60 year since the death of Thomas Mann
The writer Thomas Mann died sixty years ago in Zurich. Since that time his reputation as a major figure in... View Article
The Portmanteau Press
If the latest portmanteau is to be taken seriously – Grexit, a combination of the words Greece and exit referring... View Article
Review of ‘Oppenheimer’ by Tom Morton-Smith, RSC, Swan Theatre
How do we depict the past? One way is to travel along the byways of hindsight, to remember with knowing... View Article
What are stories worth: a quick note
I recently read an article by Lincoln Allison titled Are Novels a Waste of Life?. The question of the title... View Article
Review of ‘So Long, See You Tomorrow’ by William Maxwell
In Virginia Woolf’s experimental novel The Waves, the wistful Bernard reflects “I have lost friends, some by death […] others... View Article
The Wedded Rocks of Japan
If one abides by mythology, the islands of Japan were born of the spirits Izanagi and Izanami in a moment... View Article
What is Abstration in Art?
One story that left an impression on me who was the tale of the mapmakers as told by Jorge Luis... View Article
The Curious Intonation of Adam Curtis
In his recent film Bitter Lake about the recent history of Afghanistan, Adam Curtis tells us we all need stories... View Article
Serif: Lettering With Style?
To serif or not to serif? The small projecting barbs on the ends of letters that indicate more than mere... View Article
Max Slevogt’s “Visions” at Leicester’s New Walk Gallery
I recently had the pleasure of visiting the New Walk Museum & Art Gallery in Leicester. Enjoying this very fine... View Article
A few words on writing short stories
Recently I’ve been thinking about what impels me to write the type of short stories I write….. so here are... View Article
Point of View: Why I’d rather be a writer than a politician
What do we hear when a politician speaks? What do we expect to hear? Whatever we think about the political... View Article
Review of “BBC Four Goes Abstract: When Art Broke Free”
Does it matter if an abstract painting is hung the wrong way up? This question is not as facetious as... View Article
One Film I Wish I Could See (but probably never will)
Before the internet, you had to go much greater lengths to hunt things down. Libraries were held in higher regard... View Article
A strange case of Durdle Dor
We spent the weekend in on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset, there with some friends on what appears to... View Article
Review of ‘Candide’ Adapted by Mark Ravehill, RSC, Swan Theatre
Anyone who is familiar with Voltaire’s satirical classic Candide will recall the calamitous, if not frankly pernicious, series of trials... View Article
Review of Marat/Sade at the RSC
In his 1938 book The Theatre and Its Double (Le Théâtre et son Double) , French dramatist and actor Antonin... View Article
Review of “False Warnings” by Rita Gabrowska, at Gallery 150
There was a time when abstract painting was all the rage. Perhaps never quite de rigueur, but in a more... View Article
Mischievous Folk: “What the folk say” at Compton Verney
Compton Verney has raided its own collection of folk art in an attempt to open up its collection to new... View Article
Review of public artwork: “Spring” by Oliver Barratt
Oliver Barratt’s sculpture, Spring, is a bright and fulsome tribute to the influence of water. Its signature is the uninterrupted... View Article