The Blazing World — via a dizzy mix of animal-human hybrids, Immaterial Spirits, and burning foes — tells of a woman’s absolute rule as Empress over a parallel planet. Emily Lord Fransee reflects on what the book and its author Margaret Cavendish can teach us about empire, gender, and imagination in the 17th century.
“In a prose style that is accessible and credible, it dissects with scalpel-like precision all the hypocrisy of the totalitarian mindset and sounds a clear and timeless warning to us all about the dangers of placing ideology before humanity.”
“Imaginary one-to-one conversations with these ghosts, so to speak, allow me to invest in the possibility that within this divided nation, we might, one day, understand and respect each other.” Beautiful photographs from Leah Frances
“The biography became, in effect, two stories: one, in which Harss deftly traces the formative patterns of Ratmansky’s distinctive and prolific career, and a second shadow story, in which Harss herself grapples with the unfolding conflict, the changing international landscape of the ballet world, and, most compellingly, the shifting identity of her subject.”
In which we quote extensively from Jane Eyre and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and find connections between the two.
“First of all, let me say: Chinelo Okparanta, you have my heart. For daring to write a novel that tackles so many taboos – queer love, religion, politics – all wrapped in the language of African idiom and folklore.”
My Afro-kwea Journal, entry #2: The Death of Vivek Oji By Akwaeke Emezi
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