One year since the relaunch of Clare, and three issues down the line. We have solicited, edited, designed and printed work from industry leaders, academics, students, poets, writers, artists and dead people.
Now we reign our focus right in to home – London.
1968 marked the fortieth anniversary of the year when the Lord Chamberlain relinquished his power to censor all new plays before they could be put on stage in London’s West End. This represents a watershed moment in the history of the stage in Britain.
Growing up, I recall knitting with my grandmother as she related stories of her life in Lebanon. This intergenerational narrative is very present in my work, the passing of the skill and memory from one generation to another. The durational practice of the craft is significant here, as it allowed me to share and reflect on my grandmother’s stories as we stitched together. My handmade objects provide comfort and connection with the past through the reuse of material and the recollection of the stories embroidered on them, making that which might have been passed on aurally into something physical.
The silence that stood between two bodies
took an eternity to settle.
When it settled, it settled like snow.
I will carry my silence this winter
Sitting in a Brooklyn apartment in late-August, I was trawling the Internet to find something to do upon arriving in London the following week. I found my way to the Globe’s web site in an act of unabashed ignorance of London’s alternative theatre scene. I’d resigned myself to something mandated in the tourist guidebook. Browsing the listings, I ran across a midnight showing of Hamlet, advertised as an avant-garde production by a theatre company called The Factory.
Music at LSE continues to flourish. The LSE Orchestra, under the dynamic leadership of Matthew Taylor goes from strength to strength. At the recent LSE Spring Concert in St Clement Danes, the orchestra gave a vivid account of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, and a rousing performance of Matthew’s own work The Needles Overture Op. 26.
The way in which we interact with the media has evolved; we look to printed publications for reassurance but it is on the internet where we gain much of our inspiration. On these pages lie the views of three of Britain’s most influential fashion and design bloggers. Here they give their views on the cultural centre of the universe. Ironically, this should serve only as an introduciton, after reading, do as you know best and take to your keyboard. SB
“With a history spanning over 100 years, the Clare Market Review has been a part of the LSE and its students’ union since the school was gathering direction, reputation and ethos. With contributions from the Webbs, Bertrand Russell, Ralph Milliband and Spike Milligan, to name but a few – from 1905 to 1973 the review prided itself on being a place where critical thought and opinions could be expressed, free from the constraints of academia. Beyond simple affection shared by those who spent time with Clare, it’s academic presence remains undiminished and the journal continues to demand respect in libraries, university common rooms, and coffee shops the world over.
“At the moment, I’m in my house in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Gaza Strip. It’s quiet, but there is no electricity and there are some airplanes in the sky. It’s a bit tense because we don’t know what will happen. According to what we heard on the news, it seems that there are some escalations, so we don’t know what is going to happen.
“Take away the right to say ‘fuck,’” said Lenny Bruce, “and you take away the right to say ‘fuck the government.’” Last December, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Andy Burnham, announced that when it comes to the Internet, “There is content that should just not be available to be viewed. That is my view. Absolutely categorical.” He proposed to start deciding what Internet users can and cannot view by introducing filters which would screen Web pages for obscene content. He was, quite literally, proposing to take away our right to say ‘fuck’.
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