Dr Fiona Tolan
@fionatolan.bsky.social
1.1K followers 1.5K following 160 posts
Reader in Contemporary Women’s Writing, LJMU, UK. Contemporary British fiction, feminist theory, politics of cleaning. Posting in a personal capacity.
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Reposted by Dr Fiona Tolan
fionatolan.bsky.social
In the beautiful but uncomfortable Sheldonian Theatre waiting for Ian McEwan to arrive 📚 #oxford #books
Shot of inside of the Sheldonian theatre, university of Oxford, with crowd starting to fill the seats
fionatolan.bsky.social
Always funny driving along the A303 and getting a great view of Stonehenge and the tourists
Stonehenge and grey clouds overhead
fionatolan.bsky.social
Back home but thinking about 7pm at the beach when the sun goes down (sound up for waves) ⛱️
fionatolan.bsky.social
Just asked my 9 yr old and she didn’t know
fionatolan.bsky.social
My current view over the trulli in Alberobello 🇮🇹
View through a stone doorway over a hillside of Italian trulli - traditional houses with distinctive conical grey stone roofs
Reposted by Dr Fiona Tolan
matthewleggatt.bsky.social
Please help me share the CFP for this Literature Compass Special Issue dedicated to the work of Simon J James and covering key Victorian and Edwardian writers like H. G. Wells, George Gissing, Dickens, Wilde, George Du Maurier, and Conan-Doyle on behalf of Hadas Elber-Aviram.
Reposted by Dr Fiona Tolan
moiradonegan.bsky.social
It’s always “Ladies, if you are alienated by overwork, drop out of the public sphere and become a tradwife” and never “Ladies, if you are alienated by overwork, form a union.”
fionatolan.bsky.social
Waiting on the library to open & trying to figure out which wing will be shadiest over the course of the day 🥵
Quadrangle of the Bodleian library with sunshine and shadows on the library walls
fionatolan.bsky.social
My cat outraged at the cheeky fox in our garden in broad daylight 🐈‍⬛ 🦊
Fox walking along a wall with a black cat peering down at it from a fence
fionatolan.bsky.social
Excuse me, is that breakfast pancakes I can smell?
Close up of a fox looking directly at the camera
Reposted by Dr Fiona Tolan
faberbooks.bsky.social
‘I get up at 4 a.m. when I wake, & it is black, & write till the babes wake. It is like writing in a train tunnel, or God’s intestine.’

Sylvia Plath on writing Ariel, in a letter to Richard Murphy in October 1962. At this time, Plath was sometimes writing two poems a morning.
Reposted by Dr Fiona Tolan
peterstefanovic.bsky.social
Predictions of £40bn hit to public finances from Brexit ‘correct’

Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast of a 4 per cent productivity loss from leaving the EU has been largely borne out, says top economist

www.thetimes.com/business-mon...
Predictions of £40bn hit to public finances from Brexit ‘correct’
Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast of a 4 per cent productivity loss from leaving the EU has been largely borne out, says top economist
www.thetimes.com
fionatolan.bsky.social
So geekily excited to finally have my hands on the first issue of Good Housekeeping from 1922
Collage of 2 photos: on the left, a green leather bound copy of GH; on the right, colour cover of first issue - a drawing of a little girl pouring milk into a saucer for a kitten
fionatolan.bsky.social
I can’t stop thinking about what it must be like to be Pitbull in the O2 arena, looking out at 1000s of people all dressed up as *you* 🔥
Reposted by Dr Fiona Tolan
wasafirimag.bsky.social
Highly commended for the 2024 Wasafiri Essay Prize, Simar Bhasin discusses her paper, 'A Qissa of Resistance: Desire & Dissent in Selma Dabbagh’s Short Fiction'.

This essay will be published in our forthcoming issue, Wasafiri 123.

The 2025 Wasafiri Essay Prize is open until 30 June 2025.
fionatolan.bsky.social
A fascinating read - thanks
fionatolan.bsky.social
Thanks Barbara. I’m thinking about how the text keeps ‘travelling’ to meet new contexts. There’s going to be a special issue of C21 on the Hulu adaptation.
fionatolan.bsky.social
Finishing up an article on The Handmaid’s Tale & am struck by this line from the epilogue: ‘racist fears provided some of the emotional fear that allowed the Gilead takeover to succeed as well as it did’ #MargaretAtwood 🔺🔺🔺
Reposted by Dr Fiona Tolan
eicathomefinn.bsky.social
'The author of Girl, Woman, Other and Mr Loverman has been rewarded for her entire body of work, as well as her “transformative impact on literature and her unwavering dedication to uplifting under-represented voices across the cultural landscape”.' Kudos richly merited.
Bernardine Evaristo scoops Women’s prize outstanding contribution award
One-off £100,000 prize awarded to Girl, Women, Other writer for entire body of work and ‘dedication to uplifting under-represented voices’
www.theguardian.com
fionatolan.bsky.social
Ones near me do - maybe check before lugging them in?