Author Archives: bsixsmith

About bsixsmith

I am a writer of stories and poems - published by Every Day Fiction, The London Journal of Fiction, 365 Tomorrows and Det Poetiske Bureau - and a columnist for Quillette, Areo and Bombs & Dollars.

On Grifting and Grifters…

Posted on January 20, 2019 by bsixsmith

As the media has fragmented, its funding has relied on diverse sources of patronage. People who agree with me have offered excellent products and appealed to readers, listeners and viewers to support them in bettering the world. People who disagree … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

The Slow Decline of the Loomer Generation…

Posted on January 11, 2019 by bsixsmith

The worst chapter in Christopher Hitchens’ patchy memoir Hitch-22 concerned his literary friendships. Packed with detailed accounts of booze-sodden lunches, and agonising explanations of in-jokes, it could have been summed up in five short words: you had to be there. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Minor Self Indulgence…

Posted on December 21, 2018 by bsixsmith

This is extremely, possibly excessively self-indulgent but I wanted to collect some of my favourite pieces from 2018. If one writes a lot one often forgets past articles and allows them to drift into the dark, unlovely wastelands of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Reflections on Poland’s Independence Day March…

Posted on December 16, 2018 by bsixsmith

As we inched, with more than two hundred thousand Poles, from Rondo Dmowskiego to the national stadium, my companions checked their phones to see what lies the Western media were telling. “Two hundred thousand Nazis,” one of them chuckled, “That … Continue reading →

Posted in Poland | 3 Comments

The Architecture of Annihilation…

Posted on December 16, 2018 by bsixsmith

A cathedral is a tribute to God. A skyscraper is a tribute to capital. Cathedrals reflect the glorious narratives of faith. Skyscrapers reflect the profits of capital. This could be an impotent anti-materialist moan. What interests me, though, is something … Continue reading →

Posted in Fascism, Futurism, Science, Utopianism | 1 Comment

Rubin, Boot, Koestler and Convert’s Syndrome…

Posted on December 14, 2018 by bsixsmith

Somewhere between adolescence and adulthood, or at least their formal boundaries, I became something of a proto-SJW, railing against sexism, racism, homophobia, Islamophobia and various other things that bore the suffixes “ism” and “obia”. (Not transphobia, as I recall. That … Continue reading →

Posted in Rationalism | 7 Comments

In Defence of Roger Scruton…

Posted on November 14, 2018 by bsixsmith

If the Conservatives fire Roger Scruton from his new position as “housing czar” it will be as vivid a symbol of surrender as running a white sheet up a flagpole. Scruton is Britain’s most prominent and respected conservative intellectual. No … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain, Conservatism | Leave a comment

A Manifesto for Classical Liberals…

Posted on November 14, 2018 by bsixsmith

What do you think of when you hear the word “liberal”? Hippies? Commies? Vegans? SJWs? Clintons? Well, you could not be more wrong. The word “liberal”, you see, has been misappropriated by people who believe in big government and identity … Continue reading →

Posted in Liberalism, Libertarianism | 5 Comments

The Corrosion of Conservatism by Max Boot…

Posted on October 27, 2018 by bsixsmith

Max Boot, like Jennifer Rubin, once claimed to be a conservative critic of President Donald Trump but has become critical of conservatism itself. His new book The Corrosion of Conservatism explores his dissatisfaction with the Conservative movement and explains, as … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Books, Conservatism | 8 Comments

My Book!

Posted on October 23, 2018 by bsixsmith

My book, Kings and Comedians: A Brief History of British-Polish Relations, has been published today and is available on Kindle and in paperback, as well as from Amazon.co.uk. It contains war, repression, liberation, art, heroism, war, betrayal, poetry, war, football … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Britain, Personal, Poland | Leave a comment