A true revolutionary
Wordsworth’s reputation has been too long in decline, says Tom Williams. In the space of a decade he transformed English poetry, and his earlier works remain astonishing
Flying too close to the sun
The beautiful Greek island of Hydra became home to a bohemian community of expats in the 1960s, including the Canadian…
To 2448: Issues
The novels are A Modern Utopia (anagram of AORTAE IMPOUND 17/5), The Time Machine (HEATHEN/MIMETIC 22/27), Tono-Bungay (BATON/YOUNG 29/31) and…
The shape of things to come
To begin not at the beginning but at the end of the beginning. Or rather, to begin at another beginning,…
Half measures
Would you slice a book in two? I learned of this peculiar practice in January, and I can’t fault its…
The truth behind ‘do not resuscitate’ orders
Coronavirus is revealing many good things about our society: the number of people willing to volunteer to help tackle the outbreak…
Globalism is dead, long live the new nation state
We all know the supposed ancient Chinese curse “may you live in interesting times”. As the first quarter of 2020…
Coronavirus could hasten secession
Americans enjoyed a tremendous sense of solidarity in the days following 9/11. People gathered on street corners, at subway stops,…
Coronavirus has again exposed the euro’s fatal flaw
Rising death rates. Economies closing down. People forced to stay at home. The coronavirus is a health, social and economic…
Jews have always been blamed for plagues – coronavirus is no different
History has not usually been kind to the Jews. But even by its low and morbid standards, the 14th century…
Liberté, égalité and fraternité are being put to the test in France
When I left my apartment for my morning run today I saw that someone had scrawled on the courtyard in…
Matt Hancock and Rishi Sunak show why we need professional politicians
Coronavirus commentary often takes a familiar form, which can easily be parodied thus: ‘Why the Coronavirus crisis justifies the thing…
Corbyn’s leadership has been a success and a failure for Labour
When he was elected Labour leader on 12 September 2015 opinion was uniquely divided as to what impact Jeremy Corbyn would…
A Brexit delay could last longer than you think
Here’s something Brexiteers might want to keep an eye on. While the country’s attention is welded to the Tesco delivery…
Finally, we have hope in my father’s fight against coronavirus
I just spoke to my father for the first time in 16 days. He wasn’t able to speak back but…
Panic, parochialism, pissantery and pigheadedness: pandemics in Australian history
An incurable disease … highly contagious… those struck down by it shunned by neighbours and friends… its cause unknown ……
Dodgy Dan’s short sainthoood
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has been getting a lot of brownie points, first for his role in coordinating responses to…
Life and death in New York City
No matter where in the apartment I am, if I sit very still, I hear a siren. Over the 18…
A note under the door to hotel quarantine whingers
We are seeing a tale of two types of human right now. On the one hand, we have “influencers”, social…
Who’s woke this pandemic?
I have one nagging question in the midst of this pandemic: Who died and made the(ir) ABC’s ‘medical expert’ Dr…
How delaying the DNC helps Biden
Joe Biden keeps getting more unconventional. It started when he delivered short speeches and one-word answers like ‘yes’ or ‘no’.…
Are you happy now, Greta?
Apparently, the current coronavirus pandemic is not linked to the exotic eating habits of the Chinese, but instead is due to “the…
How will the world be changed by the war against coronavirus?
The world as we have known it for the past 40 years has come to a stop. We have a…
The vocal minority celebrating Boris Johnson’s coronavirus diagnosis
What does it tell us that so many left-leaning individuals took to social media this week in order to celebrate…
