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Posts by Sarah Birch

Homecoming, Luan Goldie, book review: ‘A subtle and engrossing story’

By Sarah Birch | Friday 15 January 2021 at 18:08

The Stoke Newington-based author explores, in ‘lyrical prose’, the ‘tangle of contemporary identity’

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Precious You, Helen Monks Takhar, book review: ‘A great lockdown read to gobble up and ponder’

By Sarah Birch | Thursday 14 January 2021 at 17:37

The Stoke Newington author’s first novel is a ‘gloriously dark parable of envy between generations’

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Snow White in the Seven Months of Lockdown, Charles Court Opera online, stage review: ‘Classic tale with added spice’

By Sarah Birch | Wednesday 23 December 2020 at 13:23

The company’s 14th annual panto goes online this year, but still ‘sets you on a path to feeling festive’

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Erin O’Keefe: Certain Things, Seventeen Gallery, exhibition review: ‘Clean in form but subtle in composition’

By Sarah Birch | Friday 18 December 2020 at 17:12

The New York-based artist’s first solo show on these shores features ‘beguiling tableaux which repay close attention’

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Eat Hackney Vegan Cookbook, Helena Smith: ‘A smorgasbord of food ideas suitable for everyone’

By Sarah Birch | Monday 14 December 2020 at 17:48

Try your hand at recipes donated by chefs across the borough in support of local causes

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Yushi Li: Women Act, Men Appear, Union Gallery, exhibition review: ‘Nude men and naked female desire’

By Sarah Birch | Monday 7 December 2020 at 13:56

The photographer’s reversal of gendered power roles is ‘stimulating and thought-provoking’

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The Little History of the East End, Dee Gordon, book review: ‘Ambitious and very readable’

By Sarah Birch | Tuesday 10 November 2020 at 09:30

The local writer packs six millennia into fewer than 200 pages filled with ‘fascinating detail and lively prose’

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100 Great Black Britons, Patrick Vernon and Angelina Osborne, book review: ‘Inspiring and highly entertaining’

By Sarah Birch | Tuesday 27 October 2020 at 13:33

This 400-page volume, based on a 16-year campaign to see eminent Black figures officially recognised, is a ‘valuable historical resource’

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In Your Face, Paul Trevor, book review: ‘Up close and personal’

By Sarah Birch | Tuesday 6 October 2020 at 12:46

Naturalistic photographs alternating between Brick Lane and the City from the late ‘70s to the early ‘90s, this collection leaves the viewer ‘engrossed in detail’

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Ploutos, The Space, stage review: ‘Whimsical romp drawing on Greek folk traditions’

By Sarah Birch | Tuesday 6 October 2020 at 12:32

This ‘droll moral parable’ was the first in a series of live plays at the Covid-secure Isle of Dogs theatre

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Public notice, exhibition review: ‘Impressive collection in the warp and weft of our everyday lives’

By Sarah Birch | Tuesday 25 August 2020 at 11:33

Curators Kira Wainstein and Holly Pollard bring the work of 18 emerging artists to shop windows across East London

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Toyin Ojih Odutola: A Countervailing Theory, Barbican, exhibition review: ‘Powerful aesthetic and concept’

By Sarah Birch | Friday 14 August 2020 at 13:25

The Nigerian-American artist’s first UK show imagines a prehistoric world in which gender expectations are reversed

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Unstilled Life: Artist Animations 1980-2020, Tintype Gallery, exhibition review: ‘Oneiric and thought-provoking’

By Sarah Birch | Monday 10 August 2020 at 21:14

The local venue presents 13 animated shorts, available online right now, which are ‘well worth a watch’

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The Address Book, Deirdre Mask, book review: ‘Timely and fascinating volume’

By Sarah Birch | Monday 27 July 2020 at 13:15

The local author’s exploration of the meanings behind our street addresses is a ‘must-read’ for anyone who cares about place

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Neurodiverse artists star in ‘compelling’ online photography exhibition

By Sarah Birch | Tuesday 21 July 2020 at 19:52

Leon Foggitt’s portraits for Submit to Love, a programme run by brain injury charity Headway East London, have been shared by Shoreditch gallery Autograph ABP

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Photography 2020, London Metropolitan University, exhibition review: ‘Dislocation, distortion and fragmented identities’

By Sarah Birch | Thursday 2 July 2020 at 14:43

The university’s annual showcase of final-year photography projects has ‘glided gracefully online’

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Londonia, Kate A. Hardy, book review: ‘Boisterous humour and quirky invention’

By Sarah Birch | Thursday 16 April 2020 at 20:46

If you think coronavirus feels like an alternate reality, sink into this ‘delicious’ post-apocalyptic thriller set in Hackney

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East End Canal Tales, Carolyn Clark, book review: ‘Rare glimpse of a bygone world’

By Sarah Birch | Friday 3 April 2020 at 21:34

Dozens of photos and snippets from horse-drivers, lock keepers and others feature in this social history of East London’s major waterways

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Darling, it’s not only about sex, Alain Brémond-Torrent, book review: ‘An idiosyncratic insight into Hackney’s creative scene’

By Sarah Birch | Tuesday 31 March 2020 at 21:39

Are you hoping to read more widely during the coronavirus lockdown? Look no further than this self-published local novel

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Coronavirus: Read your way through the streets of Hackney

By Sarah Birch | Monday 30 March 2020 at 21:26
"A hive of creativity, activism and social fizz": outside Centerprise. Photograph: Maggie Hewitt

With Hackney under lockdown, now is a great time to explore the borough through a good book. Here’s a selection to get you started…

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