‘L’Étranger, c’est moi’. How can anyone or anything ‘restore’ our communities when we have become a stranger to ourselves.

August 12, 2026

The word ‘stranger in English appears to have either already been a word in Middle English ‘or else’ derived from a word in Old French, itself derived from Latin. It seems to me that the ‘or else’ alternatives might still all account for some common origin, though in Latin not Greek: stranger (n.): late 14c., straunger, … More ‘L’Étranger, c’est moi’. How can anyone or anything ‘restore’ our communities when we have become a stranger to ourselves.

‘Don’t think of hope, you are not in control, / …’

August 11, 2026

Don’t think of hope, you are not in control…You thought you were yourself alone, Not an island exactly, but a rock,among other rocks, the sea fretsoaked singly. Thought has no powerand we became what we are now:an inheritance many built,a continuity of allwhere one eye determined nothingthat was done was their own; yet feltALONE. Now … More ‘Don’t think of hope, you are not in control, / …’

Only the ‘settled’ travel, the diasporist, according to R. B. Kitaj ‘pursues the phantom myths of nervous histories’ they claim for their own, ‘into the intractable swamps of ambiguous’ expression of their experience. What can we learn about the insufficiency of tourism from the migrant or exile. This blog reflects on the ‘First Diasporist Manifesto’ (1989) and ‘Second Diasporist Manifesto’ (2007) of R. B. Kitaj.

August 10, 2026

What are your top 10 travel destinations? Only the ‘settled’ travel, the diasporist, according to R. B. Kitaj ‘pursues the phantom myths of nervous histories’ they claim for their own, ‘into the intractable swamps of ambiguous’ expression of their experience. What can we learn about the insufficiency of tourism from the migrant or exile. This … More Only the ‘settled’ travel, the diasporist, according to R. B. Kitaj ‘pursues the phantom myths of nervous histories’ they claim for their own, ‘into the intractable swamps of ambiguous’ expression of their experience. What can we learn about the insufficiency of tourism from the migrant or exile. This blog reflects on the ‘First Diasporist Manifesto’ (1989) and ‘Second Diasporist Manifesto’ (2007) of R. B. Kitaj.

In Djamel White’s novel ‘All Them Dogs’ being ‘officially an adult’ is learning to no longer be ‘fighting an urge to pop’ and becoming in control of how you appear and how much you visibly react: ‘Keep it there and keep it steady’. But in that novel the desire to be ‘officially an adult’ is the reason we lose responsibility for ‘the child’ we find in the world or inside us, failing to safeguard it: the mark of effective adult responsibility.

August 8, 2026

In Djamel White’s novel All Them Dogs being ‘officially an adult’ is learning to no longer be ‘fighting an urge to pop’ and becoming in control of how you appear and how much you visibly react: ‘Keep it there and keep it steady’. But in that novel the desire to be ‘officially an adult’ is … More In Djamel White’s novel ‘All Them Dogs’ being ‘officially an adult’ is learning to no longer be ‘fighting an urge to pop’ and becoming in control of how you appear and how much you visibly react: ‘Keep it there and keep it steady’. But in that novel the desire to be ‘officially an adult’ is the reason we lose responsibility for ‘the child’ we find in the world or inside us, failing to safeguard it: the mark of effective adult responsibility.

I can’t rememember who gave me the advice, if anyone, but it is: “Never make a judgement that cannot be changed or revised’.

August 7, 2026

Obviously some judgments in life are irreversible. These tend to be the ones you make about people and your relationship with them, for once the judgment is made and, in any way shared – discursively or in the form of an action to change the relationship – you alone are not in control of the … More I can’t rememember who gave me the advice, if anyone, but it is: “Never make a judgement that cannot be changed or revised’.

Do Booker winners become so for a reason? The 2026 Longlist came out on 28 July. Update.

August 6, 2026

Do Booker winners become so for a reason? The 2026 Longlist came out on 28 July The question is open. Each year I set out to read at least some of the books. Here is the list for this year, which I will update as I progress through my reading and responses: 2026 Booker Longlist … More Do Booker winners become so for a reason? The 2026 Longlist came out on 28 July. Update.

I used to worry about finding out that a novel was not ‘for me’. But you don’t have to like writing just because, in its own terms, it is good. This is a blog on Gwendoline Riley (2026) ‘The Palm House’. It starts by defining that strangeness in the novel that is precisely ‘not the kind of strangeness for me’ anymore.

August 6, 2026

I used to worry about finding out that a novel was not ‘for me’. But you don’t have to like writing just because in its own terms, it is good. This is a blog on Gwendoline Riley (2026) The Palm House London, Picador. It starts by defining that strangeness in the novel that is precisely … More I used to worry about finding out that a novel was not ‘for me’. But you don’t have to like writing just because, in its own terms, it is good. This is a blog on Gwendoline Riley (2026) ‘The Palm House’. It starts by defining that strangeness in the novel that is precisely ‘not the kind of strangeness for me’ anymore.

Why not name Troy, Byzantium, Constantinople, and Istanbul and keep proliferating names for the primary city of the Golden Horn until you reach 10 such names for cities rich in trade that are for ever renewed or ‘renovated’. This blog is about Kenan Orhan (2026) ‘The Renovation’.

August 4, 2026

Why not name Troy, Byzantium, Constantinople, and Istanbul and keep proliferating names for names for the primary city of the Golden Horn until you reach 10 such names for cities rich in trade that are for ever renewed or ‘renovated’. In a description of the renovation of Istanbul under Erdoğan as ‘the simulacrum of progress … More Why not name Troy, Byzantium, Constantinople, and Istanbul and keep proliferating names for the primary city of the Golden Horn until you reach 10 such names for cities rich in trade that are for ever renewed or ‘renovated’. This blog is about Kenan Orhan (2026) ‘The Renovation’.

Let’s get it right from the start. It is almost an oxymoron to talk about a ‘home decoration style’ for ‘style’, however you define it, is a cold thing!

August 3, 2026

What’s your home decoration style? Let’s get it right from the start. It is almost an oxymoron to talk about a ‘home decoration style’ for ‘style’, however you define it (let’s instance the list in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary), is a cold thing. Often opposed to the notion of ‘content’, ‘matter’ or ‘substance’ , it is … More Let’s get it right from the start. It is almost an oxymoron to talk about a ‘home decoration style’ for ‘style’, however you define it, is a cold thing!

“If love be rough with you, be rough with love. / Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down.—”. A quotation is a thing used again to make it live, not a thing to save and favour in secret. This blog in honour of Sisu Theatre’s production of ‘Mabel’, a dark feminist fantasy on sex/gender and the death of Mercutio.

August 2, 2026

“If love be rough with you, be rough with love. / Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down.—”. A quotation is a thing used again to make it live, not a thing to save and favour in secret. This blog in honour of Sisu Theatre’s production of ‘Mabel’, a dark feminist fantasy on … More “If love be rough with you, be rough with love. / Prick love for pricking, and you beat love down.—”. A quotation is a thing used again to make it live, not a thing to save and favour in secret. This blog in honour of Sisu Theatre’s production of ‘Mabel’, a dark feminist fantasy on sex/gender and the death of Mercutio.