Essays
11th November 2019
The principle of self-government of provinces is at the heart of the concept of 'Federation', and ‘The grassroots’ is for many, an inherently leftist, liberal construct. Yet as Andrea Gibbons shows, the white supremacists who shaped the growth of Los Angeles force us to reassess out assumptions over the innate virtues of ‘participation’ .
29th October 2019
From The Drouth Issue 60 I make no doubt, Sir, but you consider me as your very good friend; although some people – and those, too, not destitute of wisdom – will […]
28th October 2019
The promo for Roland Emmerich’s movie Stonewall featured a buff and traditionally attractive white, cisgender man rocking up in New York and seemingly helming the 1969 riots which are credited with kicking off the gay liberation movement in the US…
25th October 2019
James Kelman: As in the UK there are many people in the United States who are ashamed and outraged by the actions of their government; some repudiate these actions, try to work against them. There is a wider sense of helplessness...
25th October 2019
Ian Rankin is a rare novelist in admitting that his decision over what sort of fiction he would write was predicated upon a desire for paternal approval...
25th October 2019
Kelman’s reading was lively, entrancing at times, and the writer was pretty much at his performing best. In questions he was voluble, but as awkward as ever, maintaining his line over language, class and marginalisation, even in this, one of the most crassly populist, conservative of events on the literary calendar…
16th October 2019
Now entering its final weeks (ending 27th October) the Cut and Paste Exhibition at Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art is a must-see. Its generous, inclusive take on collage extends […]
10th October 2019
A typical definition of the concept ‘Artistic License’ would outline the notion that the artist may be perceived as having freedom to distort some aspect of their subject in order to bring attention to, criticise, or satirize it...
Humanitarian Crisis, Dignity and Hope on the Río Atrato – Allan Gillies