The ubiquitous phenomenon of the unreliable narrator in the novelin the novel is an admission that the only truth in human hearts is its tendency to ambivalence; knowing, feeling and sensing opposite ideas , emotions and sensations to be true and possible at the same time. Why should we ‘know’ this? I use a reading … More The ubiquitous phenomenon of the unreliable narrator in the novel is an admission that the only truth in human hearts is its tendency to ambivalence; knowing, feeling and sensing opposite ideas , emotions and sensations to be true and possible at the same time. Why  should we ‘know’ this? I use a reading of John Banville’s ‘Venetian Vespers’ (2025) as a test case.

Geoff and I see a performance of a contemporary version of Indian classical dance at Bishop Auckland Town Hall on Wednesday 15th October, 7.30 p.m. It is on a vitally important theme of the moment: family and distance in migrant experience Fatherhood Imagine a performance in which one man invests himself in the personality of … More Those events within the period of my life that I can not remember and claim not to be my historical experience need committing to memory more than anything else. How else do we become whole persons and communities? Geoff and I see a performance of contemporary Indian classical dance at Bishop Auckland Town Hall. Family and distance is a theme that applies to personal and cultural experience, yet we shun the relevance of migration stories to our ‘entitled’ Britishness.

Risk is universal in all engagements with life. It is impossible to act or even to stay passive in any prompt to action without incurring risk, for even disengaging from activity has risks involved, increasingly serious as the degree of disengagement increases. To harbour the wish to take a risk is merely a denial of … More If once you haven’t been able to take that risk, let’s face it is not because you could not (or ‘were not able to’) but because you are risk averse and don’t wish to admit it. Naming that risk without taking it is just a way of dealing with your risk-aversion by indulging in a projected and insubstantial self-image.

What happens when artists are asked: “What have you been working on?” What have you been working on?” is a catch-all question? Does it ask what task are you currently working towards completion. It might mean that and it might at the same time refer to a task in at your paid work role. Alternatively, … More What happens when artists are asked: “What have you been working on?”

The Peterloo Massacre: flying the St George Cross has accompanied the success of Anarchy, Murder and Fraud in internal politics and always has. Below the equivalent, which Shelley might have described as the chanting of: ‘Anarchy, to thee we bow,Be thy name made holy now!’ As we peer through the dark of our current political … More Elon Musk poses as Success Embodied and looks like the epitome of Shelley’s Anarchy, feeding his lapdog, Yaxley-Lennon the bodies of the naive and self-oppressed: “And with glorious triumph, they / Rode through England proud and gay, / Drunk as with intoxication / Of the wine of desolation”.