In Conversation with R.F. Kuang
“I describe it as Avatar: The Last Airbender if Azula was the main character and everyone was on drugs.” Blending Song dynasty culture with 20th century themes, grounded by grittiness and muddy morality, The Poppy War immediately became one of my favourite novels of 2018. Talking to author Rebec
On Kobe Bryant
Just over a week ago, Kobe Bryant died in a horrific helicopter accident. The world at large seems to shake and social media ‘in memoriams’ are plentiful. Justin Bieber recalls how Kobe ‘always encouraged’ him. Trump calls him ‘truly great’. Kendall Jenner’s grief ‘makes [her] feel m
Bruly Bouabré’s ways of seeing
Seven disembodied heads float in a circle, cheek-to-cheek, their chins pointing to a face in the middle. They look like old men: wrinkled foreheads, receding hairlines, long, drawn-out faces, and empty eyes staring out ahead. The shapes of their eyes, noses, mouths are crude and repetitive. This mig
Oxford joins the UCU strikes
Large crowds gather outside the Clarendon building on a cold Broad Street, sporting heavy coats and bold slogans. These are protesters, clustered in the rain to kick off eight days of strike action over the pay and teaching conditions of academic staff. Nationwide, sixty universities are participati
Frenzy Playlist
To be in a state of frenzy is to experience an extreme sense of disorientation, to struggle with a confused whirlwind of emotions, or simply to feel the unadulterated joy that can come with the unknown. This playlist hopes to capture these feelings alongside this term’s edition of The Isis. Fr
The Changing Face of Poetry
Mukahang Limbu is explaining to me why he writes poetry. “It can make you feel like you’re being heard. Coming from a marginalised background, and not having much representation in the literary canon, that can make you feel invisible. But being able to write yourself into that canon is reall
Manchester, the Met, and #MeToo
Just as #MeToo was gaining mainstream attention in late 2017, a petition was launched to remove one of Balthus’ most iconic portraits. The painting, Thérèse Dreaming (1938), depicts a young girl sitting with her underwear and groin area deliberately exposed. Her white underwear contrasts with th
The Politics of Urban Music
Taken from Teardrops: [Darcus Howe]: We have complained to the police about police and nothing’s been done, we have complained to judges about judges and nothing’s been done. Now it is time to do something ourselves. [Chorus] In love and war All is fair where I’m from The weak won&