Generated by All in One SEO v5.0.1.1, this is an llms.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site. # Nicholas Taylor-Collins Academic and creative reader ## Sitemaps - [XML Sitemap](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website. ## Posts - [Blog](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/) - Hyper-contemporary literature - ['Clear' by Carys Davies: winning the language-game](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/carys-davies-clear/) - Nothing much happens in Clear (2024), Carys Davies's second novel to have won Wales Book of the Year.1 Ivar lives on a remote Scottish island, perhaps closer to Norway than mainland Scotland, and tends to his cow, his horse, and to the land. In nineteenth century Scotland, John Ferguson is sent to invite him to | Nothing much happens in Clear (2024), Carys Davies's second novel to have won Wales Book of the Year.1 Ivar lives on a remote Scottish island, perhaps closer to Norway than mainland Scotland, and tends to his cow, his horse, and to the land. In nineteenth century Scotland, John Ferguson is sent to invite him to - [Writing (a) genealogy: 'Surge' by Jay Bernard](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/writing-a-genealogy-surge-by-jay-bernard/) - In 'Kombucha', a prose poem about, among other things, menstrual mooncups, Jay Bernard's persona asks: When I stare at these bottles, it's blood that has been three times enlarged. Who says we have no genealogy? Who says that if I line them up, as ornaments, a blood archive, then it isn't like us having had | In 'Kombucha', a prose poem about, among other things, menstrual mooncups, Jay Bernard's persona asks: When I stare at these bottles, it's blood that has been three times enlarged. Who says we have no genealogy? Who says that if I line them up, as ornaments, a blood archive, then it isn't like us having had - [Personal politics and the modern English language: Mary Jean Chan's 'Flèche'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/mary-jean-chan-fleche/) - There's too much to praise in Mary Jean Chan's Flèche: the characterful depths it presents of its persona, the problems they encounter with queer becoming, the gentle lyricism that appears straightforward but is anything but. It is about family, about love—and also about fencing. Of the topics that I could cover, I'm going to examine | There's too much to praise in Mary Jean Chan's Flèche: the characterful depths it presents of its persona, the problems they encounter with queer becoming, the gentle lyricism that appears straightforward but is anything but. It is about family, about love—and also about fencing. Of the topics that I could cover, I'm going to examine - [(Post-)postmodernist elegy: Stephen Sexton's 'If All the World and Love Were Young'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/stephen-sexton-if-all-the-world-and-love-were-young/) - Stephen Sexton's If All The World and Love Were Young (Penguin, 2019) has proven phenomenally successful, having won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection and being shortlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize. And yet, it is not an easy poetry collection, proving both difficult in terms of its style and allusive references, and | Stephen Sexton's If All The World and Love Were Young (Penguin, 2019) has proven phenomenally successful, having won the Forward Prize for Best First Collection and being shortlisted for the International Dylan Thomas Prize. And yet, it is not an easy poetry collection, proving both difficult in terms of its style and allusive references, and - [Two families, alike in dignity: Christina Thatcher's 'How to Carry Fire'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/christina-thatcher-how-to-carry-fire/) - Christina Thatcher's How to Carry Fire (Parthian, 2020) is her second collection of poetry. It's a fierce, impassioned, and (at times) scary collection that details the persona's two families: her US family (mother, father, brother) beset by a range of tragedies, and her newly-forming Welsh family consisting of the persona and her husband. The literary | Christina Thatcher's How to Carry Fire (Parthian, 2020) is her second collection of poetry. It's a fierce, impassioned, and (at times) scary collection that details the persona's two families: her US family (mother, father, brother) beset by a range of tragedies, and her newly-forming Welsh family consisting of the persona and her husband. The literary - [Pre-reading and re-reading Michael Longley's 'The Candlelight Master'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/michael-longley-the-candlelight-master/) - As I read the contents of Michael Longley's 'The Candlelight Master', two things struck me. First, that I was pre-reading the poems by virtue of their mapping in the contents. Second, that I was pre-reading the contents by virtue of my prior knowledge of Longley's poetry. This blog is about the first of these. | Michael Longley is a veteran Northern Irish poet who has published eleven standalone collections of poetry, as well as collections of prose. He won the Hawthornden Prize and T.S. Eliot Prize in 2001 for his collection The Weather in Japan. His latest collection, The Candlelight Master (Cape Poetry, 2020), continues many of the themes that - [Dancing the night away: Joelle Taylor's 'C+nto & Othered Poems'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/joelle-taylor-cnto-and-othered-poems/) - Joelle Taylor's C+nto & Othered Poems (The Westbourne Press, 2021) won the 2022 T.S. Eliot Prize. It offers a searing history of butch culture in the 1980s and after, with both tragedy, epiphany, and liberation tracking across its 121 pages. It is a collection that stores tragedy at its core, especially in the magisterial scene | Joelle Taylor's C+nto & Othered Poems (The Westbourne Press, 2021) won the 2022 T.S. Eliot Prize. It offers a searing history of butch culture in the 1980s and after, with both tragedy, epiphany, and liberation tracking across its 121 pages. It is a collection that stores tragedy at its core, especially in the magisterial scene - [Mirror mirror: the 'reverso' poem in Kim Moore's 'All the Men I Never Married'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/kim-moore-all-the-men-i-never-married/) - All night a bird beats its wingsbehind the wall. In the space between roomsit has the quietest scream. (I realise I cannot livewithout desire.) At first I think it’s trappedbehind the wall. Is it another birdthat moves, that seems to fall and rise again?I am hiding somethingin the mirror. In the morningI am searching for | All night a bird beats its wingsbehind the wall. In the space between roomsit has the quietest scream. (I realise I cannot livewithout desire.) At first I think it’s trappedbehind the wall. Is it another