Julian Girdham

Thinking, Writing, Reading, Teaching

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Presentation on teaching 'Small Things Like These'

February 21, 2025 by Julian Girdham in English Teaching

A talk through a presentation on teaching Claire Keegan’s novel Small Things Like These.

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February 21, 2025 /Julian Girdham
Claire Keegan, Small Things Like These
English Teaching
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The Occasional 6

February 15, 2025 by Julian Girdham in Books, The Fortnightly

Lots of book recommendations in The Occasional 6, for paid subscribers of The Fortnightly.

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February 15, 2025 /Julian Girdham
Books, The Fortnightly
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Fortnightly 182

February 08, 2025 by Julian Girdham in The Fortnightly

Fortnightly 182 starts with Harriet Walter on Shakespeare’s women, and the usual eclectic mixture follows.

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February 08, 2025 /Julian Girdham
The Fortnightly
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Harriet Walter's 'She Speaks! what Shakespeare's women might have said'

February 05, 2025 by Julian Girdham in English Teaching, Shakespeare

Harriet Walter’s She Speaks! What Shakespeare’s women might have said is an entertaining and insightful account of many of the plays’ female roles.

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February 05, 2025 /Julian Girdham
English Teaching, Shakespeare
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English Meet 2025

February 02, 2025 by Julian Girdham in English Teaching

The fourth English Meet for English teachers in the Dublin area will be on the evening of Thursday 8th May 2025.

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February 02, 2025 /Julian Girdham
English Meet
English Teaching
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Neil Postman's 'Technopoly'

February 01, 2025 by Julian Girdham in English Teaching, Technology, AI

Thoughts on Neil Postman’s wise and prescient 1992 book Technopoly.

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February 01, 2025 /Julian Girdham
English Teaching, Technology, AI
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Fortnightly 181

January 25, 2025 by Julian Girdham

Fortnightly 181 is out: memoir, humour, teaching, slowness and more.

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January 25, 2025 /Julian Girdham
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'In the Real World'

January 15, 2025 by Julian Girdham in Teaching, AI

All too often teachers have to listen to that condescending cliché ‘In the real world’.

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January 15, 2025 /Julian Girdham
Teaching, AI
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Fortnightly 180

January 11, 2025 by Julian Girdham in The Fortnightly

The first Fortnightly of 2025, number 180 since 2016.

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January 11, 2025 /Julian Girdham
The Fortnightly
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Thomas Newkirk's 'The Art of Slow Reading'

January 10, 2025 by Julian Girdham in English Teaching, AI, Teaching, Attention

A revisiting of Thomas Newkirk’s book The Art of Slow Reading in the new AI world.

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January 10, 2025 /Julian Girdham
English Teaching, AI, Teaching, Attention
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AI thinkers for English teachers

January 08, 2025 by Julian Girdham in Technology, AI

Links to thinkers about artificial intelligence, whose writings I find helpful in navigating its implications for English.

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January 08, 2025 /Julian Girdham
Technology, AI
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#edchatie Mondays on Bluesky

January 01, 2025 by Julian Girdham in Teaching

A holding page for details of #edchatie discussions on Bluesky on Monday evenings: every two weeks in term-time for educators in Ireland.

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January 01, 2025 /Julian Girdham
Teaching
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Posts of the Year, 2024

December 28, 2024 by Julian Girdham in The Fortnightly, English Teaching

A collection of 25 pieces of writing from 2024.

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December 28, 2024 /Julian Girdham
Featured
The Fortnightly, English Teaching
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'Small Things Like These' read by Andrew Bennett

December 19, 2024 by Julian Girdham in Fiction, Books

An account of the ‘Four Rivers’ staged reading of Claire Keegan’s novel Small Things Like These.

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December 19, 2024 /Julian Girdham
Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan
Fiction, Books
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Books of the Year 2024

December 18, 2024 by Julian Girdham in Books, English Teaching

My choices as Books of the Year 2024 in several categories.

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December 18, 2024 /Julian Girdham
Books, English Teaching
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Reading Round-Up, July to December 2024

December 17, 2024 by Julian Girdham

Reading Round-Up, July to December 2024: books which I didn’t write about at length but which appeared in The Fortnightly Substack.

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December 17, 2024 /Julian Girdham
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The 'King Lear scene by scene' series

December 16, 2024 by Julian Girdham in King Lear scene by scene, English Teaching, Shakespeare

Links to all the podcasts and transcripts from the ‘King Lear scene by scene’ series.

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December 16, 2024 /Julian Girdham
King Lear
King Lear scene by scene, English Teaching, Shakespeare
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'King Lear' scene by scene 12

December 16, 2024 by Julian Girdham in King Lear scene by scene, English Teaching, Shakespeare

The final episode of King Lear scene by scene looks at the cataclysmic last scene of the tragedy,

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December 16, 2024 /Julian Girdham
King Lear
King Lear scene by scene, English Teaching, Shakespeare
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Fortnightly 179: Books of the Year

December 14, 2024 by Julian Girdham in Books, The Fortnightly

Fortnightly 179 features a round-up of best books of the year.

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December 14, 2024 /Julian Girdham
Books, The Fortnightly
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'King Lear' scene by scene 11

December 10, 2024 by Julian Girdham in King Lear scene by scene, Shakespeare

The penultimate episode of the King Lear scene by scene podcast looks at the lull before the storm: Act 4 scene 7, and Act 5 scenes 1 and 2.

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December 10, 2024 /Julian Girdham
King Lear
King Lear scene by scene, Shakespeare
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