RICHARD MURGATROYD enjoys a readable account of the life and meditations of one of the few Roman emperors with a good reputation
Inspired by life itself
Poet EDUARDO EMBRY talks to Michal Boncza about the influences on his work — exile in Britain after the murderous Pinochet coup, the satire in his new anthology Dead Flies and the current rebellion in his native Chile
Eduardo Embry
ALEX HALL asks whether intelligence, and stupidity, are the outcomes of poverty and wealth, and cultural norms
BRENT CUTLER is persuaded by a new account of the rise of Christianity, and the fall of the Roman empire
If non-human nature is devoid of value under the capitalist mode of production, this book presents the case for its reintegration, suggests HENRY BELL
The Bard takes issue with a BBC portrait of The Balkans, and sets the record straight
ANGUS REID urges you to visit Britain’s most remarkable - and mind-blowing - festival of contemporary music
MARIA DUARTE reviews Desperate Journey, Blue Moon, Pillion, and Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
BEING forced to leave your country of origin inevitably induces all manner of trauma, and Eduardo Embry believes that exile, ever since ancient times, is the most serious thing a human being can face.
In his case, having received threats and in danger of arrest, torture and death, exile was “a life or death situation,” he remembers. “It was the fate of hundreds of comrades, who were executed.”
When he arrived in London in 1974, Embry began the process of recovering from the multiple traumas — particularly torture — a process in which he was guided by psychologist and comrade Alejandro Reyes.
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A novel by Argentinian Jorge Consiglio, a personal dictionary by Uruguayan Ida Vitale, and poetry by Mexican Homero Aridjis
Travelogue/reportage by Argentinean Maria Sonia Cristoff, and poetry by Peruvian Gaston Fernandez and Puerto Rican Cristina Perez Diaz
An outstanding novel by Chilean writer and activist Pedro Lemebel, a poetry pamphlet by Venezuelan Natasha Tiniacos, and a children’s book of haikus singing the beauty of Cuba
ALISTAIR FINDLAY welcomes a collection of essays from one of the cultural left’s most respected speakers and activists