You Have To Laugh
In Stalin’s Russia an ill-judged joke could land you in the Gulag. Later on jokes could still be dangerous but were also in a sense a safety valve, a relatively harmless way for the downtrodden to let off steam.
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In the Bleak Midwinter
In the winter of 1784 in East Hampshire, it got so cold, the naturalist Gilbert White observed, that the cats became electrified.
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Right to the Bitter End
Asked what books he read, Donald Trump replied that he read chapters – chapters of what is not recorded. But should we feel guilty if we don’t finish every book we start?
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The Revolution Eats Its Children
When you play with men, some of them get eaten, Napoleon said. The French leftist Régis Debray was convinced that some of his revolutionary friends got eaten by the Cuban revolution – for reasons of state.
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John Montague: 1929-2016
The New York-born poet wrote a moving poem of memory of the small place in which he was brought up by relations in a remote part of Co Tyrone.
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A Painful Case
In 1941, German Jewish mother and daughter refugees Margarete and Irene Brann decided to end their lives in London. The mother died but the daughter survived, and was charged with her mother’s murder. On this day 75 years ago she was sentenced to hang.
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Ah Go On
Samuel Beckett was famous for his gloominess, but also on many occasions seemed able to express it in a way that makes us laugh. Is there a contradiction here, or not?
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Singing Schubert
There are times when interpreters should realise that explication is not needed. The composer and poet we exist to serve have told us what the message is to be. Our role is simply to deliver it.
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Uphill Battles
Sometimes in politics you lose, and then sometimes … you lose again. But there is no alternative other than to learn some lessons and come back for more.
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The Bully
They have outlawed bullying in schools in Maine, but unfortunately have not outlawed bullies running for the presidency.