birdthat moves, that seems to fall and rise again?I am hiding somethingin the mirror. In the morningI am searching for - [Cellular vulnerability in 'The Magic Border' by Arlo Parks](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/cellular-vulnerability-the-magic-border-arlo-parks/) - Arlo Parks won the Mercury Prize in 2021 for her debut LP and then went on to release another album and a debut book of poetry in 2023. She doesn't necessarily separate her poetry from her song lyrics. Parks suggests that her writing process is an exploration of self, referring to it as 'cellular'. Some find this links beautifully to her poem 'Cellular', a story of vulnerability and growth through love. It seems her exploration of self and her creativity blurs the lines between lyrics and poetry, dismissing rigid boundaries. | Arlo Parks Arlo Parks won the Mercury Prize in 2021 for her debut LP Collapsed in Sunbeams (Transgressive Records). The Prize annually awards the album of the year, with no constraints of genre. On their website, the Mercury Prize is classified as the equivalent of literature's Booker Prize or art's Turner Prize.1 To win the - [To poem: dynamic memory in Anthony Joseph's 'Sonnets for Albert'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/anthony-joseph-sonnets-for-albert/) - Anthony Joseph's "Sonnets for Albert" won the 2022 T.S. Eliot Prize, featuring fifty love-themed sonnets with a focus on memory and familial relationships. The poems are evocative rather than elegiac, intertwining personal and cultural memory, creating dynamic "poem-memories" that generate new meaning and understanding. | Anthony Joseph's Sonnets for Albert (Bloomsbury, 2022) won the 2022 T.S. Eliot Prize for poetry. It contains around fifty poems that are all sonnets: fourteen-line poems, typically focused on or motivated by love. For Joseph, the figure of the persona's gaze is his late father, Albert. This isn't an erotic love, of course. Nor are - [The between spaces in Jason Allen-Paisant's 'Self-Portrait as Othello'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/jason-allen-paisant-self-portrait-as-othello/) - Poet Jason Allen-Paisant uses spaces on the page in an innovative way to explore how black bodies can find their way through socially-restrictive conventions. - [Parallel forms in Victoria Chang's 'with my back to the world'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/victoria-chang-with-my-back-to-the-world/) - Content warning: this post discusses suicide Victoria Chang's with my back to the world won the 2024 Forward Prize for Poetry. It's a collection of poetry that is ekphrastic at its core: all the poems respond to fine art. Chang is only looking at one painter throughout the collection. Agnes Martin was an American abstract | Content warning: this post discusses suicide Victoria Chang's with my back to the world won the 2024 Forward Prize for Poetry. It's a collection of poetry that is ekphrastic at its core: all the poems respond to fine art. Chang is only looking at one painter throughout the collection. Agnes Martin was an American abstract - [Gizzi the space man: Peter Gizzi's 'Fierce Elegy'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/peter-gizzi-fierce-elegy/) - In Fierce Elegy (2023), Peter Gizzi's 2025 T.S. Eliot prize-winning collection of poetry, the poet does many astounding things. These include his use of form, the contiguous suturing of images, and—as I will briefly show—his elaboration of space. Spatial forebear While I was reading Fierce Elegy I was reminded of the early modern English poet, | In Fierce Elegy (2023), Peter Gizzi's 2025 T.S. Eliot prize-winning collection of poetry, the poet does many astounding things. These include his use of form, the contiguous suturing of images, and—as I will briefly show—his elaboration of space. Spatial forebear While I was reading Fierce Elegy I was reminded of the early modern English poet, - [Not quite everything: ‘Fatherhood’ by Caleb Klaces](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/not-quite-everything-fatherhood-by-caleb-klaces/) - The question of form may never be resolved. Is the novel better than poetry? Are short stories just novel-lite? In Fatherhood (Prototype, 2019), Caleb Klaces avoids that scrutiny completely by mixing two of those forms together. Fatherhood combines ‘prose and poetry in an experimental work of verse fiction’. The text tells the story of Caleb | The question of form may never be resolved. Is the novel better than poetry? Are short stories just novel-lite? In Fatherhood (Prototype, 2019), Caleb Klaces avoids that scrutiny completely by mixing two of those forms together. Fatherhood combines ‘prose and poetry in an experimental work of verse fiction’. The text tells the story of Caleb - [Suzanne Collins's 'The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes': Hobbes for the twenty-first century](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/suzanne-collins-the-ballad-of-songbirds-and-snakes/) - Suzanne Collins's latest addition to the Panem world of the Hunger Games, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Scholastic, 2020), is a prequel taking place decades before the original trilogy. It follows school-leaver Coriolanus who joins the first cohort of Hunger Games mentors during the annual bloodletting's tenth edition. As an informed reader will know—or, | Suzanne Collins's latest addition to the Panem world of the Hunger Games, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (Scholastic, 2020), is a prequel taking place decades before the original trilogy. It follows school-leaver Coriolanus who joins the first cohort of Hunger Games mentors during the annual bloodletting's tenth edition. As an informed reader will know—or, - [Anne Enright's 'Actress' (part 1): finding a mother](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/anne-enright-actress1/) - In this and my next blog (also on Actress), I'm going to focus on intertextuality. Intertextuality was described by Julia Kristeva as a mosaic of interaction between texts.1 For Kristeva, this quite commonly takes the form of deliberate and explicit intertextual references—quotations, narrative nods, character types and names—but I am most interested in intertextuality that | In this and my next blog (also on Actress), I'm going to focus on intertextuality. Intertextuality was described by Julia Kristeva as a mosaic of interaction between texts.1 For Kristeva, this quite commonly takes the form of deliberate and explicit intertextual references—quotations, narrative nods, character types and names—but I am most interested in intertextuality that - [Anne Enright's 'Actress' (part 2): the age of consent](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/anne-enright-actress2/) - In my first blog on Anne Enright's Actress (Jonathan Cape, 2020), I