Book Review: Caleb Azumah Nelson, ‘Open Water’
In the last issue of The Student, featuring a selection of cultural recommendations for Black History Month, one of the titles was Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson. At the…
Beyond ‘whimsical escapism’: the reality behind the beloved Moomins
To escape the overriding sense of guilt which characterised my first lockdown experience, I decided to go in search of some whimsical escapism. I found myself returning to Moomin Valley,…
Lighthouse Books’ queer book club reads ‘Meaty’ by Samantha Irby: a review
As a lover of literature, I’m ashamed to say that I haven’t attended many book clubs before. Perhaps because I, like many others, enjoy reading as a solitary activity to…
Eileen Myles in conversation with Lighthouse Bookshop
As I settled down in my living room on Wednesday night to watch Eileen Myles chat to Rosa Campbell about their new novel on writing and craft titled For Now,…
Poem of the Week: Thomas Hardy’s ‘The Darkling Thrush’
Hardy’s opening stanza includes some of the bleakest lines of poetry I’ve come across, but I equally think that they are the most beautiful and honest. The narrator makes no…
Manifesting the dreamscape in Murakami’s ‘Kafka on the Shore’
With the U.K. under lockdown for much of 2020, our newfound abundance of time has inspired new heights of introspection among many. What better time, then, to tackle Haruki Murakami’s…
N. K. Jemisin’s ‘The Fifth Season’ review: The last instalment of The Student’s lockdown literature challenge
Fantasy literature is traditionally considered a conservative genre. It is dominated by white men – from the writers, fans and critics to the very characters themselves. Its heroes frequently strive…
Free Women, Free Men
Content warning: sexual assault, victim blaming Camille Paglia’s self-affirmation as an advocate of gender equality could not be further from the truth. In her most recent selection of essays, Free…