Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies Conference, February 13-14 2026, is seeking panel and paper proposals on the theme of “Eighteenth-Century Collaborations.” Extended deadline: Dec. 1, 2025. See the K-SAA blog for more info: www.k-saa.org/blog/western...
05.11.2025 00:34 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Are you a grad student, untenured faculty member, or an independent scholar doing research in Romantic-era literature and culture? There's still time to apply for a Pforzheimer Award!
Apply by Nov. 1 to be considered.
Find more information here: www.k-saa.org/pforzheimera...
You’re invited to participate in NAVSA 2025: Aftermaths//November 13-16, Washington DC. There will also be a special digital presession, happening entirely on Zoom, November 7 & 8. See the K-SAA blog for more info: www.k-saa.org/blog/navsa-2...
21.10.2025 17:54 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Looking forward to seeing so many wonderful people and papers this Friday at our annual Curran Symposium!
Can't make it live? We are pleased to offer access to our opening panel via Zoom! Register for that here: forms.gle/SxMMk7ggxTFM...
See the full program here: www.k-saa.org/events/annua...
The K-SAA depends on members like you. Your support enables us to host symposia, fund grants, publish the Keats-Shelley Journal, and create opportunities for the next generation of Romantic scholars. Read more about our community and join us today!
www.k-saa.org/blog/support...
KSJ Volume 72 is now available on Project MUSE!
Read the latest issue here: muse.jhu.edu/issue/50898
Members will receive print copies soon!
On the BARS blog: information on applying for the @ksaacomm.bsky.social Carl H. Pforzheimer Research Grants, worth $3000. Deadline 1st November. www.bars.ac.uk/blog/?p=6151
06.10.2025 15:18 — 👍 3 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0