connected it with the late Irish poet Eavan Boland (1944–2020) through the search for a female genealogy. Or, in simpler terms, both Norah in Actress and Boland in her prose and poetry are looking for their mothers. In this blog, I again read | In my first blog on Anne Enright's Actress (Jonathan Cape, 2020), I connected it with the late Irish poet Eavan Boland (1944–2020) through the search for a female genealogy. Or, in simpler terms, both Norah in Actress and Boland in her prose and poetry are looking for their mothers. In this blog, I again read - [Two spatial poetics: Niamh Campbell's 'This Happy'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/niamh-campbell-this-happy/) - Niamh Campell's This Happy (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2020) plots Alannah's uncanny experience of her love life repeating itself from when she was a 'young' 23 to an 'old(er)' 30 years old. The two experiences—first with a married man, Harry, second with her unnamed husband—are not identical, but there are enough similarities for the storylines to | Niamh Campell's This Happy (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2020) plots Alannah's uncanny experience of her love life repeating itself from when she was a 'young' 23 to an 'old(er)' 30 years old. The two experiences—first with a married man, Harry, second with her unnamed husband—are not identical, but there are enough similarities for the storylines to - [Slow reading: Adrian Duncan's 'Love Notes from a German Building Site'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/adrian-duncan-love-notes-from-a-german-building-site/) - Adrian Duncan's Love Notes from a German Building Site (Head of Zeus, 2019) tells Paul's first-person story as he emigrates from Ireland to Germany to start afresh with his girlfriend, Evelyn. Paul is an engineer by trade, but his relationship with his job is tested and stretched by time spent on a job in Berlin—it | Adrian Duncan's Love Notes from a German Building Site (Head of Zeus, 2019) tells Paul's first-person story as he emigrates from Ireland to Germany to start afresh with his girlfriend, Evelyn. Paul is an engineer by trade, but his relationship with his job is tested and stretched by time spent on a job in Berlin—it - [Bastardising epic: Shehan Karunatilaka's 'The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/shehan-karunatilaka-the-seven-moons-of-maali-almeida/) - Shehan Karunatilaka's The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida (Sort of Books, 2022) won last year's Booker Prize for its 'energy, imagery and ideas [set] against a broad, surreal vision of the Sri Lankan civil wars'. We find that 'surreal vision' in its depiction of the afterlife—both the In Between (a version of purgatory), and the | Shehan Karunatilaka's The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida (Sort of Books, 2022) won last year's Booker Prize for its 'energy, imagery and ideas [set] against a broad, surreal vision of the Sri Lankan civil wars'. We find that 'surreal vision' in its depiction of the afterlife—both the In Between (a version of purgatory), and the - ['speech language voice': 'Diego Garcia' by Natasha Soobramanien and Luke Williams](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/diego-garcia-natasha-soobramanien-and-luke-williams/) - In this form-breaking novel, Natasha Soobramanien and Luke Williams wowed judges of the Goldsmiths Prize by co-authoring a story of companionship and collectivity, even during pandemic lockdowns. But they also related the recent colonial history of the Chagossian people and the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia: the forced evacuation of native peoples by the | In this form-breaking novel, Natasha Soobramanien and Luke Williams wowed judges of the Goldsmiths Prize by co-authoring a story of companionship and collectivity, even during pandemic lockdowns. But they also related the recent colonial history of the Chagossian people and the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia: the forced evacuation of native peoples by the - [Archiving grief: Patricia Lockwood's 'No One Is Talking About This'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/patricia-lockwood-no-one-is-talking-about-this/) - Patricia Lockwood's No One Is Talking About This (Bloomsbury, 2021) won last year's Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize, and was cited especially for its depiction of the Internet. In the book, the 'portal' is a virtual world that can provide access to 'everywhere', but is a largely desensitised space; it is where the protagonist spends | Patricia Lockwood's No One Is Talking About This (Bloomsbury, 2021) won last year's Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize, and was cited especially for its depiction of the Internet. In the book, the 'portal' is a virtual world that can provide access to 'everywhere', but is a largely desensitised space; it is where the protagonist spends - [What's in a review?: Ruth Ozeki's 'The Book of Form and Emptiness'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/ruth-ozeki-the-book-of-form-and-emptiness/) - Ruth Ozeki's The Book of Form and Emptiness (Canongate, 2021) won the 2022 Women's Prize for Fiction. It tells the story of Benny Oh, a teenager who is negotiating the untimely death of his father, Kenji, and Annabelle, Benny's mother, who is additionally struggling with her own health and hoarding habits. Benji also hears voices, | Ruth Ozeki's The Book of Form and Emptiness (Canongate, 2021) won the 2022 Women's Prize for Fiction. It tells the story of Benny Oh, a teenager who is negotiating the untimely death of his father, Kenji, and Annabelle, Benny's mother, who is additionally struggling with her own health and hoarding habits. Benji also hears voices, - [Quotidian narrative in David Szalay's 'Flesh'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/david-szalay-flesh/) - David Szalay's 'Flesh' won the 2025 Booker Prize. It was praised by the judges for its spare style. In this blog post, I argue that there is a contest taking place in the story between the narrative style, resistant to emotion, and the protagonist's steady attempt to become fully emotional, fully alive. Ultimately, the narrative style wins. | In winning the 2025 Booker Prize—Britain's self-pronounced most important fiction prize—David Szalay's Flesh (Jonathan Cape, 2025) was praised for its spareness. Chair of the judges, Roddy Doyle, said that we don’t know what the protagonist, István, looks like but this never feels like a lack; quite the opposite. Somehow, it’s the absence of words – - ['The Outsider' redux: Nadifa Mohamed's 'The Fortune Men](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/nadifa-mohamed-the-fortune-men/) - Nadifa Mohamed's The Fortune Men (Viking, 2021) won the Wales Book