Culture
When public is personal
Light shines through the banner so that you have to stand back and take time to read the words printed in white. Big words. Spiral, by Elizabeth Burns, is “perhaps the UK’s largest printed poem”,…
Don’t shoot the messenger: violence and language
“If you want peace then you have to be prepared to step into the line of fire and fight for it”: Loki the Rapper on his (controversial for him) new role in helping Scotland’s Violence…
Submission: a scepticism that questions scepticism
Michel Houellebecq, ever controversial, imagines France shunning centre-left and -right and voting for an Islamic republic to defeat Marine Le Pen’s Front National. A piquant review of an acerbic novel on the limits of liberalism.
Bold Reekie: a poetry slam with a difference
Big words, bigger picture, fine detail. A grand scheme for poetry writ large on a scaffolding banner on a building site in Edinburgh’s Canongate reveals the more adventurous side of the capital city. If you…
Landscapes of Communism: the Soviet Union’s architectural legacy
What might a non-capitalist architecture look like? Owen Hatherley’s Landscapes of Communism takes a tour through the architectural legacy of the Soviet Union.
Injustice: why social inequality still persists
Danny Dorling’s magisterial analysis (2009) of inequality has been republished in a revised edition and, as this review underlines, the gap between rich and poor has widened. What can we do? A lot..
Whispers behind the scenes at Edinburgh Festival
Freedom of expression is at the heart of culture but is increasingly coming under threat. This was explored on the Fringe at the recent festival in Edinburgh – and deserves to be examined in greater…
Culture, class and connections in Scotland
Darren McGarvey, aka ‘Loki’, a Glasgow-based hip hop singer/rapper, performer, community activist and writer discusses Scottish culture, how class manifests itself within it and what difference a Yes vote might (not) have made.
Scottish TV channel could be non-starter
Nicola Sturgeon’s call for a dedicated Scottish TV channel is a good idea and has been widely welcomed but there are plenty of obstacles in its way – such as who runs it and who…
Poetically challenged: satirical lines on party leaders
Corbynmania has spawned a book of dedicated poems but what of other political figures? Fay Young casts an acerbic and affectionate eye over other political poems, including Ron Butlin’s ode to Tony Blair.
Modernity and Hogg’s Confessions of a justified sinner
One of the highlights of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival is undoubtedly a new production of Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified Sinner, which runs between August 19 and 22.
