Author: Sophie Baggott

Awaiting the arrival of the porn world’s top dog, a mid-afternoon G&T in the Union bar felt like a good move. The powerhouse behind America’s unsurpassably explicit mag Hustler, countless porn films, and Hustler Casino, Larry Flynt has topped the porn hierarchy since the 70s. Dutch courage seemed wise. Hence my later surprise to find […]

Bernard Kouchner’s self-portrait as a “very young, very handsome” doctor treating Nigeria’s 1968 civil war victims was the ultimate embodiment of the comedy, tragedy, and odd streak of self-glorification that would run through his talk. Kouchner’s struggle to divide medicine and politics amidst this conflict eventually led to a hairpin turn in his life: the […]

Dylan Thomas’ granddaughter, Hannah, admits scepticism over the ‘Dylan Myth’ amidst musings on charades and rats. A torpedo of drunken rebellion and poetic flair ultimately ended by 18 straight whiskies splashed down his throat and across the headlines? Or sensationalised simplification so overblown as to give itself away as media make-believe? Hannah Ellis is under […]

Toby Huelin is no newcomer to the musical scene of Ox. Having been Musical Director to both the largest-ever (The Producers) and the fastest-selling (A Theory of Justice, The Musical) Oxford productions, his upcoming musical In Her Eyes is set to be of a similarly successful tenor. IHE is a Toby Huelin original; the show […]

Gail Trimble hastens into Greens, armed with a laptop and an apology – tempus fugit when you’re exploring the realm of Catullus 64. Two latte-orders later, the scene switches from Ariadne’s isle of Naxos to a less foregone imaginary island. Time to discover the contents of Gail’s castaway book-bag… Children of two scientists, Gail and […]

It is a shame that Modern Art Oxford has launched two exciting new shows just as Oxford students prepare to leave on break – thankfully, they both run well into the new year. In A Storyteller’s Inadequacy, a new exhibition by Eva Kot’átková, and the navel-gazing exhibition of nearly fifty years of Modern Art Oxford […]

If you’re an English student who has ever played with the thought of following in the footsteps of your literary idols, you’ve probably dismissed the idea as an unrealistic, momentary craze; after all, hasn’t everyone been telling you that being an author nowadays is an insecure, unsustainable profession? If there is one person who has […]

Wales’ National Poet, Gillian Clarke, talks to Sophie Baggott about Ice’s versification of the elements. With its piquantly seasonal title, Ice is the 2012 poetry collection of Gillian Clarke – the five-year reigning National Poet of Wales. Britain’s Big Freeze of ’09-10 seemingly commissioned these eclogues but, far from a weather forecast frozen in time, the book progresses […]

The chamber reeled, applauded, cheered, rose. The aftershock of Kate Tempest’s eighty-minute epic needed a momentary eternity to absorb. This was not poetry for pages; instead verses cascaded Homerically from this fresh-faced East Londoner in a torrent of seamy plot and urban commentary. Within minutes, something both very old and very new was felt to […]

The Kingkiller Chronicle, currently one of the most popular series in modern fantasy, tells the tale of Kvothe, and his journey as he becomes the most extraordinary wizard ever to set foot in his world. Providing a fresh new take on the classic fantasy tale, it details his life from childhood to infamy, in language […]

‘Morrissey’s autobiography is a classic’. Or not. Either way, this reviewer argues that the be-quiffed behemoth of blue-collar blues has played a masterstroke in selecting the Penguin Classics imprint to publish his deliciously moody volume. This is not the act of incomprehensible egotism or marketing nous that the literary world seems to have unanimously accepted […]

Tuesday saw the opening night of The Material, an exhibition hosted by the Edgar Wind Society at Freud. As President Tori McKenna explained, this was the first exhibition hosted by the Edgar Wind Society – I only hope they have many more to come, as the evening was an unequivocal success. Five artists presented work […]

Often in conversation with people, when they ask me what kind of books I like and I reply fantasy, I see that just concealed twitch of the eyebrow. ‘Fantasy, you mean dragons, wizards, that sort of thing?’ No. Well, yes. Well, both. As a child, I wasn’t up to date on the latest Jacqueline Wilson, […]

Flesh and Bone, the Ashmolean’s landmark and much heralded exhibition of the work of Francis Bacon and Henry Moore, is a long overdue look at two of the most important twentieth century British artists, whose differences have often been emphasised at the expense of what really united them: a deep interest and engagement with the […]

How fleeting forty minutes can seem when spent with the self-labelled “sociable loner” Louis de Bernières. Churning out a laugh a minute, our conversation was frankly bizarre. Spanning from blackbird transsexuality to a vicar’s ghost stories, charity-function cougars to Colombian machete fights, this Cheltenham chat was one for the record books. Fresh from Louis’ poetry […]

Artsy People, Places, and Publications within the good ol’ Oxford bubble.  This week we chat to the delightful Oxford resident Matt Sage – musician, troubadour, founder of The Catweazle Club.  This club, which recently starred in a BBC Radio 4 documentary, is “a forum for musicians, poets, storytellers, creative and performance artists of every imaginable […]

Arts related People, Places and Publications within the good ol’ Oxford bubble.  This week we chat to the delightful Dennis Harrison- founder of The Albion Beatnik bookstore and Oxford resident .The Guardian recently ran a feature piece on the store following a viral image. ‘We think the internet is great, but the written word is […]

Zoe Brigley-Thompson speaks to Sophie Baggott of poetry-confessions, the phony(?) “American Dream”, and being built of books. To put it mildly, Zoe adores words, and wow does she indulge this adoration well. Her passionate, intelligent poetry is so deep it renders the Pacific a mere puddle. In the words of Pascale Petit, “a fascinating study […]

  Oh Fresher, dear Fresher, Please pick your disgrace. You’ll despise, you’ll despair, you’ll delight in this place. Here’s my chivalrous road map to your fall from grace. Oh Fresher, poor Fresher, Accept your disgrace.   Oh love and lust and sweaty walls To the basest vulgarity of these hallowed halls. With greasy pole and […]