My latest Substack post is about Oscar Wilde's short stories. I highlight how often these read like fables. And, considering that he's now regarded as a sort of martyr, I reflect on the sense of self-sacrifice pervading them. I also take a closer look at a couple of my favourites. Link in my bio. ✨️
My latest Substack post reflects on an iconic portrait of early-C19 England - Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray. Link in my bio. ✨️
My latest Substack post takes a look at artworks by Gwen John. I highlight how she brushed aside the constraints imposed by a male-dominated art world. And I reflect on how the technical flair of her early paintings morphed into the shimmering luminosity of her later masterpieces. Link in my bio. ✨️
My latest Substack post takes a look at Arundhati Roy's memoir, Mother Mary Comes To Me. I reflect on how it portrays her relationship with her mother; chronicles her journey from young architect to bestselling novelist; and bolsters her reputation as a liberated and radical voice. Link in my bio.
My latest Substack post reflects on a trip to Granada last summer. The main protagonist in my new novel is the Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca, so I visited places where the tragic last few days of his life played out. Link in my bio. ✨️
One of the main protagonists in my new novel is the Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca. In my latest Substack post, I answer some questions about Lorca posed by my daughter. Link in my bio. ✨️
My latest pair of Substack posts focus on the life/work of Keats.The first reflects on his poem The Eve of St Agnes. The second takes a look at Jane Campion's biopic Bright Star - which dramatises the last few years of Keats’ life. Links in my bio. ✨️
Are you a fan of Isabel Allende's novels? My latest Substack post reflects on one of her most iconic and visceral portraits of Latin American culture, The House of the Spirits. Link in my bio. ✨️
My latest Substack post looks at Degas’ depictions of dancers. I examine his style. And I highlight how his descent into blindness shaped his later work. I also look at claims he was a misogynist, and reflect on whether we these should trigger a reexamination of his legacy/life. Link in my bio. ✨️
My latest Substack post is about Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. I take a look at events and life experiences that inspired it; examine the complex personalities of the main characters; and reflect on core themes underpinning this magnificent and uniquely original play. Link in my bio.
My latest Substack post is about The Garden Party. It reflects on how this iconic short story exposes the self-centredness of the upper classes, and how it turns the protagonist's desire to comfort a grieving family into an epic tale as intense as the mythological journeys of old. Link in my bio.
My latest Substack post is about Peter Pan. It reflects on a tension at the heart of this story - the desire for the agency of adulthood versus the desire to stay connected to the playful innocence of childhood, and a related fear of growing up and growing old. Link in my bio. ✨️
My latest Substack post reflects on an iconic piece of modernist literature, The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot. Such a great poem! I take a look at how it critiques modern society/life, and the ways it pitches modernity against spirituality - against the sacred/divine. Link in my bio. ✨️
Are you a fan of Hilary Mantel's books? My latest Substack post reflects on her acclaimed novel, Wolf Hall. Link in my bio. ✨️
My latest Substack post reflects on the period of time, towards the end of his life, when Matisse put aside his paintbrushes and canvases to focus on creating expressive paper cut-outs. Love them! Link in my bio. ✨️
My latest Substack post reflects on the life and music of David Bowie. It looks at one of the most enigmatic and important phases of his career - his move to West Berlin during the late-1970s. Link in my bio.
My latest Substack post looks at a literary portrait of late-C19 New York - The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. It reflects on what this novel teaches us about marriage, romance, age-old tensions between the US and Europe, and ways that the society we're born in can imprison us. Link in my bio. ✨️
My latest Substack post reflects on the sculptures of Alberto Giacometti. Link in my bio. ✨️
My latest Substack post reflects on the novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. The madly ambitious array of characters. Its use of comic imagery and supernatural phenomena. How it weaves together comedy, tragedy, and history to reveal forces that have shaped Latin American cultures. Link in my bio. ✨️
Reread a biography of Gabriel García Márquez over the weekend. This section still shocks me! Can you imagine?!
When you dissolve into sunlight and shadows. ✨️
In my latest Substack post, I reflect on one of my favourite novels - The Outsider by Albert Camus. Parts of it are as viciously lucid as Graham Greene's tour de force, Brighton Rock, and I love how it jolts us out of self-contented apathy and forces us to look at ourselves afresh. Link in my bio. ✨️
My latest Substack post reflects on the life and work of the iconic fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. Love the theatricality of her designs! And her journey from anarchic punk to rebellious darling of the British establishment is so fascinating. Link in my bio. ✨️
I post short pieces about literature and art on Substack every Wednesday. My latest reflects on one of the most iconic plays of the 20th century - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams. Link in my bio. ✨️
Decided to read Robert Graves's candid WWI memoir, Goodbye To All That. Such a lucid chronicle of the mundane horror of war! The poem is A Dead Boche, which was inspired by his experiences at the Battle of the Somme. My grandfather was injured during WWI. Always think of him at this time of year. 🕊❤️
I post short pieces about literature and art on Substack every Wednesday. The latest reflects on the artworks of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Link in my bio. ✨️
I post short pieces about literature and art on Substack every Wednesday. My latest reflects on Sylvia Plath's iconic novel, 'The Bell Jar'. Link in my bio. ✨️
I post short pieces about literature and art on Substack every Wednesday. The latest reflects on the fiercely lucid poetry of Sylvia Plath. Link in my bio. ✨️
I post short pieces about literature and art on Substack every Wednesday. This week, I reflect on the artworks of Edward Burne-Jones. Link in my bio. ✨️
That's great to hear. Thanks, John!
