Against Dilettantes
The reason these books endure and will be read long after the writers of littérature engagée harping on a string of fashionable social trends are ridiculed and forgotten, is their aesthetic impact.
Elena Shalneva
Elena Shalneva writes about books, film, and culture. Her work has appeared in Standpoint, City AM, and the Article.
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7 articles
Postmodernism: Some Corrections and Clarifications
Compared to the titans of modernism, postmodernists—despite a handful of interesting thinkers like Barthes and Derrida—are no more than garden gnomes.
In Defence of the Humanities
Scholars in the humanities are the bearers of the memory of civilisation, and their role in our society is indispensable.
The Purpose of Imaginative Fiction
“What’s it about?” is usually the first question we ask when someone recommends a new book, and it’s the wrong question.
That Elusive Feeling We Call Love
Love is irrational, intense and all-consuming—and we dream of being loved in return.
Work—the Tragedy of Our Age
The appeal of the material is very strong. But so will the rest of us one day regret living a manky, derivative life of office jobs and ignoring the fact that maybe there is something of Poe in each of us.
‘Girls Need Female Role Models’ and Other Bromides
We all need role models. Role models can do wonders to our lives. But, please, let’s choose them for their qualities—not their gender.