Russell Scott Valentino
@russellv.bsky.social
Prof by light, creator by dark. Exploring the world by the utterance. Lover of rhythm, melody, sentences without verbs. Skeptic of #bsky. But fine. Find me russellv.com and/or https://barenchi.com
My book was all facts and curiosities and vignettes. A lot was interesting, but coherence kept escaping me. Then I found a direction…. russellv.com/2026/01/16/t...
The Sea’s Direction
My book lacked a direction. It was all facts and curiosities and vignettes. A lot was interesting, but coherence kept escaping me. When writing about a river, you can start at the source and make y…
russellv.com
January 17, 2026 at 11:28 AM
My book was all facts and curiosities and vignettes. A lot was interesting, but coherence kept escaping me. Then I found a direction…. russellv.com/2026/01/16/t...
I knew that Thomas Moore’s *Utopia* was first published in 1516, and that the Venetian ghetto was first formed in 1516. But the two things seem to have existed in different parts of my brain, so I never put them together and never noticed the strange irony.
January 10, 2026 at 1:34 PM
I knew that Thomas Moore’s *Utopia* was first published in 1516, and that the Venetian ghetto was first formed in 1516. But the two things seem to have existed in different parts of my brain, so I never put them together and never noticed the strange irony.
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
George Orwell, *1984*
George Orwell, *1984*
January 8, 2026 at 8:19 PM
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
George Orwell, *1984*
George Orwell, *1984*
Here’s pic from last night.
January 3, 2026 at 7:51 PM
Here’s pic from last night.
Not gonna tell you where I am or who I’m with or what I’m doing now or just did yesterday or am about to do next week or whenever. Happy New Year!
January 1, 2026 at 10:50 PM
Not gonna tell you where I am or who I’m with or what I’m doing now or just did yesterday or am about to do next week or whenever. Happy New Year!
A new batch.
December 24, 2025 at 4:23 AM
A new batch.
H is for Hawk
During the breaks at the ALTA conference in Tucson at the beginning of November, I found myself often answering questions about my Sea of Intimacy. This makes a lot of sense, as it was at the ALTA in Tucson in, I want to say 2021, that I first spoke about it with friends there,…
During the breaks at the ALTA conference in Tucson at the beginning of November, I found myself often answering questions about my Sea of Intimacy. This makes a lot of sense, as it was at the ALTA in Tucson in, I want to say 2021, that I first spoke about it with friends there,…
H is for Hawk
During the breaks at the ALTA conference in Tucson at the beginning of November, I found myself often answering questions about my Sea of Intimacy. This makes a lot of sense, as it was at the ALTA in Tucson in, I want to say 2021, that I first spoke about it with friends there, sitting around a table at lunch.
russellv.com
December 17, 2025 at 11:00 PM
H is for Hawk
During the breaks at the ALTA conference in Tucson at the beginning of November, I found myself often answering questions about my Sea of Intimacy. This makes a lot of sense, as it was at the ALTA in Tucson in, I want to say 2021, that I first spoke about it with friends there,…
During the breaks at the ALTA conference in Tucson at the beginning of November, I found myself often answering questions about my Sea of Intimacy. This makes a lot of sense, as it was at the ALTA in Tucson in, I want to say 2021, that I first spoke about it with friends there,…
Academics are a strange lot. Completely defined by their jobs, which means tied to their institutions of employment by reputation and affection. And, on the other hand, completely consumed by their projects, which means utterly indifferent to and independent of their places of employment.
December 11, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Academics are a strange lot. Completely defined by their jobs, which means tied to their institutions of employment by reputation and affection. And, on the other hand, completely consumed by their projects, which means utterly indifferent to and independent of their places of employment.
City at last delivered three (!) trees for planting in the median out front: tulip poplar, linden, and a yet to be determined variety of oak. Good choices, city folks—thank you! The turkey vultures aren’t too picky, but I am.
December 9, 2025 at 6:22 PM
City at last delivered three (!) trees for planting in the median out front: tulip poplar, linden, and a yet to be determined variety of oak. Good choices, city folks—thank you! The turkey vultures aren’t too picky, but I am.
My Roman History: A Review
Alizah Holstein's 2024 book My Roman History: A Memoir (published by Viking Penguin) takes a long view of the author's journey to a failed academic career as a historian of medieval Roman history. The journey is the main story, the drive and wonder behind it especially,…
Alizah Holstein's 2024 book My Roman History: A Memoir (published by Viking Penguin) takes a long view of the author's journey to a failed academic career as a historian of medieval Roman history. The journey is the main story, the drive and wonder behind it especially,…
My Roman History: A Review
Alizah Holstein's 2024 book My Roman History: A Memoir (published by Viking Penguin) takes a long view of the author's journey to a failed academic career as a historian of medieval Roman history. The journey is the main story, the drive and wonder behind it especially, including what otherwise might be esoteric questions of power, politics, and literary and historical references in an eventual (completed) dissertation on Rome in the relatively understudied fourteenth century.
russellv.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:00 PM
My Roman History: A Review
Alizah Holstein's 2024 book My Roman History: A Memoir (published by Viking Penguin) takes a long view of the author's journey to a failed academic career as a historian of medieval Roman history. The journey is the main story, the drive and wonder behind it especially,…
Alizah Holstein's 2024 book My Roman History: A Memoir (published by Viking Penguin) takes a long view of the author's journey to a failed academic career as a historian of medieval Roman history. The journey is the main story, the drive and wonder behind it especially,…
In the TSA Pre security line, removing my heavy coat, I ask, “Scarf ok?” She looks at it, says without smiling, “Yes, very stylish,” then, after a beat, “Also pre-approved for TSA Pre.”
