Letter to the Isis: #1
The existence of an academic elite at Oxford can never be justified unless it is open to students of every background – The Isis, October 1978. This is a statement made in the first article of the 1,684th edition of The Isis, and despite being published nearly forty years ago, it still rings painf
An interview with Daniel Levin, author of “Nothing But A Circus”
When you read a non fiction book featuring a long line of dubious characters, hilariously ignorant and incompetent, yet holding vital positions of power all the same–quite like the characters in a political satire like HBO’s VEEP–you know that the man behind it all would make for a fasc
Post-Brexit Theatre: An Interview with Jeremy Herrin
As the initial outrage over Brexit begins to simmer, the Arts community remain among the most outspoken critics of the decision to leave the European Union. It’s no secret that the majority of the cultural sector voted to remain; a poll of the Creative Industries Federation members put this at a s
“I call myself an artist that writes with poetry”: An Interview with Robert Montgomery
I pick up the phone to Robert Montgomery and start speaking in the same manner as I would to someone I have known for years. ‘Hey, how are you? Have you had a really busy week?’ I ask him, rather abruptly. He humours me, and decides to talk me through his schedule that week. ‘I’ve […]
“Stop right now, if you can”: Interview with Clive James
Clive James is an Australian critic, poet, novelist and memoirist, best known for his television reviews and the autobiographical series ‘Unreliable Memoirs’. One of the most distinctive wits of the last century, he once described Barbara Cartland’s heavily-mascaraed eyes as resembling “two
‘Prophesy, Darkness, Play’: An Interview with Max Porter
“A is to B what C is to A plus B less C. Lovely.” This is the family dynamic of Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, Max Porter’s debut novel, a slim book ostensibly about the “grief” of its title. Yet things are not quite as they seem: a dead mum has been replaced by […]
The walking people: an interview with an Irish Traveller
“The government thinks that everybody’s millionaires, like the people over there,” Sarah* tells me. She gestures out of her caravan window in the direction of the Prime Minister’s home constituency, Witney. “David Cameron is living on a high stool just down there. He’s saying he’s help
“If they see you, they shoot”: An Interview with a North Korean Defector
‘If they see you, they shoot’. Jung tells me about the soldiers stationed every 60 metres along the border he crossed to leave North Korea. ‘My mother was very afraid to leave’ he says, and it is not hard to see why. I meet Jung in a coffee shop in the heart of Seoul, just […]
“Writing’s such a labour-intensive way of attention-seeking. It doesn’t really make any sense.”: An Interview with Will Self
First published in 2001 Ex-drug addict, novelist, short story writer, social commentator, journalist, permanent occupier of The Eye’s Pseud’s Corner, Julie Burchill and Bret Easton Ellis’ best mate, Tom Hill talkes to former Isis cartoonist and his bitter-sweet idol Will Self. Why shoul