May 4 – 31, 2023

April 15 – May 28, 2023

I don’t read my old work anymore. After a decade as a writer, I know exactly what it’ll make me feel—compassion, some pity; maybe there will be a phrase that I’ll admire, ­­­­but mostly I’ll feel self-loathing. Last year I came across my diary from a summer when, five years after having arrived in Oklahoma as a refugee from Iran, I was determined to win a national championship in Tae Kwon Do so I could get in to an Ivy League university. It was the summer of 1994, and I was fifteen. I kept the diary because I was lonely, weighed down by money worries and shame of being Iranian, desperate to perform my Christian faith. I was anorexic and addicted to Tae Kwon Do, which I practiced for six or seven hours a day. Writing in the diary was a self-soothing mechanism—I wrote down every kind word anyone said to me.

Reading it now, I feel gentler toward my old self, a version of me now nearly three decades in the past. I read her entries like I might read a daughter’s. Maybe when I’m seventy, I will read my forty-year-old self with similar compassion. The most interesting parts of the diary come at the end. After that summer, I returned to the diary in 1995, 1997, 1998, and twice in 1999, and in each entry I seem appalled by my voice in the one before it until finally I give up and stop writing in it altogether. There was no chance of sounding anything but stupid to the Dina of the following year, though she was the audience I was most eager to impress. The penultimate entry, from February 1999, during my sophomore year at Princeton, reads: “Note to Junior Dina: Don’t read this crap anymore.” Then, a few months later, scribbling a final entry on a locker clean-out notice: “I’ll always be a stupid kid. Good thing I realized that now.”

The following two pages are from a later entry, August 2, 1994.

Dina Nayeri is the author of two novels and a book of creative nonfiction, The Ungrateful Refugee, which won the 2020 Geschwister-Scholl-Preis and was a finalist for the 2019 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Nayeri is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts literature grant, an O. Henry Prize, and the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature Paul Engle Prize. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, the Washington Post, The New Yorker, and Granta.

Liste Art Fair Basel is delighted to present 88 galleries from 35 countries with artworks by over 100 artists from 12–18 June 2023 in Hall 1.1 at Messe Basel.

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Dedicated to introducing the latest voices in contemporary art, the participating galleries will showcase immersive installations, time-based media, AI and computer-generated images, as well as strong positions in painting and photography, by a generation of artists who highlight how differently the world is seen when experienced from different perspectives, under different conditions and in different places. The fair will also feature “Whistlers”, a special exhibition curated by Sarah Johanna Theuer on the theme of sustainability with a focus on resilience.

(Sponsored)

After Big Sam's *checks notes* second Premier League relegation, we thought we'd remember better times.

Marcus, Andy, Jim and Pete revisit his time at Bolton Wanderers, who went from Division Two strugglers to Premier-League-big-boy-botherers! It all started with Phil Brown getting smashed with an ashtray in the bogs of a golf club...

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There's a growing cohort that believes in washing clothes less – or not at all

April 27 – June 4, 2023

That’s a wrap for the Premier League! Like Weston McKennie, we’re hopping on a train straight out of this madhouse as quickly as possible…

Marcus, Jim, David and Pete relive the last stirrings of the relegation tussle which saw Everton stay up and Sean Dyche have over £3 million to spend on some nice vests.

Elsewhere, Harvey Barnes signs for every club in the Premier League, Dortmund make us tear our hair out, and Marcus turns into a right old hairy troll. So Pete spits on him, naturally.

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From the controversial The Idol to the return of And Just Like That...

It is true that Manchester United and Arsenal had contrasting seasons in terms of their league position and trophy aspirations. While Arsenal led the Premier League for a significant portion of the campaign, they were unable to maintain their form and secure the title. On the other hand, Manchester United may not have reached Arsenal’s level in the league, but they have the opportunity to finish the season with two trophies.

The decision to prioritise the league over cup competitions was a calculated risk for Arsenal, but it ultimately did not yield the desired outcome. While some Arsenal fans may feel disappointed by the lack of silverware, others take pride in the team’s progress throughout the season.

Fans of both clubs have been engaged in debates about which team had the better campaign. Manchester United supporters point to their potential trophy haul as evidence of a successful season, while Arsenal fans highlight their team’s improvement and league performance.

Rio Ferdinand, a former Manchester United player, has expressed his opinion on the matter, stating why he believes United’s season is superior to Arsenal’s.

Speaking on his FIVE YouTube channel, Ferdinand said: “Have Man United had a better season than Arsenal? If you were just laying it down and saying if you’re a player, do you want to finish fourth and win a trophy, whatever trophy that is, or third and win a trophy and qualify for the Champions League, or second, no trophy but be involved in the title race?