Der Untergang (Downfall) – reviewed for SAU Blog, April 28th 2005
Downfall loomed large in 2005 as a cultural phenomenon. Perhaps, at that point, the fact that some of the survivors of Hitler’s bunker were still alive made it all the…
A brief thought on Borges, Nabokov and growing up
From when I was about 14, I read a massive amount of Jorge Luis Borges. I was a little older when I began to read Vladimir Nabokov, and I became…
Life in a Drop of Water: an interview with underwater photographer Liam Marsh
One of the blogs I follow is the Freshwater Blog, which is a wonderful resource. I have reblogged below an interview with underwater photographer Liam Marsh.The images that accompany the…
How book reviewing works – my first thoughts on Raymond Tallis’ “The Mystery of Being Human”
Recently my review of Raymond Tallis’ “The Mystery of Being Human” appeared in the TLS. This review had a somewhat convoluted gestation. Put simply, I didn’t like the book much.…
Borges on the will
‘You have spoken of the will,’ I said. ‘In the tales of the Mabinogion, two kings play chess on the summit of a hill, while below them their warriors fight.…
“Sleeping, as we all know, is the most secret of our acts.”
Sleeping, as we all know, is the most secret of our acts. We devote a third of our lives to it, and yet do not understand it. For some, it…
Fred Neil
A while back I was listening to a good bit of Fred Neil. Neil gave Bob Dylan his first gig and wrote “Everybody’s Talkin’”: I suppose Harry Nilsson’s is more…
Kilkieran High Crosses
Kilkieran High Crosses are (just) in Co Kilkenny and, along with nearby Ahenny and Killamery, are part of the Ossory Group of High Crosses. Peter Harbison, in the paper A High Cross Base…
Séamus Sweeney 