of the Year in 2022. It is a fictional retelling of the tragic miscarriage of justice of Somali Mahmood Mattan in 1950s Cardiff. In the book, Mattan is executed for the murder of British Jew Violet Volacki, a crime he strenuously denied. While the | Nadifa Mohamed's The Fortune Men (Viking, 2021) won the Wales Book of the Year in 2022. It is a fictional retelling of the tragic miscarriage of justice of Somali Mahmood Mattan in 1950s Cardiff. In the book, Mattan is executed for the murder of British Jew Violet Volacki, a crime he strenuously denied. While the - [Vis-à-vis dystopia in Paul Lynch's 'Prophet Song'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/paul-lynch-prophet-song/) - Paul Lynch's "Prophet Song," a dystopian novel set in Ireland, captures our era's social and political unease, earning the 2023 Booker Prize. It explores totalitarianism's personal impact through characters' declining capacity to read faces, invoking philosopher Emmanuel Levinas's ethics of the face-to-face encounter. The narrative warns against the corruptive power of authoritarian regimes. | - [Past it? Speed, simulacra, and celebrity in Rebecca F. Kuang's 'Yellowface'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/rebecca-f-kuang-yellowface/) - Rebecca F. Kuang’s 'Yellowface' captivated readers, spending 12 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and winning the British Book Awards’ fiction prize. A sharp satire on celebrity, publishing, and cultural appropriation, it explores themes of fleeting fame and postmodern identity. Is Yellowface timely—or already dated? | Rebecca F. Kuang's Yellowface was a hit: it spent twelve weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. It also charted in the UK on The Sunday Times bestseller list, no doubt helping it to win the fiction prize at the British Book Awards in 2024. It tells the story of Juniper Song Hayward, an - [Historical fiction, intersectionality, and secrecy: Yael van der Wouden's 'The Safekeep'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/yael-van-der-wouden-the-safekeep/) - There's a moment, just one page, in Yael van der Wouden's The Safekeep (Penguin, 2024)—winner of last year's Women's Prize for Fiction—that gathers its narrative threads and holds them together. The queer, the racial, the Jewish threads. Thin threads and thick, stronger and weaker threads. One page where they intersect and where the reader can | There's a moment, just one page, in Yael van der Wouden's The Safekeep (Penguin, 2024)—winner of last year's Women's Prize for Fiction—that gathers its narrative threads and holds them together. The queer, the racial, the Jewish threads. Thin threads and thick, stronger and weaker threads. One page where they intersect and where the reader can - [A new Beckett? Yasmin Zaher's 'The Coin' and dispossession](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/yasmin-zaher-the-coin/) - Yasmin Zaher's debut novel The Coin (Footnote Press, 2024) was praised by the 2025 Dylan Thomas Prize jury for 'dissect[ing] nature and civilisation, beauty and justice, class and belonging in a vivid exploration of identity and heritage'.1 It was the jury's unanimous choice. In its depiction of the narrator's life in New York, the city | Yasmin Zaher's debut novel The Coin (Footnote Press, 2024) was praised by the 2025 Dylan Thomas Prize jury for 'dissect[ing] nature and civilisation, beauty and justice, class and belonging in a vivid exploration of identity and heritage'.1 It was the jury's unanimous choice. In its depiction of the narrator's life in New York, the city - [A new atrocity: C.D. Rose's 'We Live Here Now'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/c-d-rose-we-live-here-now/) - This blog post is more 'thought experiment' than 'thought through'. Let's see whether it works. C.D. Rose's We Live Here Now (Melville House, 2024) won the 2025 Goldsmiths Prize for experimental fiction. It comprises fifteen chapters, the stories of which are not told strictly chronologically—'They could we think later, be seen in any sequence.'1—that all | This blog post is more 'thought experiment' than 'thought through'. Let's see whether it works. C.D. Rose's We Live Here Now (Melville House, 2024) won the 2025 Goldsmiths Prize for experimental fiction. It comprises fifteen chapters, the stories of which are not told strictly chronologically—'They could we think later, be seen in any sequence.'1—that all - [No pain, no poetry: nostalgia in Karen Solie's 'Wellwater' and Vidyan Ravinthiran's 'Avidya'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/karen-solie-wellwater-vidyan-ravinthirans-avidya/) - For the first time, in 2025 the Forward Prize for Poetry was jointly awarded. From an initial glance, Karen Solie's Wellwater—which also won the 2025 T.S. Eliot Prize—and Vidyan Ravinthiran's Vidya have little in common. Wellwater charts the speaker's memories of growing up in ?Edmonton, Canada, whilst also reckoning with the damage the anthropocene is | For the first time, in 2025 the Forward Prize for Poetry was jointly awarded. From an initial glance, Karen Solie's Wellwater—which also won the 2025 T.S. Eliot Prize—and Vidyan Ravinthiran's Vidya have little in common. Wellwater charts the speaker's memories of growing up in ?Edmonton, Canada, whilst also reckoning with the damage the anthropocene is - [Linguicide and freedom: Percival Everett's 'James'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/percival-everett-james/) - It was 'my language,' says our hero James, that 'had so disturbed and frightened' Judge Thatcher, the White slaver.1 But it was neither James's profanity (which is non-existent), nor his angry delivery, that shocks the Judge. Instead, it's James's ability to speak conventional American-English. Up to this point the Judge, like all other White characters | It was 'my language,' says our hero James, that 'had so disturbed and frightened' Judge Thatcher, the White slaver.1 But it was neither James's profanity (which is non-existent), nor his angry delivery, that shocks the Judge. Instead, it's James's ability to speak conventional American-English. Up to this point the Judge, like all other White characters - [Learning to read Samantha Harvey's 'Orbital'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/samantha-harvey-orbital/) - Samantha Harvey's delicate 136-page novel Orbital won 2024's Booker Prize. It marks a notable shift of the difficulty of the last few Booker winners—Lynch's Prophet Song (2023), Karunatilaka's Seven Moons of Maali Almeida (2022), Galgut's The Promise (2021), and Stuart's Shuggie Bain (2020)—to an easier style, even if not a typical plot of a novel. | Samantha Harvey’s 'Orbital' is a magisterial, disorienting masterpiece. Six astronauts, 24 hours, 16 orbits—no clear beginning, middle, or end. Like Velázquez’s Las Meninas, it