Culture
Diary of a social media junky
Social media all too often create a “cacophonous crescendo of confusion” among writers and audience alike. Loki, who’s sometimes sworn to go off it, takes a wry look at himself (and others) as he reaches…
Flying Scotsman: how Scottish is it?
There’s more to the recent Flying Scotsman restoration than its runs in the Borders and Fife. Its costs are huge. And it is not even all that Scottish.
Seize the day
Kathleen Jamie – you can listen to one of Scotland’s premier poets here – asks how many glorious May dawns she’s slept through as Spring bursts upon us and we head for the polls…
The ‘Scottification’ of literature: now and then
Kirsty Gunn has warned of the dangers of “Scottification” in public support for the arts in Scotland. But the issue is far from new. We look back at the House with Green Shutters and George…
Zaha Hadid’s radical geometries
Zaha Hadid’s untimely death deprives architecture of one its most belligerent, brilliant and fascinating talents at the height of her powers.
Paris Commune: transcendence of nationalism
In the second of an occasional series looking at the lively contemporary ‘postcapitalism’ debate about possibilities for a viable alternative to the current economic order, Justin Reynolds reviews a book charting the continued influence of…
Kert-wheeling alleluias
Never mind the meaning, sense the soundscape: dipping into the newly published Best Scottish Poems 2015, Fay Young gives up herself up to the rich world of sound via Edinburgh’s Shetlandic makar, Christine De Luca.
Consumers or citizens in fighting depression?
In the second part of his (self-) examination of mental health issues in Scotland Loki urges the citizen to take an existentialist approach: heal thyself by looking within. We are responsible; governments don’t or won’t…
City of astounding normality
The monumental ordinariness of Aberdeen makes it a city that is faceless or even anonymous. But its buildings should make us pause, look again and think of urban living.
Easter Rising, feminism, nationalism
On the centenary of the Easter Rising in Ireland politicians need to use its political imagery at their peril. Its lessons for nationalism as for fein ism are not unambiguous.
