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&
WEEKLY ROUND UP: Truancy, Green Deal and Emojis
A little truancy goes a long way On Friday, thousands of British school kids are going to be on ‘school strike’ to protest against the government’s stoic resistance to effectively combating climate change. A plethora of other countries, including Australia, Belgium and The Netherlands, have al
Weekly Round Up: Divestment, Hate Crime and Shaggy Memes
Jussie Smollett Hate Crime The brutal attack on actor Jussie Smollett has been widely condemned as a hate crime – the attackers chanted ‘Make America Great Again’ as they put a noose around his neck – yet predictably, many have sought to deny the importance of Smollett’s sexuality in this
Gilette, Cardi B and Chechnya’s Anti-LGBT Purge
Some things never change. Brexit is still a shitshow, masculinity is still fragile and The ISIS team have decided that what they’ve got to say is worth sharing with you. We figured that it can be hard to keep up with the rapid pace of news and pop culture during the busy weekdays so we’v
Busybodies of the Small Town
My grandmother is eighty-one years old and hasn’t yet learned how to sit still. This afternoon she’s delivering poinsettias to a woman from her church whose husband is unwell, then going to the fruit shop, the deli, the butcher’s. She’s talking – in that current-quick way of hers ̵
Build-a-bear identities: the quest of finding home for the third-culture kid
“So where are you from?” Fresh-faced in a foreign country, the question pops up as frequently as you might imagine. Likewise, a definite answer usually follows. “I’m from [insert country here].” However, for the people who identify as a “third-culture kid” an answer would necessarily n