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 […]

“Everything was forever, until it was no more” is one of those books that upsets common assumptions about something that has been packaged and presented for uncritical digestion.   Sean Sheehan   Life in the USSR, before it imploded in 1989, is often characterized in binary terms: communism was bad, […]

Gardens are fascinating places. They say so much about their custodians.   Sean Sheehan   Walk down a suburban street in Britain and front gardens tell all. You might see a small but manicured lawn with flower beds or an unkempt patch of grass filled with a jumble of bikes […]

Edita Liessner’s “Short stories on a long theme” is a pleasurable photobook to open and the pleasing playfulness of its title adds to its attractiveness.   Sean Sheehan   Her photos are of two very different kinds: geometric, colourful arrangements and scenes of everyday life. It is not immediately obvious […]

Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson, two black police detectives, have a tough shift on the streets of Harlem in New York.   Sean Sheehan   Their task is to try and administer justice in a place and a time when the odds are stacked against them. They give […]