PRAISE FOR THE FEAR:
“Spens writes herself back to life – and it is a joy to behold.”— Andrew Gallix, The Irish Times
“Made up of equal parts pain, intimacy, desolation and tenderness, The Fear extracts beauty and meaning from a reckoning with great private darkness.” — Rob Doyle, author of Threshold.
“Spens writes beautifully about self-government… The writing is so wonderfully strong about fragility… Read it and heal; never heel to another, mind you.” — Kirsty Allison, Ambit.
“The Fear is a brave book, both in its emotional openness and honesty, as well as in its complex editorial ambition, which in the hands of a lesser writer could become incoherent. Instead, Spens elegantly segues between the affecting context of her personal life, and a strand of cultural criticism which brilliantly reframes the first quarter of our current century.” — Robert Greer, The Idler
“A powerfully affecting tale of devastation and survival." — The Spectator
“For such a cerebral book, it is also tender and humane; Spens counterbalances her intellectual considerations with moments of stark honesty, and it is touching to see her find inner calm toward the end of the book. It is also a testament to her talent that, although she is dealing with heavy subjects, the reader feels lighter for having taken the journey with her. The Fear deserves a wide readership.” — Joshua Rees, Buzzmag.
“An at times sickeningly lucid exploration of our shadow selves, a stare into heartbreak and trauma as personal and political concerns… But despite the subject matter, The Fear isn’t a depressing book. By searching in the dark places and asking herself uncomfortable questions, the author finds a strength and describes being reacquainted with forgotten parts of herself.” — The Brixton Review of Books
"Intellectually vivifying and deeply moving, The Fear is a dazzling memoir that dances between the cerebral and the tender." — Sam Mills, author of The Fragments of my Father
“The Fear considers how trauma manifests in ways that seem too powerful to tolerate and how it can seem that emotion could be traded or outran by another equally strong emotion, like love. A brilliant look at the maze of personal history and how the wounds we carry will continue to make their journey through us, one way or another.” — Jenni Fagan, author of Luckenbooth and Ootlin.
"The Fear is an astonishing book. Spens manages to weave a hybrid tapestry, in which we move fluidly between memoir, philosophy, art and politics. The result is a book that takes us to the edge, lets us look into the abyss, makes us confront a myriad array of fears and their consequences. It is a bold, beautiful and brave book; in it's form, in the lyricism of its style and in the intensity of its interrogations. At the level of intellectual curiosity, psychological honesty and political urgency it is a text of staggering depth and variety. Spens writes a text that will speak to us all, to the fears that sit heavy on our chests. The result, rather surprisingly, is a book that makes us feel a little less alone, that seems to lift the fear a little, to let us breath fresh air." — Tom de Freston, author of Wreck.
“The Fear is a hybrid memoir and cultural study, which uses the personal to reach into the depths of the psychology of fear. Artist and writer Christiana Spens explores how fear impacts our lives – from the personal to the political, through gender politics to terrorism – reffering to images, art, films, philosophy and more. The memoir aspect is written with intellectual detachment creating almost a fable of fear, that space 'between fear and anxiety' both a psychological study and an intimate portrayal of a woman making sense of the world. It is a finely tuned, fascinating interrogation of an emotion that hijacks us all. Both intimate and psychologically rigorous, The Fear pushes the bounds of memoir into intellectual territory.” — Lily Dunn, author of Sins of My Father
REVIEWS for previous works:
“Shooting Hipsters is a riveting read from beginning to end.” —Huw Oliver, Dazed & Confused
“Shooting Hipsters is an astute, entertaining and erudite examination of the problems facing modern protest groups, and the possibilities opened up by PR.” —Thom Cuell, 3:AM Magazine
"Terrorists affect us all but we seldom meet them; instead we consume images. Using intervisual analysis, Spens argues that images of terrorists (re)presented to us fall into a continuum of colonialist and neo-orientalist imagery, at once demonizing the other and satisfying our want of closure and simple, binary political narratives. Tabloid imagery is to geopolitics what pornography is to sex.”—Tristram Vivian Hunt, Goldsmiths University, on The Portrayal and Punishment of Terrorists in Western Media.
“The mainstream media portrayal of terrorists has had major political implications on how we understand the political, cultural and historical effects of terrorism today. These portrayals often disclose more about how the “terrorist”, as an ill-defined spectre in western historical consciousness, is deployed to perpetuate a sense of ongoing crisis and historical justification for neo-colonial attitudes. In understanding these processes, and in detailing their tenacity in current media portrayals, Christiana Spens’ volume is one of the first to give a full, critical account of their discursive affect in mainstream media and political debates. This book will no doubt become instrumental in furthering the debate about what such portrayals say about western media and the politics of representing otherness as an indelible, atavistic threat to democratic orders.”—Professor Anthony Downey, Birmingham City University, on The Portrayal and Punishment of Terrorists in Western Media.
“The Portrayal and Punishment of Terrorists in Western Media is concerned with how the media constructs its own depiction of terrorists and how the public receive these messages. This book provides a timely insight into how the media portrays terrorism and terrorists, demonstrating how the media paints images, creates scapegoats that society can vilify, and at the same time puts pressure on policy makers to act… One standout chapter is Spens’ discussion of scapegoating and how it operates in media portrayals. Here the author argues that, following an act of terrorism, the media likes to create (and society cries out for) a scapegoat. This “villain” provides a point towards which anger and hatred may be directed, and a call for action. By creating visual connections that either increase anger or create empathy, society will move behind its political organs in support of a response. Spens links back to historical examples, including witches, the victims of lynching in the American south and Guy Fawkes in order to ground this argument… Spens’ central argument, that the image of the terrorist is important in order to create a scapegoat, is well written and well argued, and the historical evidence that supports this is convincing. It also raises some questions regarding whether the media consciously and purposefully constructs terrorists in the manner in which Spens suggests… The Portrayal and Punishment of Terrorists in Western Media is a key text when considering the interplay between the media, imagery and terrorism, and will be of interest not only for critical terrorism scholars but also scholars of sociology and international relations.”—James Baggott, Critical Studies on Terrorism.
