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Modern Women: 52 Pioneers by Kira Cochrane
An extended version of a BBC Arts article I published earlier this year. The original piece is here.It’s not often that one book weaves together the stories of a Russian cosmonaut, an American pilot, a...
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"It's very hard to be xenophobic when you can speak someone else's language."...
This is a longer version of an article originally published by BBC Arts in January 2017. The original piece is here.As told by historian Bettany Hughes, the story of Istanbul – formerly Constantinople,...
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On sexual exploitation, gender and inequality in China
This is an extended version of my Times Literary Supplement essay on the Chinese writer Lijia Zhang's novel Lotus from June 2017. The original is here.Earlier this month, as part of the Asia House...
View Article'Poetry is the only place that I feel human.' An interview with Kurdish poet...
This interview can be found in the new issue of Wasafiri Journal of International Literature. Bejan Matur’s poetry is put down as if engraved rather than written. Her ideas are expressed with a carved...
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Poetry reviews: Joy Harjo, Patricia Jabbeh Wesley and George Szirtes
This is a reprint of a review I wrote for Poetry Review earlier this year.Joy Harjo, Conflict Resolution for Holy BeingsPatricia Jabbeh Wesley, When the Wanderers Come HomeGeorge Szirtes, Mapping the...
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Top Girls by Caryl Churchill
This is an extended version of an essay commissioned by the British Library this year.Caryl Churchill’s play Top Girlspremiered in 1982 at The Royal Court and instantly became a classic with its sly...
View ArticleSome of my favourite films
Terminator and Terminator 2 - James CameronPoint Break - Kathryn BigelowNear Dark - Kathryn BigelowA Girl Walks Home Alone at Night - Ana Lily AmirpourLawn Dogs - John DuiganThe Brave One - Neil...
View ArticleBrown in Brexit Britain: an interview
This summer I gave an interview to journalist Lorraine Mallinder about being British Asian in the Brexit era. This is an extended version of the interview.What does the term 'British' mean to you? Is...
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An Impossible Poison
The opening shot of An Impossible Poison. Scroll down to watch the film for free.I am delighted to celebrate my first short film, An Impossible Poison, which received its premiere at Lettrétage in...
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Aurora
I'm delighted to announce the launch of my new film series, Aurora. It follows my first short film, An Impossible Poison, which premiered in 2017 and has been selected for numerous international film...
View ArticleArt On A Postcard auction, 23rd Feb - 9th March 2023
I am delighted to be part of the upcoming Art On A Postcard auction, raising money via The Auction Collective for the The Hepatitis C Trust. I've donated four postcard-sized pieces (15cm x 10cm) -...
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Do you know this man?
This incident now has a case reference no: CHS 31616 17/02/2023. If you have any information identifying this individual, the police can be contacted with this reference.Photo taken 16.2.23 at...
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Art On A Postcard auction, 23rd Feb - 9th March 2023
I am delighted to be part of the upcoming Art On A Postcard auction, raising money via The Auction Collective for the The Hepatitis C Trust. I've donated four postcard-sized pieces (15cm x 10cm) -...
View ArticleChoosing political sides in England's porn-fed, combative culture
This is an oddly backdated essay reprinted from the 28 Days project released a month before the 2015 general election, just before the Tories got in for another 5 years with a (slim) majority. You can...
View ArticleThe reality of asylum and refuge in modern Britain
This essay was first published by the Free Word for its Briefing Notes series, pegged to my book Asylum and Exile: The Hidden Voices of London. Bodies in boats. Grateful, half-drowned people wrapped...
View ArticleA reading list - domestic abuse, coerceive control, victimisation, trauma and...
I am putting links here for Womens Aid UK and Rape Crisis as well as the Refuge page on coercive control. Check out the UK government's statutory guidance on the crime of coercive control and here is...
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China Flash: a collection of my recent articles about contemporary China
The Zaha Hadid-designed Galaxy mall complex, Chaoyangmen, Beijing, end 2014Only condoms can save China from a 'raging epidemic' of sexually transmitted diseasesFilm-maker Jenny Man Wu on contemporary...
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China Flash: Lean In Beijing on the new sexism, corporate ambition, marital...
This is a greatly expanded version of an article which first appeared in Time Out Beijing last month.A Lean In Beijing meeting, image (c) Lean In BeijingLean In, Sheryl Sandberg’s book about how she...
View ArticleChina Flash: Only condoms can save China from a "raging epidemic" of syphilis...
This 'as told to' interview was granted to me by Dr Neil Schmid, Beijing chief of sexual health charity DKT International, and first ran in Time Out Beijing's November edition. The text below is by and...
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