By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Isaac Asimov (1920-92) is one of the most prolific authors who have ever lived, with several hundred books to his name (as writer and editor). He’s the only writer to have published books in nine out of ten Dewey library categories.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Spanish poems – not just poems written by poets born or raised in Spain, but poems written in the Spanish language – are among some of the greatest love poems in world literature.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
The phrase ‘salt of the earth’ has entered common speech (and writing), and many people who use the phrase now may be unaware of its religious origins. Indeed, even those who suspect the phrase originates in biblical scripture may not be familiar with the specific passage in which the expression first appears.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Yellow is a curious colour. It carries some interesting symbolism: although it’s a ‘warm’ colour associated with brightness and joy and hope, it can also carry connotations of sickness and pallor: having a ‘sallow’ complexion isn’t usually a good sign, and sallowness denotes a pale yellowish hue.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘The Watch-Towers’ is one of the finest of J. G. Ballard’s early stories. Published in 1962, the story concerns a town whose skyline is dominated by the tall observation-towers which provide the story with its title. Ballard’s story follows Renthall, a man who is trying to figure out just how much interest the watch-towers are taking in him and his fellow townsfolk.