challenges how we see. A novel about nothing, or about everything. Read my thoughts here: - [The careful book in V.V. Ganeshananthan's 'Brotherless Night'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/v-v-ganeshananthan-brotherless-night/) - V.V. Ganeshananthan’s Brotherless Night (Penguin, 2023) won the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction, highlighting its powerful storytelling. Set during Sri Lanka’s civil war, the novel follows Sashi, a Tamil medical student, as she navigates care, ethics, and history in a time of violence. A masterpiece of careful, compassionate writing. | V.V. Ganeshananthan doesn't write books very often, but if they're as good as Brotherless Night (Penguin, 2023), then we should hope for a limited number in the future. As the 2024 winner of the Women's Prize for Fiction, the prize establishment agrees with that sentiment. Brotherless Night tells the story of Sashi, a Tamil medical - [Surviving solitude in Caleb Azumah Nelson's 'Small Worlds'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/caleb-azumah-nelson-small-worlds/) - Caleb Azumah Nelson’s Small Worlds is a celebration of love, music, and community. Through jazz, dance, and shared experiences, the novel explores the beauty of connection and the pain of isolation. With lyrical prose, Nelson reminds us that to be ‘open’ is to be free—and that small worlds sustain us. | Caleb Azumah Nelson's Small Worlds (2023) won the 2024 Dylan Thomas Prize. This comes not long after his first novel, Open Water (2021), won the Costa First Novel Award and a Betty Trask Award. He is already destined for great things and Small Worlds is a big part of that. In Small Worlds Stephen is - [The true reality of dreams in Han Kang's 'The Vegetarian'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/han-kang-the-vegetarian/) - In 2024, South Korea's Han Kang won the Nobel Prize in Literature. As a 54-year-old author of eleven novels—only five of which have been translated into English—Han was viewed by some as an unexpected choice. The Swedish Academy—awarders of the Nobel Prize—praised Han 'for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the | In 2024, South Korea's Han Kang won the Nobel Prize in Literature. As a 54-year-old author of eleven novels—only five of which have been translated into English—Han was viewed by some as an unexpected choice. The Swedish Academy—awarders of the Nobel Prize—praised Han 'for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the - [The afterlife in Rachel Cusk's 'Parade'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/rachel-cusk-parade/) - Rachel Cusk's *Parade* (2024) intertwines stories of a painter named 'G.' and various women confronting life's adversities. The novel's fragmented structure reflects on themes of identity and gender. It coincidentally parallels Maurice Blanchot's *The Instant of My Death*. Both works explore 'death-in-life'—one of Cusk’s narrators grapples with her split self, while Blanchot's protagonist experiences a transformative ecstasy. Cusk’s narrative challenges conventional autobiography and invites readers to ponder self-knowledge and how to live an afterlife. | Rachel Cusk's Parade (Faber and Faber, 2024) tells a series of stories about a painter called 'G.',1 and a range of women who experience the vagaries and violences of life in similar and parallel ways. Parade is an eccentric novel with no stable centre—G. changes gender chapter-by-chapter, and even changes her/his mode of art, as - [Sea Witches and Hostage-Taking: A Dive into 'Drift' by Caryl Lewis](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/caryl-lewis-drift/) - Explore Caryl Lewis's 'Drift' through a captivating blend of magical realism and mythological motifs. Delve into the complexities of hospitality as Nefyn rescues Hamza, intertwining with themes of nostalgia and the 'Odyssey'. Lewis's narrative unfolds a tale of homecoming and longing, echoing timeless narratives in a modern context. - [The anti-Bildungsroman: Barbara Kingsolver's 'Demon Copperhead'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/barbara-kingsolver-demon-copperhead/) - In this post I explore the transformative journey of Barbara Kingsolver's 'Demon Copperhead', a contemporary retelling of Charles Dickens's classic Bildungsroman 'David Copperfield', set in Appalachia amid opioid addiction. I examine the complexities of growth and stagnation, as Demon's narrative navigates between traditional Bildungsroman elements and an intriguing anti-Bildung twist, shaping a poignant coming-of-age tale. | Barbara Kingsolver's 2022 novel, Demon Copperhead (Faber & Faber), won the author a Pulitzer Prize and, for the second time, the Women's Prize for Fiction. The novel retells Charles Dickens's Bildungsroman—a coming-of-age novel—David Copperfield (1850). Rather than Victorian London with its systemic poverty, its poor laws, and the debtors' prison, Demon Copperhead is set in - [Language and the queer journey in Arinze Ifeakandu's 'God's Children Are Little Broken Things'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/arinze-ifeakandu-gods-children-are-little-broken-things/) - Ifeakandu's 'God's Children Are Little Broken Things' reveals the struggle to be male and queer in modern Nigeria. The variety of native languages becomes a key part of these characters' journeys, sometimes helping, at other times a barrier. - [Architectural and uncanny shape in Benjamin Myers's 'Cuddy'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/benjamin-myers-cuddy/) - Benjamin Myers's 'Cuddy' won the 2023 Goldsmiths Prize. In this post, I examine the importance of shape to the novel. From the plane shapes of rectangular paragraphs to the emotionally rewarding architectural shapes of Durham Cathedral. These shapes reveal the full journey; of the novel's emotional development. - [What is hyper-contemporary literature?](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/what-is-hyper-contemporary-literature/) - This blog is entirely concerned with what I am terming hyper-contemporary literature. But what is hyper-contemporary literature, and how does it differ from any other kind of literature? When we read literature, the word ‘contemporary’ can mean two things. First, it means the historical moment of the text’s production. For Shakespeare’s plays, this is the | This blog is entirely concerned with what I am terming hyper-contemporary literature. But what is hyper-contemporary literature, and how does it differ from any other kind of literature? When we read literature, the word ‘contemporary’ can mean two things. First, it means the historical moment of the text’s production. For Shakespeare’s plays, this is the - [The forest of discovery in Jon Fosse's 'A Shining'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/jon-fosse-a-shining/) - The 2023 Nobel laureate Jon Fosse inverts Plato's Allegory of the Cave in his book 'A Shining', portraying a journey of confusion and ghostly visions within a dark forest. Unlike Plato's enlightenment through external light, Fosse suggests a discovery of truth within darkness, paralleling certainty with confusion and using the forest as a metaphorical space for heuristic problem-solving and insight. | Norwegian writer, Jon Fosse (1959–), won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2023. He was praised for his 'innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable'.