2022 Wrap-Up Edition
Hello,
Happy Christmas! I hope all my subscribers have a lovely time over the festive weekend. I am working on a couple of pieces for my paying subscribers that will come out before 2022 splutters to a close but I wanted to wish you all Christmas greetings — and how better to do it than in a self-absorbed summary of the year!
A grim year in global terms has been quite a fun, productive professional year for me. That’s the perverse thing about being an opinion columnist: horrific news and inspiration can go hand-in-hand. But I hope I have had some success in mining themes other than the obvious ones, from online LARPers to the enduring genius of Joseph Conrad.
It has been unambiguously wonderful to work at The Critic and I am very fortunate to have had the job. I never would have thought that I could build a career reading and writing, and I’m very grateful.
Another highlight of my year was the Bobkowski Fellowship that gave me the chance to spend a little time in Kraków and Warsaw researching two essays on Polish history. This was a real privilege and my thanks to Krzysztof Tyszka-Drozdowski for organising it. I hope the product made it somewhat worth the effort.
A third highlight of the year has been spending time with my dog after her near-death experience. Every walk has felt that little bit more special.
Anyway, enough sentimentality. Here are the magazine pieces I wrote in 2023 that I am happiest with:
“A Real World of Consciousness”, The Critic
“The Curious Case of RS Archer”, The Critic
“The Meaning of Performative Violence”, The Washington Examiner
“The Cockwombible”, The Critic
“Fifty Years of Fear and Loathing”, Spectator World
“Tastings From an Energy Drink Connoisseur”, Spectator World
“Shawls, Books and Bombs”, Quillette
“The Trouble With Tradition”, The Critic
“The Joy of Conrad”, IM-1776
“The Gen X Delusion”, The Critic
Here are my favourite pieces from THE ZONE:
Howard Stern and Boomer Decline
Rap, Murder and the Hidden Depths of Online Anthropology
Here’s hoping that the appalling war in Eastern Europe will end in 2023. Here’s hoping that political and economic circumstances will improve. Hope isn’t worth much, of course. But it isn’t nothing.
Again, Happy Christmas! Thanks so much for reading my pieces this year,
Ben
Ben, you've written a lot of excellent articles this year. It was a pleasure to be able to support your work a little. Keep it up! Merry Christmas to you and yours!