Julian Hanna
@julianisland.bsky.social
Prof of Culture Stuff. Author of Island (Bloomsbury) & The Manifesto Handbook (Zer0). Working on something difficult.
Wish I'd not been such a lazy student at McGill in the 1990s and turned up to some of Prof Carson's Classics lectures (before they closed the department altogether)
October 8, 2026 at 11:22 AM
Wish I'd not been such a lazy student at McGill in the 1990s and turned up to some of Prof Carson's Classics lectures (before they closed the department altogether)
As an Icelandic Canadian I am over the moon
October 8, 2026 at 11:19 AM
As an Icelandic Canadian I am over the moon
Fantastic news for Canadian lit 🔥
October 8, 2026 at 11:05 AM
Fantastic news for Canadian lit 🔥
I like how Anne Carson sounds in Swedish
October 8, 2026 at 11:02 AM
I like how Anne Carson sounds in Swedish
ANNE CARSOOOOONNNNN
October 8, 2026 at 11:02 AM
ANNE CARSOOOOONNNNN
New bookmark just dropped
October 8, 2026 at 10:28 AM
New bookmark just dropped
Starting a new book project and it’s already spiralling infinitely outward to include every aspect of life, the universe, and everything
Charlie Day Conspiracy: Pepe Silvia
ALT: Charlie Day Conspiracy: Pepe Silvia
static.klipy.com
September 23, 2026 at 11:54 AM
Starting a new book project and it’s already spiralling infinitely outward to include every aspect of life, the universe, and everything
I finally visited the Six Collection in Amsterdam today. The private residence feels lived in, because it is - it’s currently occupied by the 13th Jan Six and family. There are all sorts of treasures back to Rembrandt’s portrait of Jan Six. Curios from the last few centuries fill every nook.
September 18, 2026 at 3:41 PM
I finally visited the Six Collection in Amsterdam today. The private residence feels lived in, because it is - it’s currently occupied by the 13th Jan Six and family. There are all sorts of treasures back to Rembrandt’s portrait of Jan Six. Curios from the last few centuries fill every nook.
Fascinating stuff, and helpful if your job involves reading hundreds of AI-‘assisted’ articles each year by students (& colleagues)
My new article about LLMs is finally out in AI & Society! It argues that LLMs produce text metaphorically, through juxtaposing tokens that are related in some dimensions yet unrelated in others. This is why we see misaligned citations in scientific articles.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
LLMs are metaphor machines: orbital argumentation, misaligned citations, and scientific fabrication in AI-generated writing - AI & SOCIETY
Large language models are metaphor machines: they generate text based on similarities and proximity in their training data. I argue that this metaphor-based text generation leads to what John Gallaghe...
link.springer.com
September 9, 2026 at 10:41 AM
Fascinating stuff, and helpful if your job involves reading hundreds of AI-‘assisted’ articles each year by students (& colleagues)
Can you still be avant-garde if the conference dinner is in the same place as the Nobel dinner? (Yes, Beckett says it’s okay)
September 3, 2026 at 9:43 PM
Can you still be avant-garde if the conference dinner is in the same place as the Nobel dinner? (Yes, Beckett says it’s okay)
This reminds me of living in the Midwest and going to a bookstore to see a reading by a famous English author. He arrived straight from the airport, all in a flurry, took a long drink of water, and spat the ice cubes across the room.
if there is one single thing worthy of US pride it is the civilizational advance of ice water. this fancy restaurant lukewarm barbarism must end.
August 30, 2026 at 8:42 AM
This reminds me of living in the Midwest and going to a bookstore to see a reading by a famous English author. He arrived straight from the airport, all in a flurry, took a long drink of water, and spat the ice cubes across the room.
LISTEN! NOW IS THE TIME
👉 NOW IS THE TIME
August 28, 2026 at 6:55 PM
LISTEN! NOW IS THE TIME
Let’s not forget Canada (like Belgium) the unexpected home of so much experimental culture!
youtu.be/2-xDtMnfJT8?...
youtu.be/2-xDtMnfJT8?...
August 22, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Let’s not forget Canada (like Belgium) the unexpected home of so much experimental culture!
youtu.be/2-xDtMnfJT8?...
youtu.be/2-xDtMnfJT8?...
