books

December 12, 2025

Holland values emotional truth over easy storytelling. Franz Kafka review

Agnieszka Holland’s new film, entitled simply Franz Kafka, takes on the challenging task of portraying the life of a famously complex writer. The film isn’t a standard biography – Holland captures a figure suffocating in trying to accomplish competing duties, torn between an obligation towards an authoritative father and the need to follow his loud inner voice.

Kaja Majewska, 16, and Mikołaj Tran, 17, analyse Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland’s latest film

December 12, 2025

A masterpiece about the fight against the patriarchal order. Vermiglio review

Muted tones, silent scenes and the beautiful scenery of a remote Italian village combined with the tragedy of the Second World War. Telling the story of a clash between rural traditions and the changes caused by the ending of the war, Vermiglio, written and directed by Maura Delpero, is a 2024 Italian movie that tells the story of a family living in the Italian mountains in 1944.

Michalina Korycka and Natalia Czeredys, both 16, review Maura Delpero’s innovative film

November 28, 2025

A book that made me a reader: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

I feel that I truly became a reader after finishing the first book that really made me think. It not only brought me entertainment, but also made me think about certain things: existence, bonds, the meaning of it all. For the first time, I truly took the time to reflect after reading a story.

16-year-old Aleksandra Tomaszewska opens the debate on how one moves from reading to being a reader

November 07, 2025

Filmmakers turn back time in Warsaw: Harbingers’ at the Lalka film set

One of major arteries in the centre of Warsaw was closed last month to serve as a filming location for Lalka, an adaptation of the much-loved 19th-century Polish novel and the largest film production currently being shot in Poland.

Zosia Dudzic and Barbara Karsznia, both 16, interview creatives who teleported Warsaw into the 19th century

June 27, 2025

Reading develops our brains. But prioritising page count over quality is a poor strategy

The recent electoral campaign in Poland deepened the shift from traditional media to social media. Far-right candidates, in particular, have successfully utilised TikTok and Instagram to communicate directly with voters, essentially circumventing established media channels. This prompted questions about citizens’ ability to filter out disinformation in a country where readership levels are low.

Harbingers’ reporters from the 2 SLO report from the Literacy for Democracy conference in Warsaw, Poland

April 11, 2025

Is 1984 happening again? Why we should heed dystopian warnings

The relevance of dystopian novels in the world today is frightening and devastatingly upsetting. Current political and social landscapes bear an unbelievable resemblance to some of the greatest pieces of literature. Are we living out dystopian predictions?

18-year-old Maria Mitko on how dystopian fiction mirrors our world today and why that’s terrifying

April 11, 2025

Why Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With the Wind is my role model

Scarlett O’Hara is not only one of the most famous fictional female protagonists of all time, but one of the most controversial too. The main character of Margaret Mitchell's epic novel Gone With the Wind has been a subject of debate since the book was first published in 1936

17-year-old Ashley Solace argues that we should admire and applaud Scarlett, despite her many flaws

January 17, 2025

Classics vs. clichés: The lost art of love in literature

In a recent class, our teacher told us to read a simple, crude juvenile book about love. When asked why we weren’t being given a more challenging novel, their response was simple: “These books are supposed to appeal to teenagers. If we gave you a classic, you’d get bored and just not read it.”

15-year-old Sofia Vorobei argues for why it’s still important to read Jane Austen and other classics

December 12, 2024

Best of 2024: Five must-read articles from the Culture section

Every article published in the Culture section this year has had its own spark, but a few stand out for their exceptional writing, unorthodox subject, worldwide relevance – or all three. As editor of the section, I’ve compiled a list of five articles that I think everyone should read, presented in chronological order

17-year-old Justin Sau shines a spotlight on his favourite Culture articles from the past year

December 12, 2024

Why reading books is so important in an age of digital distractions

In an age dominated by digital distractions, the act of reading becomes even more crucial. For Gen Z, embracing the habit of reading can serve as a bridge between the digital and the intellectual worlds, allowing them to harness the best of both realms

15-year-old Zirong Xu is the winner of The Harbinger Prize 2024: Society

October 31, 2024

What I found retracing Steinbeck’s steps in The Grapes of Wrath

Back in June, fascinated by the sensory richness and moving power of Steinbeck’s writing, and finding parallels between the socioeconomic and climate-related conditions of immigrants today and the migrants of the 1930s, I embarked on my own quest across the “Mother Road” of Route 66

17 year-old Justin Sau finds links between the migrant workers of the 1930s and today

October 17, 2024

Does Harry Potter have a passport?

Boycotting might seem like a good answer to the current Russian regime, but it doesn’t really prove a point and it also helps brainwash kids, giving an unlimited power to propaganda. If the goal is to lead Russia’s population towards democracy, then cutting ties to international culture is not what should be done

17-year-old Ashley Solace is the winner of The Harbinger Prize 2024: Culture

August 22, 2024

A must-read: White Torture shares the agony of women prisoners in Iran

I urge you to pick up this book, to stand with Narges Mohammadi, who has risked so much to publish these testimonies, and the courageous women who have shared memories of their darkest days

16 year-old Camilla Savelieva reviews Narges Mohammadi’s book on women prisoners in Iran

June 06, 2024

Nineteen Eighty-Four: past, present and future

Nineteen Eighty-Four drew inspiration from the rise of totalitarian regimes by frightening readers with the threat of surveillance and loss of privacy. But what does that say about society today, where almost everyone has phones, tablets, computers, and smartwatches

17 year-old Justin Sau discusses the enduring relevance of Orwell’s masterpiece on its 75th birthday

February 16, 2024

Students and teachers fight back against the ‘library selection rubric’ in a Texas public school

Teachers and students in the school district have spoken out against the school board’s decision to filter the literature kept in classroom libraries after complaints from parents

16 year-old Sanjana Senthil explores book banning in the United States

February 09, 2024

‘Never-ending search for the snooze button’. Can AI replace humans in writing poetry?

