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Amber Husain

Amber Husain is a writer, academic and publisher. She is currently a managing editor and research fellow at Afterall, Central Saint Martins. Her essays and criticism appear or are forthcoming in 3AM, The Believer, London Review of Books, LA Review of Books, Radical Philosophy and elsewhere. She is the author of Replace Me, to be published by Peninsula Press in November 2021.



Articles Available Online


Slouching Towards Death

Book Review

July 2021

Amber Husain

Book Review

July 2021

In January, a preview excerpt in The New Yorker of Rachel Kushner’s essay collection The Hard Crowd (2021) warned us that this might turn...

Book Review

August 2020

Natasha Stagg’s ‘Sleeveless’

Amber Husain

Book Review

August 2020

‘The thong is centimetres closer to areas of arousal,’ writes Natasha Stagg in Sleeveless: Fashion, Image, Media, New York,...

Stone   Stone heart Stone deep Stone minded Turn to Stone Stoned Stone I turn to stone when I’m argumentative I turn to stone when I turn chaotic My chaos is a bag of stones I turn to stone when he is on fire I will coat this in stones  I turn   I stone                I roll my stone              I palm my stone         I serve my stone   The stage has been set This set has been staged This set has been stoned by the stony-hearted I am of the stony-hearted I am heart-stone I think the words I am looking for are ‘spite’ and ‘malice’ No, you are stone-cold You are the breaker of stones You, stonecutter You cut the head of my stone, but not my heart Try to touch this Touchstone Touch the touchstone of my want   Of my feast        Of my safety               Of my dark               Of my light             Of my truth   Of my false                 Of my tierce                Of my salt                   Of my sweet   Your slaughter is in flame and slaughter is close to water, is close to laughter, is close to aught I ought to be real here I ought to think again I ought to stammer this home in stones Splint in stones Sprint in stones Glint in stones, but not gravel, not grovel Not pebbled in fear Here’s an interesting question I mean the universe of language is designed to be a stone’s throw from possible, right? A stone’s throw from able Wait Didn’t Abel stone Cain? Didn’t Abel kill his brother? They were family They were blood Use your words Keep your heart stony Create a mouth from your eye, an eye from your mouth  Use your stone heart has a harness Use your eye as a hand  All of you will have to leave something to someone     Gasp   Step into This suffering It is a stroke away from Light It is a stroke away from Horror This claim Is a forward regime Step into This smouldering Step into The smoudler Carry Relief Carry Resistance Carry Tragedy Carry This tragedy Step into The gash Step into His hubris This is not

Contributor

November 2018

Amber Husain

Contributor

November 2018

Amber Husain is a writer, academic and publisher. She is currently a managing editor and research fellow at Afterall,...

On Having No Skin: Nan Goldin’s Sirens

Art Review

January 2020

Amber Husain

Art Review

January 2020

The feeling of drug-induced euphoria could be strips of gauze between beautiful fingers. Or a silver slinky sent down a torso by its own...
In Defence of Dead Women

Essay

November 2018

Amber Husain

Essay

November 2018

The memorial for the artist was as inconclusive as her work, or anybody’s life. Organised haphazardly on Facebook by one of her old friends,...

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Art

November 2012

Pending performance: Cally Spooner’s live production

Isabella Maidment

Art

November 2012

It’s 1957 and the press release still isn’t written[1] An actress dressed in black overalls stands on a theatrically...

poetry

September 2015

She-dog & Wrong

Natalia Litvinova

TR. Daniela Camozzi

poetry

September 2015

She-dog   He wrote to tell me his dog had died. I wanted to be her, I wanted him...

Interview

March 2014

Interview with Antón Arrufat

TR. Jennie Rothwell

J. S. Tennant

Interview

March 2014

Author of the novels La noche del aguafiestas and the experimental Ejercicios para hacer de la esterilidad virtud, Antón...

 

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