Previous Day
From the catwalk to the page
Sophie Dahl's first novel draws on her childhood, but she's
unencumbered by her literary pedigree, writes
Róisín Ingle p
The Producer
Noel Pearson's career in theatre and film spans four decades -
but he's not about to write his memoirs, he tells
Michael Dwyer , Film Correspondent p
The glowing brilliance of one hundred paper moons
The freshness, freedom and fearlessness of Yoshitoshi's woodblock prints make his works appear current, writes Aidan Dunne p
Arts
Princess and the King
Fame, drugs, junk food and Las Vegas - the parallels between the lives of Britney and Elvis are uncanny, writes Laura Barton pDrawing on experience
On The Town: The thrill of being included in an art exhibition at the National Gallery was a dream come true for many of the artists included in Drawing Studies: A Celebration, which opened on Thursday night in Dublin.Rooney closes the Gate behind her
Art Scape: For people connected with theatre, thinking of the Gate without Marie Rooney is . . . unthinkable. Deputy director for the past 12 years, she's actually worked at the theatre for nearly 30 years, going back to the days of Hilton Edwards. p
A street on every floor
A vertical village, Le Corbusier's Marseilles landmark was supposed to change the way we live, writes John Fleming pUnité d'Habitation: vital statistics
1,600 The number of residents of Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation. pTackling the spread of infernal ferns
Another Life: The decline and fall of bracken seduces my eye every autumn: the dry fronds curling through delicate ochres and golds, the wet ones glowing perversely as they crumble into embers of hot russets and burnt siennas. pIslands in isolation
Horizons: In 1841, more than 34,000 people lived on the islands around Ireland. In 2002, there were fewer than 9,000. Island Life: The Islands of Ireland, an exhibition of photographs of daily life on the islands of Ireland from the late 19th century onwards, opened in the National Museum of Country Life, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co Mayo, yesterday. pEye on Nature
Readers' observations on nature p
Last days of the empire
History In 1884, at the height of the public agitation for an expedition to relieve General Gordon at Khartoum, a pamphlet called A History of the Decline and Fall of the British Empire was published. pTragic fragments revealed
Irish Language Míreanna Saoil - fragments of a life - is the well-chosen title of this short account of the life and writings of Seosamh Mac Grianna. pGetting serious about comics
Graphic Novels Twice in my life I have had complete strangers come up to me in public and tell me that I am "too old" to be reading comics. pA cosmopolitan reclaimed
Biography The reclamation of lost voices is often associated with the distant past but can occur within living memory. pPoetry, Plath and paranormal
Letters In 1956, Ted Hughes wrote to his American friend and fellow Cambridge graduate Lucas Myers about entering an American poetry prize, sponsored by Harper's magazine. pTolstoy and the New Ireland
Fiction In Éilís Ní Dhuibhne's new novel, her familiar strengths are well in evidence: the linguistic precision conveying the social observations of her cool eye, and the unsettling way compassion emerges from behind the satirical edge. pTime for the critic as artist
Literary Criticism Criticism, writes Hegel, is "a god that self-destructs . . . a self-annihilating nothing". This definition sprang to mind recently as I sat alone outside a restaurant in Istanbul, feeling a little smug about a lecture I'd given the night before and the expenses-paid day ahead. pA 'Buddenbrooks' for the 21st century
Fiction No one remembers as relentlessly as family; no one fights as viciously; no feuds simmer as long; no memory is tougher. pFlawed portait of a formidable woman
Biography 'I have the clearest recollection of seeing her for the first time," wrote Viscount D'Abernon in the most famous description of the youthful Jennie Churchill, as he went on to recall there being "more of the panther than of the woman in her look, but with a cultivated intelligence unknown in the jungle". pIrish poets on the TS Eliot shortlist
Loose Leaves Caroline Walsh Two Irish poets are on the shortlist for this year's TS Eliot prize: Alan Gillis for his second collection, Hawks and Doves, published by Gallery Press and Matthew Sweeney for Black Moon published by Jonathan Cape. pAnother intelligent page-turner
Crime It takes a lot these days to persuade me to read any fiction other than upbeat crime novels, since I find contemporary so-called literary fiction almost invariably disappointing or unpleasant. Foolishly, I allowed myself to be persuaded into reviewing Anne Enright's The Gathering, for the Literary Review which made me feel sick (I am squeamish) and which I dismissed as horrid just a few days before she won the Man Booker Prize. pPaperbacks
A selection of paperbacks reviewed p
Not addictive viewing
TV Review: Cocaine is God's way of telling you that you have too much money, as Robin Williams once remarked; and the assembled drug experts wheeled out in High Society were in no doubt that the growing levels of cocaine use among Irish professionals are very much a "disease of prosperity". pA live arts show without enough life
Radio Review: It wasn't exactly an outcry - that'd be a bit on the dramatic side - but, when Rattlebag was cancelled two years ago, there were many expressions of public disquiet about the national broadcaster's commitment to arts coverage. p'The goys in the driving test centre in Rathgor have this, like, Padre Pio medal that they give to whoever's accompanying me'
I'm behind the wheel in Rathgor for the actual 13th time, and all's going well until I remember the D6 horts I broke, and then Claire Cuddy sees me. . . p
