Dante Magazine DANTE Dec-Jan 2016-17 Zurück Ausgabe

Christmas is a great period to relax and take stock after a year of surprises – Brexit, the U.S. election and more. A year of Bob Dylan, Boris Johnson, David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen – and Donald Trump. Hum the theme of Bowie’s Heroes. Or Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) as you prefer.
It’s also a good time to ask: whatever next in 2017? At this point, any number of songs by the Nobel-winning Dylan come to mind, from A Hard Rain’s a Gonna Fall to The Times They Are A’Changin’. That’s a lot to put on the Christmas menu we know, and we believe in substantial essays on the big topics. Such as: will Brexit be followed at some point by Brek-EU, the breakup of the European Union? U.S. journalist Helen Horst takes an independent look at the evidence before elections in France, Germany and elsewhere – drawing together research that is both positive and negative for the EU.
Our cover story returns to the theme, with an image based on that of an Italian artist whose tortured St. Sebastian faces the arrows being fired at the weakened union. A political theme also runs through Marc Forget’s column. He provides a timely commentary on good and bad. Who is to say what is evil and beneficial, who are the angels or devils?
We have an assortment of lighter festive appetisers too. Mike Hawthorne takes a historian’s look at Christmas, revealing little-known traditions.