Terence Blacker

The journalist and critic Terence Blacker writes a twice-weekly topical column. He is the author of four novels and his children’s books have been published in 18 languages. Blacker’s most recent book was the highly praised biography You Cannot Live as I Have Lived and Not End Up Like This: The Thoroughly Disgraceful Life and Times of Willie Donaldson.

Terence Blacker: A guide to the new eco-religion

Once the church of Green Faith exists there will be no room for agnostics

Recently by Terence Blacker

Terence Blacker: The heroic career of an unserious man

Wednesday, 4 November 2009

Someone surely should commission a biopic based on the bizarre life of Gyles Brandreth, that Zelig in the world of contemporary celebrity. For more than 50 years, Brandreth has played the fool in one way or another, modifying and varying his act and career as the culture around him changed.

Terence Blacker: Can we talk about me now please?

Friday, 30 October 2009

Self-obsession is at the root of a change in the way we socialise

Terence Blacker: The best of British for the Olympics

Wednesday, 28 October 2009

Every country which has hosted the Olympics has used it for image purposes. China presented itself as powerful and organised. Australia projected a sunny yet cheerfully competitive nature. The problem so far with the London Olympics has been to decide what exactly our national brand of Britain is.

Terence Blacker: We must fight them in the fields

Friday, 23 October 2009

We can no longer take our rural landscape for granted

Terence Blacker: The new breed of bossy vicars

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

Perhaps it is time for Professor Richard Dawkins to scale down his famous campaign on behalf of godlessness. His great enemy, religious faith, may not be defeated but, on recent evidence, the Church of England at least is developing a talent for self-sabotage.

Terence Blacker: An artist who remains himself

Friday, 16 October 2009

Extraordinarily there are still those unable to see the wonder of Dylan

Terence Blacker: A rubbish way to save the planet

Wednesday, 14 October 2009

Somehow it seems all wrong for Hilary Benn to be chairing a rubbish summit this week. One tries to picture him sitting, like Guy Fawkes, on top of a vast pile of unacceptable waste, but he is altogether too neat for the part. There is too much unnecessary packaging. He looks as if he belongs in a Whitehall office, signing off some harmless government directive, rather than having to talk to us all about slop buckets and gasification.

Terence Blacker: Is Britain really so unhappy?

Friday, 9 October 2009

Now we're only five places above South Korea in the contentment charts

Terence Blacker: Spinning out of control in the blogosphere

Wednesday, 7 October 2009

It has been a grim week in that increasingly murky place, the blogosphere. In America, the widespread practice of slipping secret payments to internet "reviewers" has caused the Federal Trade Commission to rule that all covert advertisements appearing in blogs must be declared. In Paris, the woman whose nom de blog was "La Petite Anglaise" has announced that she will no longer be sharing intimacies online. Here a story about the Prime Minister's health has been revealed as a nasty little rumour from a small-time blogger.