Ellen Peirson-Hagger
New Statesman
United Kingdom
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Past articles by Ellen:
The best poetry books of 2022
Five exceptional collections published this year. → Read More
Will there be a great CD revival?
Forty years after their launch, compact discs remain cheaper and more sonically reliable than vinyl. → Read More
The Goldsmiths Prize 2022 shortlist: “creative daring” and political activism
In its tenth year, the award for “fiction at its most novel” presents a politically charged shortlist dominated by female authors. → Read More
Why are so many literary prizes closing?
As several prizes are forced to pause or shut down, writers in the UK say they are losing a “lifeline”. → Read More
In a fractured world, Glastonbury festival is a much-needed sanctuary
The appeal of festivals is easily romanticised – but alongside the glitter and the dancing, these events demonstrate how humans might better live together. → Read More
Angel Olsen’s Big Time is a sensitive record about grief, loss and coming out
On her new album the 35-year-old turns to country music to come to terms with her sexuality and the death of her parents. → Read More
Where do the Elgin marbles belong: Britain or Greece?
The Greek prime minister says the Elgin marbles “were stolen”. The British Museum remains defiant. → Read More
Emily Ratajkowski interview: “I used to think feminism was women hustling”
The model and author of My Body on beauty, misogyny and how her understanding of feminism has evolved. → Read More
Little Mix’s catchy feminist pop is as dynamic as ever, even without Jesy Nelson
On the four new songs that feature on Little Mix’s new greatest hits album, Nelson’s voice isn’t missed. → Read More
What do our kitchens say about us?
This is the central question of Kitchens, a thought-provoking six-part mini-series by Lucy Dearlove, which forms part of her delightfully named food podcast Lecker. → Read More
Coldplay’s ninth album is space-themed, but they’re better off staying closer to Earth
Lead single “Higher Power” was beamed into the International Space Station. We can only hope no more of this music will be used to represent humankind. → Read More
Friends That Break Your Heart is James Blake’s safest record yet
The producer’s early work was sensitive and surprising, but on his fifth album he strays into vagueness. → Read More
Goldsmiths Prize 2021 shortlist: The six most cutting-edge novelists writing today
The £10,000 award, run in association with the New Statesman, celebrates fiction that “breaks the mould and extends the possibilities of the novel form”. → Read More
Nao’s And Then Life Was Beautiful: blissful sounds and shallow lyrics
The London songwriter’s third record is a positivity-laden contradiction in terms. → Read More
The Booker Prize announces 2021 shortlist
This year’s shortlist, which features just one British author, is notably international. → Read More
Kacey Musgraves’s Star-Crossed: clichéd, overproduced country pop
Kacey Musgraves’s 2018 album Golden Hour, a collection of luminous love songs, has been the stand-out country record of the past few years. Written while in the throes of love with fellow country musician Ruston Kelly, it won Musgraves four Grammys, including Album of the Year, and transformed the Texan songwriter from an alternative artist in the US country scene into an → Read More
Sarah Harding brought boldness to Girls Aloud
Sarah Harding’s voice, as fans pointed out on Twitter, was the first we heard on the debut Girls Aloud single “Sound of the Underground”, and the last we heard on “Every Now and Then”, the final track on the 2012 compilation album Ten, the group’s last release. Harding, who has died aged 39 of breast cancer, was one-fifth of the British-Irish girl group, who, having been → Read More
Letters from Green Man: a music festival in the age of Covid
“It still seems so unreal,” said Camilla Staveley-Taylor of the Watford folk-rock band the Staves, gazing out on to a sun-drenched Green Man Festival on Sunday evening. Similar sentiments were echoed across the weekend: “Are we doing hugs?” asked a woman, covered in glitter, as she was reunited with a group of friends on the campsite. “This is our second gig in two years. Can → Read More
Lizzo’s “Rumors”: brash and ballsy pop that takes aim at public scrutiny
“Last year, I thought I would lose it/Reading shit on the internet,” sings Lizzo over bassy synths on “Rumors”, her first single release since 2019’s hit record Cuz I Love You. Delivered by any other musician – Billie Eilish, say, whose recent record was all about dealing with intense media scrutiny – the line might sound sombre. But this is fun-loving Lizzo – adored for her → Read More
Why the government’s live events reinsurance scheme is too little, too late
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the live events industry has been in crisis. The UK festival sector has been desperately in need of government support to secure its future. The progression of the vaccine roll-out, and the subsequent easing of Covid restrictions, has not offered much solace to this struggling industry. In June 2021, a survey by the Association of → Read More