November 23, 2025 at 5:08 PM
In the TSA Pre security line, removing my heavy coat, I ask, “Scarf ok?” She looks at it, says without smiling, “Yes, very stylish,” then, after a beat, “Also pre-approved for TSA Pre.”
What Does ‘6-7’ Mean? Maybe Tweens Don’t Want You to Know. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/s...
They don’t want you to know because it doesn’t mean anything!
They don’t want you to know because it doesn’t mean anything!
What Does ‘6-7’ Mean? Maybe Tweens Don’t Want You to Know.
www.nytimes.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:53 AM
What Does ‘6-7’ Mean? Maybe Tweens Don’t Want You to Know. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/s...
They don’t want you to know because it doesn’t mean anything!
They don’t want you to know because it doesn’t mean anything!
The big-hearted, the great-souled, the generous—these are being destroyed. Anger, recrimination, petty vindictiveness—these are the motives of the moment. Fifth circle sinners can’t even get to the top of the bottom.
November 18, 2025 at 4:03 AM
The big-hearted, the great-souled, the generous—these are being destroyed. Anger, recrimination, petty vindictiveness—these are the motives of the moment. Fifth circle sinners can’t even get to the top of the bottom.
At what point did critical thinking become sloppy jargon for paying attention?
November 17, 2025 at 7:57 PM
At what point did critical thinking become sloppy jargon for paying attention?
Given his emphasis on toughness, T, so I hear, is preparing a major new higher ed initiative that, instead of diversity and inclusion, which was so Obama after all, will feature offices of adversity and exclusion. Keep your eyes peeled for ‘em.
November 11, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Given his emphasis on toughness, T, so I hear, is preparing a major new higher ed initiative that, instead of diversity and inclusion, which was so Obama after all, will feature offices of adversity and exclusion. Keep your eyes peeled for ‘em.
AI and Literary Translation: A Global Consideration
I'm just back from the 48th annual ALTA conference, in Tucson, AZ, At the panel I participated in (thank you to co-panelists Lisa Bradford and Steve Bradbury!), Amy Stolls, formerly of the NEA, suggested that a short guide to the use of AI in…
I'm just back from the 48th annual ALTA conference, in Tucson, AZ, At the panel I participated in (thank you to co-panelists Lisa Bradford and Steve Bradbury!), Amy Stolls, formerly of the NEA, suggested that a short guide to the use of AI in…
AI and Literary Translation: A Global Consideration
I'm just back from the 48th annual ALTA conference, in Tucson, AZ, At the panel I participated in (thank you to co-panelists Lisa Bradford and Steve Bradbury!), Amy Stolls, formerly of the NEA, suggested that a short guide to the use of AI in literary translation might be helpful to, as she put it, "people like me," especially when approached by funders, publishers, and others wondering about its impact and potential uses.
russellv.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:24 PM
AI and Literary Translation: A Global Consideration
I'm just back from the 48th annual ALTA conference, in Tucson, AZ, At the panel I participated in (thank you to co-panelists Lisa Bradford and Steve Bradbury!), Amy Stolls, formerly of the NEA, suggested that a short guide to the use of AI in…
I'm just back from the 48th annual ALTA conference, in Tucson, AZ, At the panel I participated in (thank you to co-panelists Lisa Bradford and Steve Bradbury!), Amy Stolls, formerly of the NEA, suggested that a short guide to the use of AI in…
He doesn’t care if people have a heart attack, so why would he care if people starve?
November 8, 2025 at 6:01 AM
He doesn’t care if people have a heart attack, so why would he care if people starve?
ALTA48 has been great, but it is tiring me out!
November 8, 2025 at 5:26 AM
ALTA48 has been great, but it is tiring me out!
T’s like, what, no marble? No gold? And you’re the Emperor? Come on! And Emperor is like, normally I might actually be sitting on the floor.
November 4, 2025 at 2:40 AM
T’s like, what, no marble? No gold? And you’re the Emperor? Come on! And Emperor is like, normally I might actually be sitting on the floor.
After painstaking research, I’ve come to suspect Giovanni & Francesco da Sebenico, recorded as working on the refurbishment of the clock tower in the cathedral of my grandfather‘s Italian hometown in the 16th century, may’ve been Ivan (or Jovan) & Frane of Šibenik, & they might be my relatives. 
October 18, 2025 at 4:39 AM
After painstaking research, I’ve come to suspect Giovanni & Francesco da Sebenico, recorded as working on the refurbishment of the clock tower in the cathedral of my grandfather‘s Italian hometown in the 16th century, may’ve been Ivan (or Jovan) & Frane of Šibenik, & they might be my relatives. 
Linguists talk about high- and low-context languages, by which they mean languages that rely more on context than on grammatical markers for meaning. Authors can be like this. Chekhov, for instance, is a high-context author.
October 14, 2025 at 2:57 AM
Linguists talk about high- and low-context languages, by which they mean languages that rely more on context than on grammatical markers for meaning. Authors can be like this. Chekhov, for instance, is a high-context author.
Profascist or antifascist
October 13, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Profascist or antifascist
Which members of the Nobel selection committee for literature read Hungarian, I wonder?
October 9, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Which members of the Nobel selection committee for literature read Hungarian, I wonder?
