Heidegger, despite his troubling allegiance to Nazism, is one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century and a new translation of his classic text makes it more approachable than before for readers without a knowledge of German.   Sean Sheehan   It has been said that reading Heidegger, […]

James Joyce’s “Finnegans wake” has long been studied but learning how to read the book is a different if complementary matter. A good way to begin is by listening to its unique soundscapes and rhythms.   Sean Sheehan   With a copy of the novel’s opening pages before you– the […]

John Berger was a household name amongst the British literati in the three decades before the end of the twentieth century. A biography, published this week, invites a fresh appraisal of his life and his work.   Sean Sheehan   Berger shot to instant fame in 1972 for two reasons. […]

Emily Wilson’s verse translations of Homer have been justly acclaimed and a new collection of her reflections on ancient literature, in “Crossing the wine-dark sea”, are welcome reading.   Sean Sheehan   Looking at the poetry of Sappho and how it has been received over the centuries, Wilson resists the […]