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.
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Aspects of Solidarity
It is relatively easy perhaps to create a sense of coherence and common purpose in a group which sees itself as culturally, socially or politically uniform. But how can we create feelings of solidarity with outsiders?
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Posh Spice
Speaking clearly and enunciating one’s vowels may not always gain one admission to a tennis club in which one is not welcome, but the experience of trying to learn how to do so can still be an enjoyable and memorable one.
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The Year Without Summer
The eruption of a volcano on an Indonesian island in April 1815 – the most explosive such event in history – had long-lasting and devastating effects across the globe. It is the subject of a conference in Galway this weekend.