John School: A New ‘Cure’ For The World’s Oldest Profession
Cynthia is talking to a room of men about her first husband. She married him for a kilo of crack cocaine, only to, only to discover he was a hit man. While they were married she was shot twice – the second time landing her in a coma for three months. It was then that […]
“If I write about destruction it’s because I’m terrified of it”: An Interview with Geoffrey Hill
Six decades ago, when he was an undergraduate at Keble, The ISIS published some of Sir Geoffrey Hill’s earliest works. Today, he is the author of over a dozen books of poems and literary criticism. On the evening following his penultimate lecture as Oxford Professor of Poetry, Hill spoke to us
Prudish Republic: Sexual Repression in China
One night in 2005, the Nanjing police arrived at a gathering at the house of an academic; they came by night, their purpose unstated but obvious. It’s unclear for how long his activities had been known to the authorities, but the academic no doubt crossed a line when he publicly solicited the coop
“Parents would rather have a tomboy than a sissy”: An Interview with Grayson Perry (2004)
Grayson Perry has been in the news a lot recently, not just for winning Britain’s most prestigious art prize, but also because of that dress. As ever, the public has been curious about men in frocks, but this time, and for the first time since Eddie Izzard graced the stage in a leather skirt, we [
Mariella
There are parts, or rather, there is a part of London in which new-born babies are named after ancient gods and goddesses, and dogs after luxury cars; where homeowners carve out subterranean gullies to make way for their domestic spas; and where the staff at the local pub wince at the sight of the s
‘The Frog’ by James Fenton
A frog hunts on land by vision. He escapes Enemies mainly by seeing them. His eyes Do not move, as do ours, to follow prey, Attend suspicious events, or search For things of interest. If his body changes Its position with respect to gravity or the whole Visual world is rotated around him Then he [&h
Truth, Justice and the American Way: The secret politics of the superhero
In 1912, a socialist revolutionary named Iosif Dzhugashvili penned an article in the St Petersburg based newspaper Pravda under the pseudonym ‘Stalin’. Operating under various different names during his lifetime, it was neither his first nor his favourite alias, but it was to prove the most endu
John Stezaker: The Future of Photography
The Photographer’s Gallery is tucked away behind the bustle of Oxford Street, a converted warehouse hosting three floors of gallery space. It is, it proudly boasts, the largest public gallery in London dedicated entirely to photography, and an institution “instrumental in establishing photograph
‘Angina Pectoris’ by Graham Greene
A Fragment ‘But Doctor,’ he was saying in his sleep, And turned a petulant head upon the pillow; ‘But Doctor, any day? —a cry, a fall, Surfeit of food, a bath too hot— And once I thought to end with dignity, A trumpet crying out behind the hill, Wet feet that pass through murmu