Director Joanna Hogg is no stranger to depicting the destabilisation of familial bonds; it has been the subject of all three of her films since her debut Unrelated in 2007. Exhibition continues her exploration of the theme, dealing with the tense marriage of two artists known only as D (Viv Albertine) and H (Liam Gillick). Read More
Queer is the only way to accurately describe this novel. It is playful, bold, risqué, but ultimately, in my opinion, boring. The story takes off a few years after The Wizard of Oz ends; Dorothy has inexplicably and regretfully returned to Victorian USA from Oz and has been prostituting herself to raise funds to return Read More
In 2003, when Simon Jenner took up the reins of the long-established Survivors Poetry, there was tacit acceptance in some quarters that he was there to ensure that the organization’s death throes were fairly painless – except that Jenner was not complicit in that acceptance. Nor were the Chair, John O’Donoghue, or ACE (Arts Council Read More
Much of Maureen Duffy’s verse contrasts contemporary problems with how life used to be, such as during World War II or the Victorian era. Moreover, not only does her latest collection, Environmental Studies, betray her affinity for Greek mythology, it also reveals her favourite poets: John Milton and John Donne are frequently alluded to, or Read More
Sequels are a tricky business. The Raid 2: Berandal seems to subscribe to the “bigger is better” school of thought that hamstrings as many sequels as it helps. So, does The Raid 2 better its predecessor? Of course not. Is it worth your time? Absolutely, unless of course you’re of a nervous or squeamish disposition, Read More
Video footage from A DURA Evening of Poetry: Simon Jenner and W N Herbert Part 1: Publishing, Editing and Writing Poetry Part 2: Simon Jenner reading Part 3: W N Herbert reading Part 4: Q&A
With the Scottish referendum fast approaching, it is easy to forget that despite the Yes Scotland campaign’s claim that “the UK is the fourth most unequal country in the developed world”, there are those who remain far less fortunate than we. More than a decade after the success of his Oscar winning No Man’s Land, Read More
Yanick Lahens’ The Colour of Dawn is a poignant, brief novel set over twenty-four hours in the Haitian capital of Port au Prince, and narrated by two very different sisters whilst they await news of their missing political activist brother. The novel revolves around the two narrators Joyeuse and Angelique, and their mother Venante, who Read More
Liam Murray Bell’s second novel, The Busker, takes as its hero Rab Dillon, a Glasgow boy whose guitar might – just might – hold the key to his future. Rab’s journey, from the first thrills of success as a newly-signed political singer to his lowest ebb as a Brighton bum is conceptually solid. Drawing on Read More
Dangerous to Know is Patricia Brody’s second poetry collection, her first – American Desire – having won a 2009 New Women’s Voices Award. In Dangerous to Know, feminist Brody uncovers literature’s hidden women; Dorothy Wordsworth, Anne Donne and many more,”the women we’ve been taught to forget”, who wrote their journals and diaries while their male Read More