Kathleen McGowan

Anna Aslanyan | On the Picket Line On Monday morning, more than a hundred people formed a picket line outside one of the entrances to the British Library...

‘“People need to pay their bills,” one of the pickets told me. Some are forced to work several jobs. Many talked of the effect of the 2023 cyberattack on their workload.’

Anna Aslanyan on the strike at the British Library, from the blog.

www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/de...

Was invited to speak to the Cabinet Office today about suffrage theatre - always a joy to talk about the breadth of creativity and performative propaganda in the Votes for Women movement. Hurray for sunny winter days in London, and of course always hurray for for the Actresses’ Franchise League 🩷💚

"𝖱𝖾𝖺𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗂𝗌 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗃𝗎𝗌𝗍 𝖺 𝗉𝖺𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾 𝗈𝗋 𝖺 𝗅𝗎𝗑𝗎𝗋𝗒, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝖺 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝖼𝗈𝗇𝖽𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗈𝖿 𝖽𝖾𝗆𝗈𝖼𝗋𝖺𝗍𝗂𝖼 𝗅𝗂𝖿𝖾, 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝗂𝖼𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗄𝖾𝖾𝗉 𝖽𝖾𝖻𝖺𝗍𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖽𝗂𝗌𝖺𝗀𝗋𝖾𝖾𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝗀𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽𝖾𝖽, 𝖿𝗈𝖼𝗎𝗌𝖾𝖽 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝖽𝗎𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾.” ⁣
- 𝖩𝗎𝖽𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖡𝗎𝗍𝗅𝖾𝗋, 𝘞𝘩𝘰’𝘴 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳?

When did opera become elitist? Alexandra Wilson’s history of the art form in Britain shows how it used to appeal to everyone, from miners to lords

I am delighted with this review of my new book in The New Statesman. The reviewer really gets what the book is all about.

www.newstatesman.com/culture/book...

Good. Let the public execution of AI commence.

Why the BBC’s Shipping Forecast still entrances people after 100 years Designed to ensure safe sailing for those on the sea, a dedicated shipping forecast was first broadcast by the BBC in 1925.

Really pleased to see my & @benjaminredding.bsky.social article on the much beloved BBC Shipping Forecast is getting some traction - we loved writing it! Read it @uk.theconversation.com here:
theconversation.com/why-the-bbcs...

5 Questions to Samantha Ege (pianist, scholar) Forrest Howell sits down with Samantha Ege ahead of the release of her new album, "Maestra" (LORELT) out Mar. 25.

“Whether it’s through my artistic work or my scholarly work, I want to be a vehicle for telling some of the incredible stories you’ve never heard.”

Pianist, musicologist and writer, Dr. Samantha Ege spoke with us about her latest album, “Maestra,” and more. Read the interview at:

Historians dismayed by ‘scandal’ of BBC cutting access to... Critics say new limit to trove of information sounds knell for independent research

The BBC is a publicly funded service. Its archive should be open to anyone and researchers should not be beholden to the bbc to choose what we see. And not on only 2 days a week either.

Vivian Malone walking through a registration hall. Behind her is a long table with a row of white people watching her. She is a black woman wearing a white dress.

#OnThisDay, 11 June 1963, Vivian Malone defies the Governor of Alabama to become the first Black female student at the University of Alabama.

“The simple act of walking through a schoolhouse door...

#WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #AmericanHistory 🗃️

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5 Questions to Theresa May (trumpeter, composer, educator) Katie Brown chats with Theresa May about her creative process, her work with Mourning [A] BLKstar, and creating unapologetically Black art.

icareifyoulisten.com/2025/06/5-qu...

concertnova's "Meet in the Middle" is a Beautiful Snapshot of the Black Midwest's Aural and Visual Diversity A. Kori Hill reviews the "Meet in the Middle: Black Midwest Music and Photography" by concertnova on April 14 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

#icareifyoulisten #photography #midwest

Barbara Bodichon

4/8/1827 — b. Barbara Bodichon, English educationalist, artist, women’s rights advocate. A leading early 19th century feminist; co-founder of the women’s rights movement in Britain. Wrote a “Brief Summary of the Laws of England concerning Women” (1854) #womenshistory #feminist #womensrights #OTD

A full length portrait of a sitted Ann Thickness by Thomas Gainsborough, 1760. She is lavishly dressed in an ornate, silver gown, and holds a stringed instrument on her lap. One arm is leaning on a stack of music, and there is a cello in the background.

