Last autumn, I asked Kei Miller for the names of contemporary Jamaican writers he thought I ought to read. The first name on his lips was Marlon James. I bought The Book of Night Women and A Brief History of Seven Killings, but as is the way of many good intentions, both titles overwintered unread Read More
Back cover blurbs may be accurate but they can also be misleading. Loop of Jade is described as an exploration “of a dual heritage” – Chinese and British – a “journeying back… in search of her roots”. My heart sank a little. Without diminishing the importance of such endeavours, the intervening three decades of identity Read More
Open studios and exhibitions staged outside traditional white-walled gallery spaces are invariably more welcoming than those occurring within institutional confines. Enjoying art in less fussy surroundings encourages us to be less fearful of the maker or the medium; thus liberated, we become more curious about form and craft even as we savour the transgressive freedom Read More