How to Read a ‘Freak’: A Psychobiography of Diane Arbus
“What I do in the Arbus book is what a lot of biographers do, a lot less explicitly: I try making sense of the reasons why Arbus took the kinds of pictures she did. So, I examine the subjective—emotional, psychological—origins of her art,” William Todd Schultz, author of a new book on th
Julia Kristeva: An Intellectual Rebirth
In a recent talk on the subject of French Intellectuals, Noam Chomsky asserted that “France is an extremely insular culture… everything is in France; nothing is anywhere else”. He noted the particular status accorded to the French intelligentsia: “French intellectuals tend to be media st
On Furlough: Taking the Greyhound to Dallas
It was an oppressively sunny afternoon in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and I was scheduled to make a 15 hour Greyhound journey from Chucky’s Convenience Store on the outskirts of town to the bus terminal in Dallas, Texas. I had been warned half-jokingly by my American friends about taking the Greyhound
Phoolan Devi: The story of India’s Bandit Queen
On 12 May 1996, a young woman from the Mallah caste wins a seat in the Indian parliament. She has no formal education, and from the age of 11 has been repeatedly raped and abused by her older husband. But she is also a dacoit, leader of a band of armed robbers, the “Beautiful Bandit” […]
Hard to Stomach: Diary of an Extreme Vegan
“l consume all my urine,” Brian Nexus tells me. “It’s the third most powerful thing in my lifestyle [after] sungazing and meditation.” However this is far from the most unusual aspect of his diet—an extreme form of raw veganism known as ‘sproutarianism’. Raw vegans eschew all animal
“There’s a big hole where the left should be.” An interview with Nick Cohen
“This division of a left represented by Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and a right represented by Peter Hitchens: no one is like that in British society. It is a media creation. They’re equally contemptible, predictable, immune to evidence, what’s the point?” Nick Cohen is a journalist whose political
Lives in Three Lines: The Artistic Form of Tweets
“Two heads are better than one, reckoned Ndako, of Bosso. His nosy neighbors, who made him open the dripping bag, objected.” Over the past two years, novelist and art historian Teju Cole has tweeted hundreds of the curious, violent, often tragic stories found in the crime and metro sections of l
An afternoon with Oxford’s nudists
“Peggy, reach over and press the bubbles button, would you?” As the tub comes to life with a loud gurgle, Lenny begins to shake with laughter, causing the bubbles to spill over the edge. “The bubbles help out modest naturists who don’t want to have their bits on show!” Peggy and Lenny are
Laughter in the Dark: How Philip French Found Film
“I discovered almost everything through the cinema rather than, as it were, communing directly with nature and the society around me,” said Philip French, the Observer’s longstanding film critic, and former The ISIS editor, as he reminisces about how his love of films began. “It was a way to