In the first novel Raymond Williams ever published, Border Country (1960), he describes the annual Eisteddfod of the fictional Welsh… Read more Raymond Williams’s Communicative Ideal
On the Far Right, Plain Speaking and Political Correctness
The mainstream press often observe that, unlike most Westminster politicians, spokesmen of far-right parties like UKIP and the BNP are… Read more On the Far Right, Plain Speaking and Political Correctness
On James Parker’s Prose Style
James Parker’s recent article on Joe Strummer in The Atlantic features one of the finest opening paragraphs I have ever… Read more On James Parker’s Prose Style
Nonstop You
The BBC reports that a combination of CCTV, facial recognition technology and radio frequency identification are paving the way for… Read more Nonstop You
Eloquent Silences
Corey Robin has written a genuinely wonderful response to James Wood’s review of Greg Bellow’s new memoir. Wood himself has… Read more Eloquent Silences
Orpheus Song
The Standing Men and Women of Taksim
Once there was a man who stood below the sun and hurled his eyes aloft. At first he lasted… Read more The Standing Men and Women of Taksim
Lars Iyer’s Misreading of Badiou
In many ways Alain Badiou and Lars Iyer constitute the existential extremities of the present political conjuncture. Where the latter… Read more Lars Iyer’s Misreading of Badiou
Raymond Williams and Derrida
Thanks to a friend of mine, I recently discovered this invaluable series of videos of Raymond Williams, filmed at a… Read more Raymond Williams and Derrida
Proust: In Search of the Present
I noted long ago a common misconception about Proust’s À la Recherche du Temps Perdu. Put simply, people seem to… Read more Proust: In Search of the Present
Seamus Heaney on Life and Death in Larkin and Yeats
As I try to fight off a fairly unpleasant bout of flu, I turned last night to an old essay… Read more Seamus Heaney on Life and Death in Larkin and Yeats
More than Nothing: Kevin Bacon’s “Bacon Number”
A new craze is surging across the internet: “The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”. According to Wikipedia, it is “a… Read more More than Nothing: Kevin Bacon’s “Bacon Number”
From the Archive
On Learning a Language On Rilke and Love On Autumn Derrida and Literarity The Condition of Mediocrity I hope you… Read more From the Archive
Q. D. Leavis on J. G. Ballard
I came across this quotation last week in an essay by Francis Mulhern. Q. D. Leavis thinks she’s describing the… Read more Q. D. Leavis on J. G. Ballard
The Ideology of Form: Boyle’s Opening Ceremony
Of Aristotle’s six elements of tragedy, spectacle was the least important, plot the most. Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony was devoid… Read more The Ideology of Form: Boyle’s Opening Ceremony
The Concept of Totality in Lukács and Jameson
For anyone who’s interested in the work of György Lukács or Fredric Jameson, I’ve just uploaded a draft version of… Read more The Concept of Totality in Lukács and Jameson
Fredric Jameson: The Antinomies of Realism (Excerpt)
For anyone who is in any way passionate about the work of Fredric Jameson, this will be an absolute treat:… Read more Fredric Jameson: The Antinomies of Realism (Excerpt)
On Two Types of Plot
Of all the elements of tragedy, said Aristotle, plot is the most important: [F]or tragedy is a representation, not of… Read more On Two Types of Plot
Kindle Single Review: Dean Koontz, The Moonlit Mind
I suspect the key to Dean Koontz’s popularity can be summed up in two words which happen to be the… Read more Kindle Single Review: Dean Koontz, The Moonlit Mind
Terry Eagleton on Alain de Botton’s Conservative Atheism
Terry Eagleton has written a ‘review’ of Alain de Botton’s latest book, Religion for Atheists. In typical Eagleton style, it… Read more Terry Eagleton on Alain de Botton’s Conservative Atheism
Thinking Blue Guitars 