Notebooks

Notebooks are snapshots from our writers, reflecting on current affairs and underappreciated aspects of culture and history.

The pandemic coincided with the 30th anniversary of the reunification of Germany - the crisis is a chance to find that sense of optimism again.

Blindness offers a metaphor for the perils of worldly delusion. And the physically blind can sometimes discover new ways of seeing.

Throughout history communal spaces have provided refuge and reconnection. We need them more than ever.

Sometimes when a tale concludes we want to know what happens next to fascinating characters. Even Shakespeare leaves his readers wondering.

It is often said that the city is like an organism – now lethargic, but soon to burst forth with renewed vigour.

The fine hand of the artist and the musician has gone a long way for some of history's great and terrible figures.

George Herbert's architectural approach to poetry is ideal reading when stuck indoors.

Few historical figures have left such a lasting impression on such a variety of cultures as Alexander the Great.

Seamus Heaney’s poems are a valuable, moving register of individual intimacy and national pain.