by Peter Scotchmer | May 12, 2026 | Essays
This is the second essay by Peter on the intricacies of the English language. Here, he writes on where inspiration comes from, and why no amount of effort can quite summon it. My first piece in the English language series talked about the quality of writing that...
by Aashisha Chakraborty | Apr 28, 2026 | Essays
About the most forgettable Bennet sister and a retelling of Pride and Prejudice… “There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of...
by Peter Scotchmer | Apr 7, 2026 | Essays
Starting in April 2026, The Ironist is starting a running monthly series of articles on the English language written by our very own contributor Peter Scotchmer, a retired English teacher. Polonius: ‘What is the matter you read, my lord?’ Hamlet: ‘Words, words,...
by Aashisha Chakraborty | Mar 31, 2026 | Essays
Talking objects, messy love, art, philosophy, and global conflict. All in one book. “In the haunted house of life, art is the only stair that doesn’t creak.” Over time I have come to believe that the higher the element of fantasy in a book, the more serious it often...
by Peter Scotchmer | Mar 24, 2026 | Essays
Peter Scotchmer writes about the enduring lure of utopia and why humanity’s attempts to build perfect societies so often end in dystopia. I will not walk with your progressive apes, Erect and sapient. Before them gapes The dark abyss to which their progress...
by Nigel Scotchmer | Mar 10, 2026 | Essays
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a writer in possession of a finished piece must be in want of a community. How many of us have agonized over our drafts restlessly and endlessly, wondering who to read it to and what to do with it? We, at the Irony Club,...