As a university lecturer whose research and teaching examine the philosophical relevance of religion, I have been struck by the way in which critical discussion often reduces religious discourse to issues of psychology, science or morality. To interpret the relevance of religious scripture through these disciplines is tantamount to saying that religion is merely a Read More
For those interested in an account of the ways in which capitalism has made our lives miserable, J. D. Taylor’s Negative Capitalism: Cynicism in the Neoliberal Era will not disappoint. However, the book is not simply a tirade; it aims to spur the reader to reject current conditions of work and existence in favour of Read More
Morag Muir is a remarkably prolific artist who has demonstrated over the past 30 years her dedication to art. She has managed the difficult feat of balancing a focused and contagious enthusiasm for painting with a supportive attitude to other artists’ creativity, and a careful tending of her family. For a time she also held Read More
Reviewing Roger Scruton’s recent book Our Church, the historian Diarmaid MacCulloch found against it, and in interesting terms: ‘A similar historical farrago of half-truths and wishful thinking,’ he said, ‘helped convert TS Eliot to high church Anglicanism in the 1920s’ (Guardian, 22.06.2013). The present volume of Eliot’s letters covers precisely the moment of this conversion. But Read More
“Only the story knows the when and the where of it. It makes an offer: enter the myth and it’s yours. We can make our lives from the story.” Clarke, Honey The National Poet of Wales took to her podium, in a cavernous, half-filled space, flanked and dwarfed by two large textile artworks. Her task was Read More
On the Friday night at StAnza, the distinguished Canadian translator and poet Erin Moure was paired to read with the first US winner of the TS Eliot Prize, Mark Doty. Moure’s work, influenced by post-structuralism, challenges many poetic norms, splitting and interrupting words and language. She opened with her translations of, and responses to, the Read More
The dust is setting around The Byre Theatre after its sudden liquidation last month, and a passionate and dedicated community in St Andrews can, at the very least, congratulate themselves on bringing the battle for its future to national attention. With The Byre about to enter its 80th year, the livelihoods of its tireless workforce Read More
New Writing Dundee is an annual collection of literature compiled by “Literary Dundee” from works submitted by both published and unpublished authors. The end result is an eclectic mix of poetry, short prose, extracts from novels, and essays. The seventh volume of New Writing Dundee opens and also ends with the engaging “Wendell’s Story”, a Read More
A Fine Madness is a collection of prose-poetry portraying the experiences and political awakenings of a soldier during the 1998 Congo war. The collection is based on the author’s own writings, composed during his time as a combatant. Mashingaidze Gomo joined the Airforce of Zimbabwe in 1984, beginning a twenty-three year military career as an Read More
This interview with Sara Sheridan and Lin Anderson took place on 26 October 2012. Having recently completed my Ph.D. on contemporary Scottish crime fiction, and having written a review of Sheridan’s latest novel for DURA (http://www.dura-dundee.org.uk/Fiction/belle.html), I was delighted to have the opportunity to ask the two authors a few questions about perceptions of crime Read More