Game, Set, Match
Routinely reviled by contemporary critics as a celebration of misogyny, ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ is among Shakespeare’s most misunderstood plays.
Marilyn Simon
· 12 min read
Art and Culture
A collection of 758 posts
The Masks We Wear; The Faces We Present
A new exhibition at London’s Museum of the Mind explores the personality masks worn by the mentally ill and by the professionals who treat them.
Hannah Gal
· 8 min read
A Jolly Good Scoundrel
Three Cheers for Harry Flashman!
Graham Daseler
· 15 min read
A Universe of Fizzled Stars
Is failure to succeed as bad as the fall from success?
Thomas Larson
· 11 min read
Thoughtful Aesthete or Cheerful Philistine?
On art, artists, and the divided soul of comedian Russell Kane.
Robin Ashenden
· 9 min read
Do We Still Need a Women’s Prize for Fiction?
It is time to consider retiring awards segregated by the sex of the author.
Josh Allan
· 7 min read
Paul Was Dead Right
Reappraising one of British journalism’s most notorious pieces of cultural criticism.
George Case
· 6 min read
“Be Vigilant, America”
Two forgotten films from 1942 about Japanese internment offer a window into the shameful nativism of wartime America.
Thomas Doherty
· 10 min read
Re-Genesis
Nostalgia cannot rescue rock and roll.
Simon Evans
· 13 min read
Monks and Murder
Modern literary master William Kotzwinkle returns after a lengthy absence to serve up a double Bloody Martini.
Kevin Mims
· 18 min read
Words Are the Only Victors
Salman Rushdie’s new novel is a powerful reminder of his vital role in the endless battle for free speech.
Christian Kriticos
· 11 min read
A Conspiracy Theory of Connotations
The obsessive policing of language in the name of progress relies on magical thinking.
Oliver Traldi
· 7 min read
Heidegger’s Downfall
Richard Wolin’s reappraisal of Martin Heidegger offers both original contributions and a synthesis of critical scholarship. The result is a timely work of enduring importance.
Jeffrey Herf
· 18 min read
Roald Dahl and the Ethics of Art
The urge to censor is based on a misunderstanding of what makes literature valuable.
Iona Italia
· 11 min read
Aristotle (and the Stoics): An Interview with John Sellars
A new book by John Sellars explores the life’s work and extraordinary legacy of the man he has provocatively called “the single most important human being ever to have lived.”
Riley Moore
· 20 min read