“In The Blues, The Yellow Sheets, Christiana Spens pens about wanting to get out: “Paris had always been a good escape, the best escape of them all. But now, here I was, wanting out. I thought of options that would be easy, things in pill form” (147). As she continues, Spens’ poetic writing conveys emotion in a way that doesn’t even need the city as a backdrop: “Love, from a record, too much love, packed away and dusty. Something to want and want and want and want and leave, someday” (149). The creative tangent separates us from the hacked versions of Paris we rely on from movies and books, forcing us to think about the city in a new way.”—Blackwell Tayler, reviewing We’ll Never Have Paris.
“Death of a Ladies’ Man is an excellent book… We’ve seen our share of unlikable narrators, but Christiana Spens’s Adrian, a high-up politician with a taste for sex and money, is something special.”—Necessary Fiction
“Upon its opening dialogue Spens’ narrative ignites—its momentum fuelled by lean, concise prose, which provides engaging intellectual considerations that never over-extend and beautifully define Adrian’s world. Above all Spens displays a brilliant emotional control in crafting the Lowes’ tribulations — they are never melodramatic, but genuine with an underlying tenderness. What ultimately emerges is a carefully considered thematic fusion of human fragility and a dangerous world of limitless influence and control. With a potent wit and contagious dark humour, Spens’ narrative illuminates emotional intersections of guilt and pride, delusion and reality, abuse and exploitation. Upon completion of Death of a Ladies’ Man I found my sole disappointment with the text was that it had finished.” —Lindsay Parnell, The Culture Trip
“What most struck me in this novella is the voice—it’s distant and cool without being uncompassionate, an impressive bit of writerly control. That distance gives the events of the story (it’s no spoiler to say they concern the downfall of a lying, cheating father/husband/politician and the impact of that downfall on those around him) an almost scientific inevitability, making Death of a Ladies’ Man into a compelling study of power and powerlessness.” —Steve Himmer, author of Scratch.
“A portrayal of England that is dark without being depressing, sometimes even comical in it’s brush with satire, and speaks volumes in between the lines. There is something tragic about this tale (well, obviously, it’s about death and disgrace and some generally despicable people) but Spens is forgiving in her portrayal, giving us the ugly but also the softer side, the frailty beneath the cold, hard surface of things. After all, even the worst of us are only human.” —Yann Rousselot, author of Dawn of the Algorithm
“Mighty good. Christiana Spens has established herself as a raconteur of the party scene. It will be interesting to see what she writes about next.” —Theresa Munoz, The Sunday Herald
‘In razor-sharp prose that’s soaked with authenticity, Christiana Spens takes us from music festivals in England to clubs in New York - with characters whose increasingly flimsy grasp on reality is as gripping as it is disconcerting. THE WRECKING BALL accurately shows where self-destruction can ultimately lead, effectively and entertainingly proving that the ‘dream life’ can often be anything but.‘ —Anna David, author of Party Girl
“Reminiscent of Scott Fitzgerald, Evelyn Waugh and Bret Easton Ellis, The Wrecking Ball zeroes in on the existential nightmare at the heart of the consumer dream…” —Andrew Gallix – FLUX
“The Wrecking Ball is a highly intimate but artistic view of a fast paced high life spiralling inevitably downward for four young people caught up in a world of fashion, parties and abuse… Spens’ beautiful prose illustrates a raw, constantly moving insight into how destructive the high life can really be, and touches on the more philosophical desires of people striving to understand themselves and what life can or should be… A highly unique and compelling read; darkly sublime.” —BCF Book Reviews
“Spens writes both beautifully and sparingly, never once over-indulging despite her enchanting style and obvious flair for blending poetry with prose. THE WRECKING BALL is a wonderful first novel, and perfectly captures the detachment and endemic alienation of a generation of young people with too much money and too little anything else.” —Gavin James Bower, author of Dazed and Aroused and Made in Britain.
LINKS
Dazed & Confused (Article about Shooting Hipsters by Huw Oliver)
3:AM Magazine (Review of Shooting Hipsters)
The Times (Review of artwork in the Matiére exhibition at Cobalt Contemporary, March 2016)
Necessary Fiction (Review of ‘Death of a Ladies’ Man’ by Maria Anderson)
The Culture Trip (“Perversity and Politics in Christiana Spens’ ‘Death of a Ladies’ Man’” by Lindsay Parnell)
Margana (A review of ‘Death of a Ladies’ Man’ by Yann Rousselot)
ArtNet Magazine (Review of ‘The Wrecking Ball’ by Walter Robinson)
Guest of a Guest (Review of ‘The Wrecking Ball’ by Carson Griffith)
BCF Book Reviews (Review of ‘The Wrecking Ball’)
Publishers Weekly (Review of ‘The Wrecking Ball’)
The Sunday Herald (Review of ‘The Wrecking Ball’ by Theresa Munoz)
INTERVIEWS:
Minor Lits (The Momus Interview by Thom Cuell)
Vice (interviewed by Kit Caless)
The Independent (interviewed by Jonathan Gibbs)
Dazed & Confused (interviewed by Huw Nesbitt)
Flux Magazine (interviewed by Andrew Gallix about writing and drawing, and ‘The Socialite Manifesto’)
The Quietus (interviewed by Huw Nesbitt)
Flavorwire (interviewed by Caroline Stanley)
Tour Dates Magazine (interviewed by Tourdates Magazine
The Times - (exhibition review by Giles Sutherland).