Literature
Political correctness contra aesthetics
Public life is becoming uglier, duller and more soul-destroying
Tolkien, 50 years on
The true scale of his legacy is gradually becoming apparent
Let children’s stories be children’s stories
We need more respect for the childhood imagination
A forgotten British great: Smelfungus
Now languishing in undeserved obscurity, Tobias Smollett should be remembered
The elegant extremist
Ian McEwan has always tempered his shocking stories with polished prose
The sludge of sensitivity
Politics is degrading our cultural classics
Twin totems of Teutonic angst
The German obsession with Goethe’s Faust and Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Think, write, publish
Russian literature is not bound to Russian politics
Words and music
The bookish thrill of recognising the literary references of the pop artists you love
Hay dude
Hay is the place to go for a literary harvest
Academic freedom needs legal safeguards
Violations of academic freedom are endangering the progress of knowledge and the pursuit of truth
Stick ‘em up
Has the culture war been won?
An irreversible step
If Britain embraces euthanasia for the terminally ill, it won’t end there
The end of art critics
The critics who are now lackeys of the art world
Consent isn’t everything
Protections against violent sexual encounters are being dismantled
Twitter has always been toxic
Bluesky is a reminder of an earlier form of smug spitefulness
Can Macron survive?
France appears to be becoming ungovernable
An excess of Fauré
Gabriel Fauré: Violin concerto (Naxos), Complete piano works (Calliope)
Hot desking
We, the special advisers of the Labour Party, seek justice!
Biden’s legacy of escalation
His last decisions could determine the state of global politics
Should you really admit to regretting having kids?
Lamenting parenthood creates a psychological trap