[1] This description seems applicable to his latest book. In A Shining (2023)—a 46-page, single-paragraph story about an almost indescribable, imperceptible, journey to an impenetrably dark forest—Fosse's narrator - [Exhaustion and exhaustive: Colum McCann's 'Apeirogon'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/exhaustion-and-exhaustive-colum-mccanns-apeirogon/) - Colum McCann's Apeirogon (Bloomsbury, 2020) is a novel. I know this because it tells me both on the cover of the hardback edition, and in the acknowledgements. In the latter, McCann explains that this is a hybrid novel with invention at its core, a work of storytelling which, like all storytelling, weaves together elements of | Colum McCann's Apeirogon (Bloomsbury, 2020) is a novel. I know this because it tells me both on the cover of the hardback edition, and in the acknowledgements. In the latter, McCann explains that this is a hybrid novel with invention at its core, a work of storytelling which, like all storytelling, weaves together elements of - [Derry in absentia: Bernard MacLaverty’s ‘Midwinter Break’](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/derry-in-absentia-bernard-maclavertys-midwinter-break/) - I toyed with the title of this blog. It could easily have been titled ‘Love in Amsterdam’, because the novel is mostly about a third-age love story between husband Gerry and wife Stella who go on holiday to Amsterdam. But Bernard MacLaverty’s Midwinter Break (Jonathan Cape, 2017) is shadowed by a hazy story of tragedy | I toyed with the title of this blog. It could easily have been titled ‘Love in Amsterdam’, because the novel is mostly about a third-age love story between husband Gerry and wife Stella who go on holiday to Amsterdam. But Bernard MacLaverty’s Midwinter Break (Jonathan Cape, 2017) is shadowed by a hazy story of tragedy - [A stretched tapestry: Bernardino Evaristo’s ‘Girl, Woman, Other’](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/a-stretched-tapestry-bernardino-evaristos-girl-woman-other/) - Twelve overlapping stories across over 450 pages. A novel ‘bursting at the seams’ (Guardian). A book without a single full-stop. Bernardino Evaristo’s Booker-winning Girl, Woman, Other invites scrutiny about its structure and how it stitches together the twelve narrative patches of the quilt. Or is it: … how it constructs the twelve-piece mosaic? I think | Twelve overlapping stories across over 450 pages. A novel ‘bursting at the seams’ (Guardian). A book without a single full-stop. Bernardino Evaristo’s Booker-winning Girl, Woman, Other invites scrutiny about its structure and how it stitches together the twelve narrative patches of the quilt. Or is it: … how it constructs the twelve-piece mosaic? I think - [‘Lot’ by Bryan Washington: a battle for an ordinary](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/lot-by-bryan-washington-a-battle-for-an-ordinary/) - Bryan Washington’s Lot (Atlantic Books: 2019) is a short-story collection depicting the lives of several Houston citizens. One character’s story recurrently comes in and out of focus throughout Lot, but otherwise the stories transition between characters—mostly men—and explores how they experience the city. Another key element of the collection is its focus on who we’d | Bryan Washington’s Lot (Atlantic Books: 2019) is a short-story collection depicting the lives of several Houston citizens. One character’s story recurrently comes in and out of focus throughout Lot, but otherwise the stories transition between characters—mostly men—and explores how they experience the city. Another key element of the collection is its focus on who we’d - [The consolation of animals: Téa Obreht’s ‘Inland’](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/the-consolation-of-animals-tea-obrehts-inland/) - Téa Obreht’s Inland is extraordinary in its prosaic intensity, one of the many reasons it has been shortlisted for this year’s International Dylan Thomas Prize. The story depicts the lives of Nora on a farm during a drought in the Arizona territory in 1893, and the frontiersman Lurie as he arrives in Texas from eastern | Téa Obreht’s Inland is extraordinary in its prosaic intensity, one of the many reasons it has been shortlisted for this year’s International Dylan Thomas Prize. The story depicts the lives of Nora on a farm during a drought in the Arizona territory in 1893, and the frontiersman Lurie as he arrives in Texas from eastern - ['Judge for Yourself: Reading Hyper-contemporary literature and book prize shortlists'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/judge-for-yourself-publication/) - 'Judge for Yourself' is published on 5 October 2020. | My book, Judge for Yourself, will be published on 5 October 2020 with Routledge: Judge for Yourself guides interested and advanced-level readers through the challenge of judging the quality of hyper-contemporary literature. Whether reading the latest bestseller or the book that everyone is recommending, Judge for Yourself guides you through the challenge of the text. Reading the longlist - [Trans* today or yesterday? Andrea Lawlor's 'Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/andrea-lawlor-paul-takes-the-form-of-a-mortal-girl/) - In a 2017 book Beyond Trans: Does Gender Matter?, Heath Fogg Davis asks: 'Why not use transgender experience to fundamentally question the social custom of administrating sex?'[1] Using a queer logic that has roots in poststructural theory—the intricacies of which don't need elaborating here—Davis joins two arguments. First, he argues that sex-identity discrimination—which 'involves judgments | In a 2017 book Beyond Trans: Does Gender Matter?, Heath Fogg Davis asks: 'Why not use transgender experience to fundamentally question the social custom of administrating sex?'