Long considered one of the purest forms of human emotion and expression, will AI be able to produce works that resonate on a profoundly human level like poetry should? Finnish author Jukka Aalho may hold the answer

17 year-old Justin Sau analyses computer-generated poems

February 02, 2024

Project helping to revive Ukrainian libraries in de-occupied and front-line territories

Russian soldiers have already destroyed more than 120 Ukrainian’s libraries since the full-scale invasion in 2022. A project called "Riznytsia Yе" asks people to buy and donate books to the affected libraries in hopes these efforts will prevent Russian influence

17 year-old Mariia Sydorenko on the ambitions of the project founder, Ukrainian journalist Emma Antoniuk

November 24, 2023

An unexpected ally: how social media could revitalize reading culture

It's high time we put down the pitchforks and extinguish the torches we've been brandishing at TikTok and Instagram. As it turns out, amidst the sea of hashtags and memes, a world of literary innovation awaits

16 year-old Justin Sau explores the boom in reading culture

October 20, 2023

Why the hell is Holden Caulfield the most relatable character I’ve ever read about?

It is extremely hard to know exactly how we wish our lives to turn out at sixteen. Holden is a byword for this identity crisis, reflecting my experience having contradictory feelings running through at such a pace that I feel trapped and unable to process it all

16 year-old Maria Mitko watches her reflection in Salinger’s famous novel

October 13, 2023

‘When I am an old woman I shall wear purple, with a red hat that doesn’t go and doesn’t suit me’

The poem represents the freedom of being old and the message of seeing ageing as a positive experience - something to cherish - which has resonated with me since I first heard it at barely five years-old

17 year-old Cressida Anness Lorenz wins the Harbinger Prize in Photography

August 08, 2023

The literary, linguistic, and acoustic metamorphosis of translation

The process of translating poetry, as I have learned, is not merely using a dictionary to transcribe word-for-word from one language to another

17 year-old Sophie Elliot translates Mihály Babits’s ‘Magyar szonett az őszről’

July 14, 2023

Rooney’s debut is a must-read for young people. Conversations with Friends review

Sally Rooney did a fantastic job levelling with the reader on many personal, almost gentle levels. This makes this book a must-read for young people – teenagers, those in their 20s or even 30s – who want a light read that also touches you and makes you ask questions you never thought would occur

17 year-old Sofiya Tkachenko reminds of Rooney’s 2017 masterpiece

June 09, 2023

Should English Literature be replaced by Global Literature in schools?

In our increasingly diverse and globalized society, the Western canon seems not only restrictive but also exclusionary, calling into question whether the subject of English Literature should be replaced by Global Literature to best reflect the status quo at hand

Megan Lee considers the value behind teaching literature

December 29, 2022

During a pandemic-haunted summer, I discovered a million-word long story and joined the fanfiction faction

Has finishing a good story ever left you feeling empty? As if nothing could ever come close to the experience of living, however briefly, inside the tale? You sit there, thinking of all the lost possibilities, the plotlines that were not explored, the what-ifs. What if this character survived? What if that character were born into an entirely different world?

18 year-old Zachary Górka explains the phenomenon of fanfiction literature

October 07, 2022

The Witcher - a feminist manifesto or a misogynistic tale?

Sapkowski’s saga is not only a fantasy tale - it is also a social commentary. That’s why the TV adaptation has brought into the limelight various types of discrimination, prejudice, and hate-rooted violence

Aleksandra Lasek inquires into the success of Yennefer of Vengerberg as a feminist role model

June 23, 2022

Invest in good mathematicians. Weapons of Math Destruction review

Ill-conceived algorithms are strengthening injustice, inequality and prejudice across law enforcement, education, labour, banking and housing.

Natasha Banga reviews Cathy O’Neil’s book

March 05, 2022

Entertaining and engaging, yet with a moral dilemma. The Cheese and the Worms review

You may rightfully be thinking, "Cheese? Worms? Millers? Sixteenth-century? Really?” I also have little interest in the Fruili region of Italy, especially in the 1500s - yet this book had me hooked from the very first page.

Marsi Hadijeva revisits Carlo Ginzburg’s 1976 classic

February 08, 2022

A delightful read for any Austen fan. Jane Austen, Early and Late review

The degree of insight makes a joy solely reserved for Austen fans. Others would likely find the parallels between Northanger Abbey and Persuasion tiresome - although I must confess I never knew that Northanger Abbey contains 24 instances of “persuasion,” only eight fewer than the 32 in Persuasion!

Noemi Elliott reviews Freya Johnston’s book

January 26, 2022

Darkness, a poem Wisława Szymborska did not write

A pastiche is a work of art that aims to imitate the style of another work or artist. It is a device regularly used in many different mediums, including literature, music, and visual art. For example, Shakespeare’s famous balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet has been a theme for endless pastiches - it was also arguably the inspiration for the happy ending scene in Pretty Woman.

Daria Badger interviews Polish pastiche poetry writer Grzegorz Uzdański - and translates one of his works to English

January 24, 2022

Every bit as real that the reader hopes the story were pure fiction. The Fortune Men review

Nearing the 70th anniversary of the court murder commited in Wales, we realize that not much has changed these past decades.

Noemi Elliott reviews Nadifa Mohamed’s novel

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