‘If we view ourselves from a great height, it is frightening to realise how little we know about our species, our purpose and our end.’
(Sebald’s narrator on a flight from Schiphol to Norwich in Rings of Saturn)
(Sebald’s narrator on a flight from Schiphol to Norwich in Rings of Saturn)
August 22, 2026 at 4:04 PM
‘If we view ourselves from a great height, it is frightening to realise how little we know about our species, our purpose and our end.’
(Sebald’s narrator on a flight from Schiphol to Norwich in Rings of Saturn)
(Sebald’s narrator on a flight from Schiphol to Norwich in Rings of Saturn)
Looking forward to the new Almodóvar & fresh autofiction discourse
August 21, 2026 at 8:13 AM
Looking forward to the new Almodóvar & fresh autofiction discourse
Just discovered a neighbourhood in Rotterdam where all the streets have jazz names (Ben Websterstraat, John Coltranestraat, Charlie Parkersingel, Thelonius Monkpad, Louis Armstrongweg) and now I want to live there
August 13, 2026 at 10:12 AM
Just discovered a neighbourhood in Rotterdam where all the streets have jazz names (Ben Websterstraat, John Coltranestraat, Charlie Parkersingel, Thelonius Monkpad, Louis Armstrongweg) and now I want to live there
🙏🙏🙏 What is an island if not remote and hard to get to (but usually worth it)?
Your book arrived today, @julianisland.bsky.social. (Ordered from UK, mailed from Malmo. 🤷) Looking forward to reading!
August 11, 2026 at 8:24 PM
🙏🙏🙏 What is an island if not remote and hard to get to (but usually worth it)?
Amazing Bonnie Prince Billy show last night by a frog pond in a forest outside Haarlem.
Happily - and somewhat unexpectedly if you followed Palace in the 90s - Will Oldham has grown into a consummate musician and performer
Happily - and somewhat unexpectedly if you followed Palace in the 90s - Will Oldham has grown into a consummate musician and performer
August 8, 2026 at 9:08 AM
Amazing Bonnie Prince Billy show last night by a frog pond in a forest outside Haarlem.
Happily - and somewhat unexpectedly if you followed Palace in the 90s - Will Oldham has grown into a consummate musician and performer
Happily - and somewhat unexpectedly if you followed Palace in the 90s - Will Oldham has grown into a consummate musician and performer
Monday, 35 degrees. Decided to fully embrace Europa by taking the week off, going to a spa in the countryside, getting nekkid with all the merry villagers & plunging into an ice bath with actual ice cubes. Also did the 90 C Finnish sauna where they slap you with wet branches (twice). Recommended.
August 3, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Monday, 35 degrees. Decided to fully embrace Europa by taking the week off, going to a spa in the countryside, getting nekkid with all the merry villagers & plunging into an ice bath with actual ice cubes. Also did the 90 C Finnish sauna where they slap you with wet branches (twice). Recommended.
Literary pilgrimage - island edition!
Robert Graves and Laura Riding’s house in Deià, Mallorca, a 🧵
Robert Graves and Laura Riding’s house in Deià, Mallorca, a 🧵
July 24, 2026 at 1:26 PM
Literary pilgrimage - island edition!
Robert Graves and Laura Riding’s house in Deià, Mallorca, a 🧵
Robert Graves and Laura Riding’s house in Deià, Mallorca, a 🧵
Being on a warm island and swimming every day is very, very good
July 23, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Being on a warm island and swimming every day is very, very good
The scent of the fig tree permeates everything
July 21, 2026 at 12:41 PM
The scent of the fig tree permeates everything
Update: still doing nothing
July 21, 2026 at 12:18 PM
Update: still doing nothing
Doing one of my favourite things that I very rarely get to do, which is nothing
July 20, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Doing one of my favourite things that I very rarely get to do, which is nothing
At an outdoor restaurant in Spain with a big tv - merry chaos as families move tables together and raciones start arriving in quick succession. Didn’t book ahead so we’ll be watching the crowd more than the game, which honestly suits me ok 🍷
July 19, 2026 at 6:25 PM
At an outdoor restaurant in Spain with a big tv - merry chaos as families move tables together and raciones start arriving in quick succession. Didn’t book ahead so we’ll be watching the crowd more than the game, which honestly suits me ok 🍷