Afterimage
The bedroom seemed lighter than usual, much to her annoyance. It was past two in the morning, full dark, and the only light in the room was that which seeped through the gaps in the curtains from the streetlamp outside the window. Adam hated those chinks of light, always reminded her to switch to bl
Amazon Review, Reviewed
In 2010, historian Orlando Figes was revealed to have written reviews of his and his colleagues’ work under various pseudonyms. He described a book by Robert Service as “curiously dull” and “hard to follow”, while characterising his own prose as “beautifully written … [it] leave
One Way Ticket To Mars
“My mum doesn’t just want me to explode in the middle of the atmosphere – and nor do I! That would be bad.” In January 2014, Laurel Kaye found out that she had been shortlisted for a one-way trip to Mars. The Duke University student is no stranger to travelling: she was studying on her [&hel
On the Campaign Trail with UKIP
“There’s a woman who uses asparagus to see the future and she knows who’s gonna win.” Jim’s cancerous throat wheezes out this barely comprehensible sentence. It’s three weeks before the general election and I’m having gammon and shandy with a local UKIP faction in the West Midlands. I
How to Talk to Ghosts
The road narrows between two hedgerows and, as the cab slows, a red-brick manor house comes into view. I have arrived at Arthur Findlay College, the UK’s premier educational institution for psychic mediums, to attend the college’s annual Open Week. I am met at reception by Minister Steven Upton
A Kurd in Cowley
Cowley Road, Oxford, five in the evening. Behind the bright green walls and electric blue shutters of the Greece Greek Taverna, a Kurdish family group sits down to a modest selection of traditional meze dishes, a daily routine before the restaurant opens for business. Though there is a well-establis
Vorticism: The Fascist Art Movement?
As the title of its manifesto Blast! might suggest, Vorticism was a movement born out of opposition. Wyndham Lewis formed Vorticism at his workshop, the aptly named Rebel Art Centre, following a feud with Roger Fry and his Omega Workshop. Ezra Pound, who named and supported Vorticism, became involve
Company
He and his father had the same name, so it wasn’t really necessary for him to cross out the name on the luggage tag and re-write his own, but still, he felt as if he should. He was searching through his briefcase for a pen, so he didn’t notice the little girl standing next to […]
The Aesthetics of Nostalgia
A man in a voluminous fur coat riding a child’s scooter rolls towards the camera in slow motion. Behind him, a crowd of people decked out in hipster kitsch follow on bicycles, rollerblades, and rolling office chairs. This is the opening shot of the music video for ‘Thrift Shop’, Macklemore &am