[1] Using a queer logic that has roots in poststructural theory—the intricacies of which don't need elaborating here—Davis joins two arguments. First, he argues that sex-identity discrimination—which 'involves judgments - [Top 5 blogs of 2020](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/top-5-blogs-of-2020/) - The new year will soon be heralded by new blogs from me. But for now, here's a list of my Top 5 blogs of 2020 according to views. Apart from anything else, the list provides an interesting snapshot of last year's popular and thought-provoking books … Enjoy, and thanks for reading this blog in 2020! | The new year will soon be heralded by new blogs from me. But for now, here's a list of my Top 5 blogs of 2020 according to views. Apart from anything else, the list provides an interesting snapshot of last year's popular and thought-provoking books … Enjoy, and thanks for reading this blog in 2020! - [The beyond: 'Night Boat to Tangier' by Kevin Barry](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/the-beyond-night-boat-to-tangier-by-kevin-barry/) - The Moroccan port city of Tangier nowadays conjures images of refugees and migrants preparing to cross the Strait of Gibraltar from Africa's northernmost country, Morocco, to mainland Europe at Spain. A common entry point into the 'West', Spain's southern coast is, in these images and narratives, a kind of limit point for 'civilisation'. It would | The Moroccan port city of Tangier nowadays conjures images of refugees and migrants preparing to cross the Strait of Gibraltar from Africa's northernmost country, Morocco, to mainland Europe at Spain. A common entry point into the 'West', Spain's southern coast is, in these images and narratives, a kind of limit point for 'civilisation'. It would - [Whose fault is it anyway? Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Testaments’](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/whose-fault-is-it-anyway-margaret-atwoods-the-testaments/) - No doubt editors are as old as authors. For Shakespeare, there were not only his fellow actors, but also the Master of the Revels to regulate, edit, and to censor his plays. T.S. Eliot made abundant and explicit use of Ezra Pound’s incisive cutting for ‘The Waste Land’ (1922), calling him 'il miglio fabbro' ('the | No doubt editors are as old as authors. For Shakespeare, there were not only his fellow actors, but also the Master of the Revels to regulate, edit, and to censor his plays. T.S. Eliot made abundant and explicit use of Ezra Pound’s incisive cutting for ‘The Waste Land’ (1922), calling him 'il miglio fabbro' ('the - [Booker Prize Longlist, 2019](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/booker-prize-longlist-2019/) - Backing the favourites The eagerly-awaited Booker Prize longlist was announced on Wednesday this week. The £50,000 Prize is well sought-after, and winning it has cemented the careers of many writers. In the eyes of many, to be known as the 'Booker Prize-winning author' is only beaten by 'Nobel Prize-winning author' title. Big bucks; big stakes. | Backing the favourites The eagerly-awaited Booker Prize longlist was announced on Wednesday this week. The £50,000 Prize is well sought-after, and winning it has cemented the careers of many writers. In the eyes of many, to be known as the 'Booker Prize-winning author' is only beaten by 'Nobel Prize-winning author' title. Big bucks; big stakes. - [Seeing is remembering: the photograph in Annie Ernaux's 'The Years'](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/annie-ernaux-the-years/) - Annie Ernaux is the latest name to grace the list of Nobel Prize winners in Literature. She was awarded in 2022 for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory. Nobel Prize awarding committee The sense of 'clinical acuity' combined with the richness of 'personal | Annie Ernaux is the latest name to grace the list of Nobel Prize winners in Literature. She was awarded in 2022 for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory. Nobel Prize awarding committee The sense of 'clinical acuity' combined with the richness of 'personal ## Pages - [Nicholas Taylor-Collins](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/) - Nicholas Taylor-Collins is an academic and writer. Whilst his primary research is in modern and contemporary Irish literature, he has also written a book on 'hyper-contemporary' literature. Judge for Yourself: Reading hyper-contemporary literature and book-prize shortlists was published with Routledge in 2020. Judge for Yourself puts the challenge of judging and evaluating brand-new writing in - [Contact me](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/contact/) - Let's talk 👋 Please don't hesitate to email me on: nick[at]taylorcollins.co.uk I will get back to you as soon as possible. While you're here, why not sign up below to get an email in your inbox whenever I publish a new post? - [Books](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/books/) - I have published two books, with a third on the way. Read below for more details. Judge for Yourself: Reading Hyper-contemporary Literature and Book Prize Shortlists is a guidebook published with Routledge in 2020. It helps interested book-club readers and advanced students of literature to navigate several major literary topics or discourses that recur in - [Privacy Notice](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/privacy/) - Google Ad Services use cookies on this website to help determine the advertisements that are best suited to visitors. When you first visit you have the opportunity to decline the use of these cookies. 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Eliot Prize](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/t-s-eliot-prize/) - [Thomas Hobbes](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/thomas-hobbes/) - [trans*](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/trans/) - [translation](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/translation/) - [Troubles](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/troubles/) - [USA](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/usa/) - [Virginia Woolf](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/virginia-woolf/) - [Walter Benjamin](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/walter-benjamin/) - [William Shakespeare](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/william-shakespeare/) - [Women's Prize for Fiction](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/womens-prize-for-fiction/) - [YA](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/ya/) - [Wales Book of the Year](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/wales-book-of-the-year/) - [Albert Camus](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/albert-camus/) - [Nadifa Mohamed](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/nadifa-mohamed/) - [Arlo Parks](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/arlo-parks/) - [song](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/song/) - [lyrics](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/lyrics/) - [cellular](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/cellular/) - [music](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/music/) - [Bob Dylan](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/bob-dylan/) - [Van