A novel navigating peer-pressure, friendship, love, migration and casual racism. Chevalier retells the story of Shakespeare’s play Othello but set in Washington, D.C. in the 1970s. 11 year old protagonist Osei, the son of a diplomat, starts his first day at a new school, the fourth school in six years. Luckily, he finds a potential […]

A modern tragedy negotiating reality and illusion within the pursuit of the American Dream. Willy Loman is a travelling salesman who lives with his wife, Linda, in New York. Besides being constantly stressed out by his job, driving around and earning barely enough money to make a living, he is also disappointed by his son […]

A Gothic novel about advances in science and moral responsibilities they bring about. Victor Frankenstein is a gifted young scientist living and studying in Switzerland. Through the recently discovered ‘wonder of electricity’ he is able to give life to his own creation – a monstrous creature. However, Victor does not take responsibility for the monster […]

A young-adult novel on the loss of innocence, isolation and alienation, morality, mental health, sexual confusion, youth and the painfulness of growing up. The Catcher in the Rye tells a story of teenage frustration and the way 17-year-old Holden perceives the world. Expelled from his private school, he goes to New York City, wandering the […]

A dystopian coming-of-age novel about trust, education and children coming to terms with their special place in the world. Protagonist Kathy tells the story of her childhood attending a private school in England. There, living healthily is the most important rule. She and her friends already feel that they are special in some way but […]

A comedy of manners on the constraints of morality, the importance of lineage, Victorian values and hypocrisies. Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff are two wealthy gentlemen who invent fictional characters as an excuse to leave their respective home – a strategy known as ‘Bunburying’. Jack intends to marry Algernon’s cousin Gwendolen Fairfax. To see her […]

A coming-of-age novel about emotional distance and proximity, friendship and family, responsibility and peer-pressure. 12-year old Marcus lives alone with his mother, who suffers from depression. Will is a 36-year old bachelor, living off his father’s fortune and rejecting any responsibilities. When Will attends a single parents support group, simply in order to pick up […]

A dystopian novel on social hierarchies, the progress of science and technology and psychological manipulation. In the year 2540, society has grown into a caste system that seeks to attain absolute perfection: People are no longer born, but genetically modified and conditioned to behave as perfectly functioning members of society. For most, happiness is controlled […]

An allegorical novel on civilization and savagery, the power of religion, identity, and youth. A group of young boys survive a plane crash and find themselves on an uninhabited island. They quickly establish a governmental structure, rules, and order and elect one boy as chief. However, not long after conflicts erupt, their group splits in […]

Orwell’s classic fable-like allegory to Stalinism. Feeling suppressed and exploited by the farmer, a group of farm animals plot a revolution. But soon after the revolutionary takeover of the farmyard, their leaders become corrupted by power and turn into the ones they once chased away.

In this sonnet, the speaker tells the story of a relationship between a man and a woman problematising traditional gender roles. Due to seemingly insignificant household problems, they both feel stressed in their relationship. This causes him to get drunk and complain about his relationship and her to write bad protest poems and “torment” her […]

A song by Saul Williams critically investigating the US American military and inhuman past, present and future. In the style of a preacher, the speaker reflects on the USA’s history and its current state. He complains about a lack of ancient spirituality and the worship of a male god that causes violence and destruction.

A spoken-word poem by Darryll Suliaman Amoako aka ‘Suli Breaks’ about the limitations of institutional schooling and the strictures of formal education. The speaker critically reflects upon the necessity to achieve academic degrees and encourages the audience to reassess their definition of education, as “there is more than one way in this world to be, […]

An autobiographical coming-of-age novel on the dangers of religious enthusiasm and the power of love. Jeanette grows up within a fundamentalist Christian family. Her adoptive mother dominates her life educating her at home in isolation until a letter from the government arrives – ordering her mother to send her daughter to school. Jeanette struggles in […]

This poem addresses gravity, gender prejudice and potential. The speaker poses the rhetorical question whether institutionalized doubts, norms and rules have slowed her down – and if the world will catch up with the new role of women. Helen Mort’s second collection of poetry “No Map Could Show Them” offers the readers a variety of […]

The speaker of this poem negotiates the relation of the (female) self and its environment using the complex metaphor of a mountain. Helen Mort’s second collection of poetry “No Map Could Show Them” offers the readers a variety of perspectives on mountaineering, the human body and gender roles. Her poems negotiate proximity and distance, past […]

The speaker of the poem follows an engineer walking home from their night shift. Most of the scenery remains in the dark except of the engineer and his lamp – traveling alone, while “the rails sing quietly […] till he comes home.” Helen Mort’s second collection of poetry “No Map Could Show Them” offers the […]

The speaker of the poem records Lil’s answer regarding gender prejudices and discrimination against women. Helen Mort’s second collection of poetry “No Map Could Show Them” offers the readers a variety of perspectives on mountaineering, the human body and gender roles. Her poems navigate proximity and distance, past and present, edges and extremes.