Culture

How books are burned today

It is a worrying thought that what sits on your bookshelf today could be out of reach tomorrow. You might believe book banning to be a thing of the...

The burden of the face: Why are so many singers wearing masks?

We can all name at least one musician who has performed behind a balaclava, helmet, or hood. Whether to preserve anonymity, cultivate mystery, or construct an entirely new artistic identity, masking the face is common among those under the limelight.

New Oxford Windrush generation exhibit opens for Black History Month 

Amidst recent political tension provoked by the government’s refusal of slavery reparations to the...

“There’s a play in that”: interview with ‘The Gang of Three’ playwright Robert Khan

It’s Budget Day as I sit in the foyer of the Oxford Playhouse. Down...

Review: The xx—A masterstroke of production

Dom Saad pulls apart the intricacies of The xx’s third album, I See You

Album of the week: Bonobo’s Migration

Bonobo’s Migration is a five star delight, says Natalia Bus

Who’s in the artistic power seat?

Ella Hill discusses Tristram Hunt’s appointment at the V&A and the continuation of gender inequality in the UK’s major museums

Review: ‘La La Land’

Jonnie Barrow is amazed by Chazelle’s modern musical, which reinvents a forgotten genre

Old&New: Pascal Pinaud, Granny’s modern rival

Yet another woolly jumper and a visit to the Maeght Foundation outside Nice push Sophie Jordan to consider the artist’s unexpected inspirations

Author of the week: Paul Beatty

A look at the winner of the 2016 Man Booker Prize

Home is where the art is—Doug Eaton and The Forest of Dean

Ewan Davis finds Doug Eaton’s unlikely colour palettes faithful to the landscape of the Forest of Dean

Brandon Flowers: “Nobody ever had a dream round here'”

Brandon Flowers is the most underrated musician of the 21st century, says Henry Shalders

Review: Bowie’s Lazarus

Julia Alsop is perplexed by the stellar complexities of this production at the King’s Cross Theatre

Holiday snaps

Photos submitted by Jessica Voicu, Catrin Haberfield and Andrew Wood. Keep an eye out for the next competition!

Time Tunnel: Edward II

Susannah Goldsbrough delves into the archive to discuss Marlowe’s Edward II

Writing winter from Shakespeare to Selvon

Ellie Duncan surveys the representation of winter in literature through the ages

Through the Looking Glass: The ‘modesty’ of Alan Bennett’s Oxford

Susie Finlay explores the relationship between Alan Bennett's political views and his time at Oxford

Remembering the King of Soul

Jeannie Stanley ruminates on the timeless power of Sam Cooke

Zoom In: the Hollywood sign

The recent rearrangement of the world's most famous sign is just the latest in a long and varied history

Spotlight: Basic Space

Natalia Bus delights in the Oxford duo's relaxing sound

Review: Silence

Surya Bowyer is impressed by Scorsese's latest cinematic venture, a long and taxing, yet beautifully moving work

‘The Prize most poets want to win’

Katie Mennis celebrates the strength and variety of the 2016 T. S. Eliot Prize shortlist

Single of the week: Ed Sheeran’s ‘Castle on the Hill’

Will Cowie predicts big things for Ed Sheeran in 2017

The richness of the materiality of books

Altair Brandon-Salmon discusses the importance of books as aesthetic objects

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