Morrison](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/van-morrison/) - [cultural materialism](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/cultural-materialism/) - [Mercury Music Prize](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/mercury-music-prize/) - [Samuel Beckett](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/samuel-beckett/) - [Plato](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/plato/) - [Bertrand Russell](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/bertrand-russell/) - [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/friedrich-nietzsche/) - [Søren Kierkegaard](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/soren-kierkegaard/) - [cave](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/cave/) - [heuristic](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/heuristic/) - [William Blake](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/william-blake/) - [Anthony Joseph](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/anthony-joseph/) - [sonnet](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/sonnet/) - [poem](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/poem/) - [Ulysses](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/ulysses/) - [poiesis](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/poiesis/) - [memory](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/memory/) - [ethics](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/ethics/) - [Emmanuel Levinas](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/emmanuel-levinas/) - [face](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/face/) - [Martin Heidegger](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/martin-heidegger/) - [Sigmund Freud](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/sigmund-freud/) - [shape](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/shape/) - [architecture](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/architecture/) - [postcolonial](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/postcolonial/) - [language](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/language/) - [Nigeria](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/nigeria/) - [Women's Prize](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/womens-prize/) - [Bildungsroman](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/bildungsroman/) - [magical realism](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/magical-realism/) - [hospitality](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/hospitality/) - [Homer](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/homer/) - [Odyssey](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/odyssey/) - [nostalgia](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/nostalgia/) - [sea](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/sea/) - [post-structuralism](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/post-structuralism/) - [Derrida](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/derrida/) - [Maurice Blanchot](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/maurice-blanchot/) - [Rachel Cusk](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/rachel-cusk/) - [eudaimonia](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/eudaimonia/) - [autobiography](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/autobiography/) - [Han Kang](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/han-kang/) - [dream](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/dream/) - [Samantha Harvey](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/samantha-harvey/) - [painting](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/painting/) - [Caleb Azumah Nelson](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/caleb-azumah-nelson/) - [Aristotle](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/aristotle/) - [jazz](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/jazz/) - [ekphrasis](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/ekphrasis/) - [Keats](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/keats/) - [Wordsworth](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/wordsworth/) - [Victoria Chang](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/victoria-chang/) - [Agnes Martin](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/agnes-martin/) - [art](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/art/) - [V.V. Ganeshananthan](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/v-v-ganeshananthan/) - [Michel Foucault](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/michel-foucault/) - [care](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/care/) - [speed](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/speed/) - [simulacra](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/simulacra/) - [British Book Awards](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/british-book-awards/) - [everyday](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/everyday/) - [David Szalay](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/david-szalay/) - [Paul Lynch](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/paul-lynch/) - [quotidian](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/quotidian/) - [historical fiction](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/historical-fiction/) - [Yael van der Wouden](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/yael-van-der-wouden/) - [John Donne](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/john-donne/) - [space man](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/space-man/) - [Empson](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/empson/) - [capitalism](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/capitalism/) - [C.D. Rose](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/c-d-rose/) - [J.G. Ballard](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/j-g-ballard/) - [Vidyan Ravinthiran](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/vidyan-ravinthiran/) - [Karen Solie](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/karen-solie/) - [pain](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/pain/) - [immigration](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/immigration/) - [Pulitzer](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/pulitzer/) - [American](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/american/) - [Mark Twain](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/mark-twain/) - [Huckleberry Finn](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/huckleberry-finn/) - [James](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/james/) - [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/ludwig-wittgenstein/) - [Scotland](https://taylorcollins.co.uk/blog/tag/scotland/)