• Why are poor and homeless people in London important?

    In the final paragraph of his London: The Biography (2001), Peter Ackroyd answers:  [W]hen it is asked how London can be a triumphant city when it has so many poor, and so many homeless, it can only be suggested that…

  • Nabina Das in Muse India

    – Nabina Das’s three poems “Tracks to the inner city”, “Meditation sans Prayer” and “Seven-Day Window” are now published in Muse India. Read them here. – Nabina Das’s poetry was published in Issue #10 of Cha. –

  • Boswell and ‘sexual favours’

    In a chapter about London’s sexy life (Chapter 41 “You sexy thing”), Peter Ackroyd relates some of Boswell’s sexual encounters.  Boswell’s diary of street life in 1762 provides an account of sexual favours currently on offer. On the evening of…

  • What is London’s colour?

    Peter Ackroyd in London: The Biography (2001) answers (see below). What is Hong Kong’s colour, I wonder? Red is London’s colour. The cabs of the early nineteenth century were red. The pillar boxes are red. The telephone boxes were, until…

  • Concelebratory Shoehorn Review – The Fourth Anniversary Issue

    The Fourth Anniversary Issue of Concelebratory Shoehorn Review (editor: Maurice Oliver) is now online. It features poetry by Barry Ballard, Cheong Lee San, Kevin Prufer, Corey Cook, John Gallaher, Sandra McPherson and Kelly Norman Ellis; and photography of Milan Malovich…

  • Literary criticism doesn’t matter any more — Where did it all go wrong?

    In his article “So you ‘like’ Hamlet? Sorry, that’s not good enough” in today’s Times (see here), John Sutherland mentions that in the last years of Frank Kermode‘s life, one of the questions that vexed him was ‘Why doesn’t literary criticism…

  • William Shakespeare’s Hamlet

    In his latest book 50 Literature Ideas You Really Need to Know, John Sutherland says this about Hamlet: “Every age interprets the play’s enigmas differently, sometimes wildly so (is Hamlet mad, enquired Oscar Wilde; or merely the critics of Hamlet?).…

  • Branch, Issue 4 is now live

    – The fourth issue of Branch Magazine, themed “Pop” and guest edited by Benny Lin (who also designed the cover), is now live. You can read and enjoy the new issue here.  – Branch is co-founded and co-edited by Gillian…

  • Ng Yi-Sheng and Cyril Wong in The Substation Love-Letters Project

    = Ng Yi-Sheng’s poem “How Buildings Make Love” and Cyril Wong’s “Eclipse” are now published in The Substation Love-Letters Project. Learn more about the project here.  – Ng Yi-Sheng’s poetry was published in issue #8 of Cha. Cyril Wong’s poetry has been published…

  • Cyril Wong’s Satori Blues

    Cyril Wong’s single poem Satori Blues is available now from Books Actually and Select Books in Singapore, and Collected Works in Melbourne, Australia. More information at www.cyrilwong.org Cyril Wong’s poetry has been published in issue#1 of Cha. ==