Mary Shelley’s neglected later book The Last Man (1826) has the most to say to us in our present moment of crisis and global pandemic.
One of the things you get asked most when people find out that you’re a poet is whether you can recommend something that could be read at an upcoming wedding, or if you know something that might be suitable for a funeral.
People are social creatures. While many of us are making the best of social isolation, we’re much better together than apart.
- By Emma Smith
In recent years the orthodoxy that Shakespeare can only be truly appreciated on stage has become widespread.
- By Elaine Reese
Humans are innately social creatures. But as we stay home to limit the spread of COVID-19, video calls only go so far to satisfy our need for connection.
In her book How Games Move Us (2016), computer games researcher Katherine Isbister writes that her friends and colleagues believe that gaming might numb people’s emotions.
- By Diana Rowan
Knowing what I know now fires me up with enthusiasm to share this truth: there is a brighter way. What you seek, you will find. I want to impart this to all who approach me about their creative issues and anxieties: there are answers to your suffering and your longing.
The #PlayApartTogether campaign has recently been promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO) to encourage people to stay socially connected from home.
- By Tim Riley
Fifty years ago, when Paul McCartney announced he had left the Beatles, the news dashed the hopes of millions of fans, while fueling false reunion rumors that persisted well into the new decade.
In 1722, Daniel Defoe pulled off one of the great literary hoaxes of all time. A Journal of the Plague Year, he called his latest book.
He survived the last great plague in London and the city’s Great Fire. He was imprisoned and persecuted for his religious and political views.
- By Paul Yachnin
Shakespeare lived his life in plague-time. He was born in April 1564, a few months before an outbreak of bubonic plague swept across England and killed a quarter of the people in his hometown.
- By Pam Lock
The evolution of the novel and short story in the 19th century brought us one of the greatest human sources of comfort, besides food and a nice hot bath.
Watching cute cat videos and looking at their online pictures may not be a waste of time. A new study has found doing so could boost energy levels and increase feelings of happiness.
A plague of serious proportions is ravaging the world. But not for the first time. From 1347-51, the Black Death killed anywhere from one-tenth to one-half (or more) of Europe’s population.
A new social music app is pushing the boundaries of music creation by making recording artists out of novices with little to no musical training or traditional talent.
Many musicians are reaching out from isolation on balconies, in condos or the outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Seeking to bend the coronavirus curve, governors and mayors have told millions of Americans to stay home. If you’re pondering what to read, it’s easy to find lists featuring books about disease outbreaks, solitude and living a simpler life.
My name is Dillon and this is a story of how I woke from the dream of the world -- a trance which controlled my thinking, my behavior, my relationships, and my future -- a trance which affected every aspect of my life, and a trance of which I was completely unaware...
- By Emily Thomas
Philosophers and others have argued for centuries that real-world travel comes second to armchair travel.
- By Grace Terry
Various versions of the following story were circulated through the Human Potential Movement of the 1960s and 70s: Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived two very happy people called Tim and Maggie with two children called John and Lucy. To understand how happy they were...
- By Valerie Khoo
In your hectic life, you might feel as if you're always rushing -- from a client meeting to a seminar, then to an aerobics class, then to drinks with friends. Even though you might enjoy, and perhaps even thrive on, this busy timetable, it's still crucial that you schedule blocks of 'Me Time'.
Disney’s recent deal with the immersive experience company Secret Cinema signals a new era for the cinema industry.