Christmas Snow Never came that year, and yet It came in other ways, remembering the Light; As suds frothing in the Garavogue Around bridge arches, a scuttled trolley; It fell from lamps in Henry Street Illuminating tracer-lines of sleet And shoppers gripping rods of sleek umbrellas As if playing giant straining fish; It fell as … Read more
The attention in W. G. Sebald’s writing to the fascist era in European history anticipates many of the controlling measures of our time. Images abound throughout his work, leading to observations and recollections both of historical incidents, literary tradition and the lives of friends and immigrants, as well digressions on nature. We find a unique … Read more
Assembly One morning during the first week of Advent, _ When I was possessed, After a birthday’s dark exhilarations, _ By a terrible kind of nervousness, We saw, on stage, the judgement of our son, Before his class, the Egyptian pantheon. I was chosen, he said, to be mummified today: _ My life was cut … Read more
Taking advantage of their last night in the city, Boris and Semyon went to a theatre, something neither of them had done since childhood. But as luck would have it, at some point during the show, Boris’s wallet was stolen. He was upset, and more so when the police officers exchanged glances before giving him … Read more
Following on from last months ‘Alone EP’, Greg Clifford has released a music video for ‘Brontide’, which features on his forthcoming LP ‘Lines Of Desire.’ Brontide, which is defined as the sound of distant thunder (created by seismic activity), is a song and video about isolation, alienation, confusion and fading memories. According to Clifford, ‘this … Read more
Our Posh Liberal Friends for Susan Whenever I show them the Future, they refuse it; say: this future has bad hair, waves its arms around too much, is too Jewish, or not Jewish enough, too not-a-woman, or the wrong sort of woman. This Future has a face that one day might raise the corporate tax … Read more
In the presence of great music we have no alternative but to live nobly … and indeed one can hardly think of life without music. Sean O’Faolain In March the live music industry essentially ground to halt in Ireland. Sadly, owing to safety concerns, live music remains prohibited under current restrictions, and now even buskers … Read more
Everyone was amazed when it happened and I mean everyone, including Jeffrey. For weeks now Ramona had been hanging around in “Murphy’s,” a pub in Nice where, every Wednesday night, they held an open mike. A real beauty, with auburn hair and glittering eyes, she brought her violin with her, and when she played, there … Read more
I waited at my usual train station, taking photos and watched the people around me and wondered what was going to happen to all of us. Covid-19 had reached our country, our state and our city. Cases were springing up everywhere and the decision had been made to shut down our office and everyone was … Read more
Much (reasonable) Ado about Branding and its components HSBC. The world’s local bank. Clever. Pepsi brings you back to life. Not a smart one, since in Chinese this translates as “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave[1]” Mercedes Benz branded itself as ‘Bensi’[2]. Blunder. “rush to die” is what ‘Bensi’ sounds like Chinese. A brand … Read more