“At a time when man was still at the initial stages of his civilisation and his thought had not yet consciously come to serve objective truth, the resort to myth was the only way to supply an answer to the questions which exercised him.” — M. Stavropoulou Hermes was a god in Ancient Greek mythology… Continue reading A prophet of discourse — what would Hermes make of digital communication?
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
“Do I really need to read classics?” For many years, even despite having majored in literature, my answer would have been a simple “no”. My initial experience with classics was similar to that of many others; they were forced down my throat in high school and made me occasionally question whether I liked reading at… Continue reading Do you really need to read the classics?
Part memoir, part obituary-of-sorts dedicated to Arundhati Roy’s late mother, Mary Roy, this somewhat holy yet unorthodox text, Mother Mary Comes to Me, redefines motherhood, all the while reforming the memoir genre. Bound by a ruby red cover and veiled with a half sleeve fashioning Roy’s portraits in young adulthood and now, this text underlines… Continue reading Mother Mary Comes to Me — the memoir redefining motherhood
For as long as we can recall, philosophers, poets and scientists alike have grappled with the seemingly impossible task of defining the essence of love, and as an extension of this the essence of humanity. We now live in a society where technology is entrenched in our everyday lives and the question is taking on… Continue reading What it means to love — humanity and artificial intelligence in Klara and the Sun
There are times when I think of Monet, not the artist immortalised on posters and tote bags, but the man standing knee-deep in mud beside the Seine, brush trembling in cold fingers on an autumn morning much like this one. The sting of rejections whirling through his mind, and the quiet ache of believing in… Continue reading Monet and the cost of creation
Throughout 2025, mostly thanks to the film A Complete Unknown hitting cinemas and a further exploration of his career, there has been a rekindling of interest in Bob Dylan. A whole new generation of youngsters has discovered that nasally voiced, mysterious Jewish boy who roamed Greenwich Village in the folk clubs and coffeehouses all those… Continue reading The politics of Dylan
At the turn of the new millennium, the world held its breath in fear of the Y2K bug. Would a computer be able to differentiate the year 2000 from 1900? Twenty-five years on, technology has become more advanced, smaller and more innovative than ever seen before. The internet now fits in your pocket, you can… Continue reading Turning back time — why Gen Z are returning to analogue tech
There are nights when the rain sounds like it’s trying to speak to me. It taps on the window in hesitant rhythms, as if unsure whether I’m listening. I slip into my darkroom with a roll of film in my pocket, nothing remarkable, just small moments I wasn’t sure were worth remembering, and close the… Continue reading Hopper and the art of being alone
As someone who grew up feeling “uncool”, whatever that entails, to see Cameron Crowe brand himself with that very title seems paradoxical. Nobody had a coming-of-age like his. Crowe spent his formative years engulfed by his boundless love for music, something I relate to myself. Crowe’s passion for music propelled him into the intoxicating world… Continue reading An elixir of rock and roll — Cameron Crowe’s The Uncool
