StarTrek.com • 29th April 2022 Captain Kirk's Favourite Poem Kirk’s poetic reference highlights the tension that often comes with scientific progress – whether we belong to the age of seafarers or the age of starfarers.
Winter is Coming • 7th March 2022 Remembering Priscilla Tolkien Living in the shadow of a famous father can be difficult. But Priscilla Tolkien always spoke of her father’s work with pleasure and pride. Fans can honour her memory by continuing to preserve that fellowship they share in their passion for J.R.R. Tolkien’s works.
Winter is Coming • 3rd September 2021 The Nature of Middle-earth enhances Tolkien’s world Even as The Nature of Middle-earth expands our knowledge of Tolkien’s world, it also shows us how unfinished it is. We can never fully catch up with the imaginings of a man who every day falls further into the past.
StarTrek.com • 23rd April 2021 Star Trek at the Oscars Few franchises can rival the enduring success of Star Trek. With 13 films across some 40 years, it is no surprise that it has also been a consistent presence at the biggest event in filmmaking – the Oscars.
StarTrek.com • 25th February 2021 A Closer Look at Benny Russell's Library In 1998, one episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine broke the mould in a radical way, shining a light on the great works of African American literature.
StarTrek.com • 23rd October 2020 How the United Nations Helped Shape the Federation On UN Day, Christian Kriticos looks at how the United Nations influenced Star Trek and how Trek fans can return the favour.
The American Writers Museum • 20th September 2020 Another Side of George R.R. Martin George R. R. Martin's earlier work seems to have been forgotten, or at least overshadowed by, his colossal success with A Song of Ice and Fire and its TV adaptation, Game of Thrones.
StarTrek.com • 30th April 2019 How W.B Yeats Captured the Essence of Star Trek a Century Before its Time To celebrate National Poetry Month, Christian Kriticos takes a look at how a W. B. Yeats poem captures the spirit of Star Trek.
The American Writers Museum • 19th October 2017 Stories Behind Classic Book Covers: The Great Gatsby Francis Cugat’s painting is perhaps the most famous book cover in American literature. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s editor understood its significance immediately, declaring it “a masterpiece for this book”.
The Rumpus • 16th March 2017 J. M. Coetzee’s “Bread and Beans” Writing Man shall not live by bread alone. But add some unsalted bean paste and you have all the nutrients needed for healthy, hard-working life. At least, that is, according to J. M. Coetzee's latest novel, The Schooldays of Jesus.
The Millions • 6th January 2017 James Joyce and the Yuletide Epiphany As we leave the festive season, James Joyce's The Dead represents a return to reality. For Joyce, true epiphanies do not come during Christmas, amidst wine and tinsel, but after the celebrations have died down, when we find ourselves alone.
The Millions • 29th December 2016 A Reading Resolution I am making a New Year’s resolution to embrace the unexpected book; to make an effort to read things I have never heard of, on subjects I know nothing about.
The Millions • 8th September 2016 Made of Sterner Stuff: On Roald Dahl and 'Love From Boy' This newly published collection of Roald Dahl's letters shows how devoted he was to his mother—and how lucky he was to survive the travails of English boarding school life.
The American Writers Museum • 6th September 2016 Five Great Film Adaptations of American Literature For as long as Hollywood has been making movies, it has looked to America's literary greats for inspiration. Christian Kriticos selects his five favourites adaptations—from the page to the big screen.
The Millions • 31st August 2016 An Invitation to Hesitate: John Hersey’s 'Hiroshima' at 70 In August 1946, The New Yorker eschewed cartoons and “Talk of the Town” in favour of something less frivolous: a 30,000-word article on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
The Millions • 5th April 2016 Origin Stories: The Darker Side of J.R.R. Tolkien The Story of Kullervo, the first known prose work by J. R. R. Tolkien, offers fans of Middle Earth a chance to read what may be one of the earliest sources for Tolkien’s quintessential literary fantasy realm.
The American Writers Museum • 22nd March 2016 The Orchard: A Forgotten American Classic Many of America’s great writers only achieved recognition posthumously. But, Adele Crockett Robertson’s memoir, The Orchard, published 15 years after her death, failed to launch her to fame.
The Millions • 29th February 2016 Animals Emoting: An Interview with Yann Martel Christian Kriticos catches up with Yann Martel to discuss his latest novel, The High Mountains of Portugal. Their wide-ranging conversation covers Jesus, animal husbandry, and J.M. Coetzee’s one bad book.
The American Writers Museum • 18th January 2016 Stories Behind Classic Book Covers: The Catcher in the Rye The old mantra says “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. But some, like the famous first edition cover to J. D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, have achieved such an iconic status that they beg for closer scrutiny.
The American Writers Museum • 30th December 2015 Five Great American Short Stories As the short story form undergoes a renaissance in the digital age of speed and brevity, Christian Kriticos selects five American favourites for your consideration.