Monthly Archives: July 2016

On Normality…

Posted on July 26, 2016 by bsixsmith

Even before the killing of Father Jacques Hamel the French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, said that France “is going to have to live with terrorism”. Regular atrocities have become the “new norm”. Imagine, if you will, going back in time. … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe, War | 2 Comments

Words on the Death of Father Jacques Hamel

Posted on July 26, 2016 by bsixsmith

Screaming in a house of silence. Death before the resurrection. Let the power of their violence Shrink before civilisation.

Posted in Poetry | Leave a comment

My New Book…

Posted on July 23, 2016 by bsixsmith

I am pleased to announce the publication of my first book, Champion. It is a short book, at about 14,000 words, and is about status, ambition, armed robbery and the Premiership. You can download it here for absolutely nothing. Here’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction | Leave a comment

Three Poems About Poets…

Posted on July 20, 2016 by bsixsmith

Language Think of Auden, Calmly weeping. In his Autumn Words did nothing. Observation Sod the paper. Sod the weather. I saw rabbits wearing leather. Sod the paper. Sod the weather. I saw dead hands pressed together. Biography You try, Mr … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Leave a comment

Hot Take

Posted on July 16, 2016 by bsixsmith

It comes naturally to me: Instantaneous expertise. That sense of knowing one plus one Almost, almost adds up to three.

Posted in Poetry | Leave a comment

The Public School in the Progressive Imagination…

Posted on July 15, 2016 by bsixsmith

Imperial Britain was, in a sense, a bully. It strode around the world as a bully strides around a school: pushing about the weaker, less developed nations. It could be brutal, and contemptuous, and it was not above stealing lunch … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain, History, Liberalism | Leave a comment

Towards an Inquisitive Agnosticism…

Posted on July 8, 2016 by bsixsmith

The court has heard arguments, impassioned and intemperate, both for belief and nonbelief in the existence of God. On one side we can count such notable apologists as William Lane Craig, John Lennox, David Bentley Hart and Edward Feser. On … Continue reading →

Posted in God | 2 Comments

Platitudes and Poetitudes…

Posted on July 6, 2016 by bsixsmith

A platitude is an assertion of limited truth content but great emotional appeal. A poetitude is an assertion of limited truth content but great aesthetic appeal. Consider this, from a Paris Review interview with Auden… INTERVIEWER You’ve insisted we do … Continue reading →

Posted in Language | Leave a comment

Iraq and Responsibility…

Posted on July 6, 2016 by bsixsmith

Advocates and sympathisers of the invasion of Iraq have long observed that most civilian deaths were caused not by Coalition troops but by jihadists and sectarian guerrilas. This does not absolve our elites of responsibility. Dismantling the civil infrastructure of … Continue reading →

Posted in War | Leave a comment

Defend Jeremy Corbyn! (On One Point, At Least…)

Posted on July 2, 2016 by bsixsmith

I think my record of creatively insulting Jeremy Corbyn and his politics speaks for itself, suffice to say that I would rather be exiled to the loneliest and coldest little enclave of Siberia than see him droning on about Palestine … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain, Politics, Uncategorized | 3 Comments