Pleased to learn Jane Austen was familiar with the music of Ann Thickness, copying one of her songs into the family music book. Thickness was jailed in France during the terror, but released in 1794 on showing that she could earn her own living. www.southampton.ac.uk/news/2015/12...

I wrote about why everyone should memorize poems, not least as a remedy for doomscrolling & insomnia. Also: in praise of pedagogical hedonism.

garthgreenwell.substack.com/p/memorizing...

The Age of Cultural Stagnation Has tech plunged culture into an era devoid of originality and surprise?

"Culture today is circular, relational, and collaborative, not teleological and hostage to the belligerent dreams of great men."
- Aaron Timms, 𝘛𝘕𝘙 3/19/24

CarveHerName Bookshop UK Every day women have - and are - making history. We tell their stories. This bookshop is where we share books we've used in our research and that we are happy to recommend. You can visit our home at CarveHerName.org.uk. 

In the UK?

Buy a book this weekend through our bookshop on @bookshop-org-uk.bsky.social and 10% will go towards the @womensprize.bsky.social Trust to celebrate #IWD. We've just added their 2025 longlists to our shop.

Every sale supports indie bookshops, and us!
uk.bookshop.org/shop...

📚

On this day in 1913, Margaret Bonds, a trailblazing composer and pianist, was born in Chicago.

Her music transcended boundaries, blending classical traditions with the spirit of African-American culture.

Today, we honor her legacy and the enduring impact of her melodies.

#women #womeninmusic

Excellent context here on the relationship between misinformation and support for Trump & Co. (not necessarily applicable to this case. bsky.app/profile/karl...

The March of the Women by Margaret Morris (1891-1980). Graphite on paper c 1907, Perth Art Gallery.

The March of the Women, Margaret Morris (1891-1980)
Graphite on paper c1907

Margaret Morris designed this cover for a music score by Ethel Smyth, composer and #suffragette. The March of the Women became the WSPU anthem 🙌

Part of the Fergus & Meg exhibition at #Perth Art Gallery

Cover of the first 'The Citizeness' newspaper | February 13, 1881

2/13/1881 — Hubertine Auclert, French feminist and woman suffrage leader, first publishes the bi-monthly feminist newspaper ‘La Citoyenne’ (The Citizeness) in Paris, France; published (1881-91). Founder of the Society for the Rights of Women Society (1876) #womenshistory #womensrights #feminism #OTD

Moving tribute to a previously unknown musician, Emilie Goldberger. A student of Clara Schumann, she was to die in the Theresienstadt ghetto in 1942.

I was hoping I’d find you here!! 😎🎧🎶

Increasingly a Necessity: A 15-Point Guide to Surviving Authoritarianism – BillMoyers.com It’s good to remember the very big, very frightening picture before us, how far we’ve already come, and to consider what recourse we have with complicit and corrupt forces standing in the way. Continu...

A whole bunch of you need to read this.

billmoyers.com/story/increa...

a boy and a girl getting on a yellow school bus Alt: Students excitedly getting on a yellow school bus, which enthusiastically sprouts spaceship wings & tail fin.

First day of school!! 🤩
#spring2025 #phdlife

Reading the numbers: 130 million American adults have low literacy skills — APM Research Lab About 130 million adults in the U.S. have low literacy skills according to a Gallup analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Education. This means more than half of Americans between the ages of 1...

Today, 130 million Americans—54% of adults aged 16-74—lack the literacy skills that many take for granted, reading below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level. www.apmresearchlab.org/10x-adult-li...

This is the content I’m here for. 😎

Oh man. Don't think I have the space/time at all to really make this a thing but a "25 in 25 pledge" in which people committed to making sure 25% of the books they bought in 2025 were from small/indie presses has some potential.