The Scallop Shell and the Lapis Lazuli
In truth, there was no grand sea foam or divine zephyr carrying a goddess ashore. There was only Simonetta, his married neighbour, shivering in…
Europe writes itself. Again. And we are thrilled to have you here to read it.
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Listening to the World
'I suppose one talks to people who have a story to tell, who have an enthusiasm for life, for a cause, for a craft,…
The Oval Limerick
The courts have already stepped in, and the three media outlets illegally barred from the White House are back on the grounds. Score one…
Prelude
The poem was written on a sheet of cream lay-laid paper he had taken from his study two days ago. He had used an…
Rocket Science
What they neglected to mention was that when your plumbing breaks on Earth, you call a bloke named Max who arrives in a van…
The RWB Triad
Have you ever noticed which are the dominant colours used in the flags' creation? Looking at a grid of world flags, a vibrant sea…
Green Blood
The greenest blood was the kind that never felt the need to prove its colour…
Candide, ou l’Optimisme
The Age of Enlightenment’s French philosopher wrote this story to mock Leibnizian optimism, a popular philosophy at the time claiming that God created a…
My Pet, the Red Herring
Yet, despite the chaos, Herry became an indispensable part of our lives. He possessed an uncanny knack for appearing precisely when one wished to…
The Commonwealth of Letters
When viewed through the lens of literature, Europe ceases to be a patchwork of sovereign nations guarded by border checks and passport controls. Instead,…
The Ugly Catling
As they walked out into the chilly rain, snug in Clara’s warm pocket, Cattie smiled her stitched-scarlet smile. She had always known it, of…
Before I Knew Who I Was
I picked up Oliver’s forgotten graphite pencil from the floor. Holding it against the blank space above my collar, I did not draw eyes…
Vegan Popcorn for Dinner
The rain had been tapping against the single-glazed window of the flat since five o’clock, a steady, indifferent rhythm that matched the ticking of…
The Crown of Boughs
One grey morning, a silent wolf entered the royal chamber. He came from Calais, carrying a heavy iron axe. The falcon looked from the…
Update the Dummy
Nigel stared blankly at his kitchen counter, nursing a mug of synthetic tea. Having a smart phone, smart TV, smart fridge and smart thermostat…
A Huge Potential For Doing Nothing
Leonidas watched him with profound detachment. To a man whose father had spent forty-nine years waking up at three in the morning to battle…
When Life Gives You Books
That evening, sitting amidst tower blocks of Victorian drainage history, Phineas realised Mrs Brown was right. Lemons were versatile. Books were heavy, flammable and…
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Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight
The tension is personified by Statler and Waldorf, the two elderly cynics perched permanently in the box seats. They are the ultimate…
Books of Our Continent
From the quiet shelves of forty-four national archives and ancient university libraries to the cosy corners of independent bookstores and modest home…
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