Kona Macphee (Bloodaxe Books, 2013); pbk, £8.95. Kona Macphee’s What Long Miles forms a genuinely intriguing collection. Her approach to poetry is most accurately described as experimental. Macphee fluctuates between strict poetic forms and free verse, and aptly too, for her poems’ themes also range widely. This diversity initially appears to demonstrate her skilful shaping Read More
Pauline Stainer (Bloodaxe Books, 2013); pbk, £8.95. And when the sun lifts over bus lane and urban foxes a kind of giddiness overcomes me… These lines, from Pauline Stainer’s poem “Primrose Hill Druids”, evoke the dizzying sense of spiritual connection explored in her latest collection, Tiger Facing the Mist. Stainer is a gifted and prolific Read More
(USA, 2013) 17-30 May, DCA. For those expecting Star Trek Into Darkness to be a big screen action blockbuster, director J.J. Abrams does not disappoint. From the opening scenes until the credits roll, impressive visuals flash past at break-neck speed accompanied by a suitably grandiose soundtrack. While the performances match the visuals, an over-complicated plot Read More
Sophia Wellbeloved (Waterloo Press, 2011); pbk, £10. No writer is well served by effusive or uncritical praise. If we are to believe the introduction to Sophia Wellbeloved’s four-part poem Praying for Flow, her handling of words is “[l]ike Neruda’s”. Her poetic voice “may not even be hers”, but her dead twin’s, or that of her Read More
(USA, 2012) 17 – 30 May 2013, DCA. Described by many as a “‘coming of age” story, Jeff Nichols’ latest film, Mud follows two teenage boys, Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and his friend Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) who travel up river to discover the wreckage of a boat that had been lodged high up in the trees Read More
(UK, 2013) 10 May – 16 May 2013, DCA. “Dolphins pulling knickers off girls, for goodness’ sake – what’s not to like?” This line, delivered without a hint of irony by Paul Raymond (Steve Coogan), encapsulates the lifestyle which Michael Winterbottom’s latest film portrays: sex, class, and money, all somehow indistinguishable from empty kitsch. The Read More
Sara Sheridan (Polygon, 2013); hdbk, £16.99. “Very few of us are what we seem,” according to Agatha Christie. This statement expresses the tension between the way that English golden-age detective fiction is popularly understood and what it actually has to say about polite society. The line, on the one hand, has the air of homely Read More
(France, 2011) 26 April- 2 May, DCA. Since 1995’s blistering La Haine (a sort of Never Mind the Bollocks for the diverse alienated Parisian youth of the 1990s),French writer/director MathieuKassowitz’s output has been marked by an almost obstinate deviation from the anarchistic themes of his debut. Rebellion (L’ordre et la morale) marks a return of Read More
This year’s Digital Interaction Design students are exhibiting their work withProduct Design under the banner of Social Digital. Visitors unfamiliar with the course would not be blamed for finding its title a little confusing when compared to more established disciplines such as Architecture or Illustration. Visitors are probably more accustomed to technologies used in the DJCAD projects, including websites, Read More
Previously isolated on floor 3 of the Matthew Building, the new entrance to DJCAD now makes Time Based Art the first studio reached while exploring this year’s degree show. The show is small – eleven pieces, and a projector showcasing work from other years. Despite its small size, however, there is a broad range of Read More