Silvia Park’s debut novel looks like a cautionary tale about ai, but at its core is inherently human. I was initially very surprised to learn that Korean author Silvia Park’s debut novel Luminous was initially intended to be a children’s book. Most children’s books do not feature intimate scenes between police officers and robots in… Continue reading Luminous — an accidentally timely tale
From Nazi Germany to the Pinochet regime in Chile, the burning of books has been a potent symbol of authoritarian control, cultural repression, and the systematic elimination of dissent. While the act of burning books might seem extreme, it is a deliberate and strategic move by fascist regimes to consolidate power and eliminate any threats… Continue reading Why fascists burn books: a history of censorship and control
Founded in 1969 by Richard Kuper, Pluto Press emerged in London as a publishing house committed to challenging dominant political ideologies and fostering activism. Pluto Press quickly gained traction by advocating for Trotskyist and Marxist viewpoints and supporting the broader revolutionary left. Over the years, it has evolved into one of the world’s most influential… Continue reading Pluto Press: a legacy of radical publishing and activism
In an age where literature often feels confined to the pages of books and the walls of academia, London Literary Tours emerges as a vibrant antidote. Led by passionate guides Mike Carter and Cindy Lawford, this unique venture invites literary enthusiasts to explore the city through the eyes of its greatest writers, weaving together their… Continue reading London Literary Tours: embark on an unforgettable journey through the city’s literary soul
The United States has become a nation divided over important issues in K-12 education, including which books students should be able to read in public school. Efforts to ban books from school curricula, remove books from libraries and keep lists of books that some find inappropriate for students are increasing as Americans become more polarized in their views. These… Continue reading Is book banning in the US unconstitutional?
When OceanGate, the deep-sea exploration enterprise, created a promotional video for its ill-fated US$250,000-per-head trip to see the wreck of the Titanic, it told prospective passengers to “Get ready for what Jules Verne could only imagine – a 12,500-foot journey to the bottom of the sea.” Those behind the video hoped viewers would recognize the… Continue reading Classic literature still offers rich lessons about life in the deep blue sea
Imagine a world where we knew the name of Homer, but the poetry of The Odyssey was lost to us. That was the world of the early Italian Renaissance during the second half of the 15th century. Many people knew the names of some early poets of Italian literature – those who were active during the 13th… Continue reading How a lost manuscript revealed the first poets of Italian literature
Knife is Salman Rushdie’s account of how he narrowly survived an attempt on his life in August 2022, in which he lost his right eye and partial use of his left hand. The attack ironically came when Rushdie was delivering a lecture on “the creation in America of safe spaces for writers from elsewhere”, at… Continue reading In Knife, Salman Rushdie confronts a world where liberal principles like free speech are old-fashioned
William Blake’s Universe, the new (free) exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, is a celebration of work by the Romantic artist, writer and visionary. Famous now but little known in his lifetime, Blake (1757-1827) has been given star billing by Tate Britain recently. But at the Fitzwilliam, he is made to share the spotlight… Continue reading William Blake exhibition: making a European out of the poet and artist who never left England
There is a striking photo, taken in 2015, of a deactivated nuclear missile at an air and space museum in Tucson, Arizona. Written in dust on this missile are the words, “Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds”. These words, from the Sanskrit scriptural text the Bhagavad Gita, are famously attributed to J… Continue reading ‘Now I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds’ – the Bhagavad Gita explained
