Joan Smith

Known for her human rights activism and writing on subjects such as atheism and feminism, Joan Smith is a columnist, critic and novelist. An Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society and a regular contributor to BBC radio, she has written five detective novels, two of which have been filmed by the BBC. Her latest novel, What Will Survive, was published in June 2007.

Joan Smith: We all need time off. Only the reasons differ

New parents are entitled to leave, but singles, volunteers and the plain bored should be allowed to do something other than work

Recently by Joan Smith

Joan Smith: Domestic violence is a crime society ignores

Friday, 18 July 2008

The figures are horrifying: almost 60 murders so far this year, and on average a victim calls the police every single minute. Families are devastated, children orphaned, and the damage continues into the next generation; it's an epidemic of crime, in the jargon of the day, but you'll rarely read about it or see the victims' photographs.

Joan Smith: Russia shows contempt for human rights

Sunday, 13 July 2008

The IoS columnist on the real reason her friend has been named a spy

Joan Smith: Macho politicians are turning back the clock

Friday, 11 July 2008

I've heard many things about Gordon Brown but no one's ever suggested that he beats his wife or tortures spaniels. Heathcliff, to whom the Prime Minister has allowed himself to be compared, does both these things in Wuthering Heights, a novel so savage that one contemporary reviewer suggested it was the product of a dyspeptic digestive system.

Joan Smith: There's nothing poetic about Amy's self-destruction

Thursday, 26 June 2008

When I last talked to the Palestinian critic Edward Said, not long before his death, he was working on a book about late style. Nearing the end of his own career, he was interested in the flowering of creativity experienced by some of the world's greatest writers and composers as they reach old age. Experience and maturity provide new sources of inspiration, a possibility overlooked in a culture seduced by the Romantic notion of "live fast and die young", which currently seems to have the singer Amy Winehouse in its grip.

Joan Smith: To clear your name, it helps to speak up

Sunday, 22 June 2008

Why sexual assault is not a form of entertainment

Joan Smith: Rage is the product of a coarser age

Sunday, 15 June 2008

What is everyone so furious about?

Joan Smith: There is only one route out of poverty

Thursday, 12 June 2008

It's always gratifying when the Tories show their true colours.

Joan Smith: Vicious criticism of Hillary could deter future candidates

Sunday, 8 June 2008

She has had to endure months of sniping, mostly in the form of spiteful personal remarks. They said she was too old, not up to it, and some of the attacks were so vicious that they made her cry. In the end, though, Carrie Bradshaw triumphed over Indiana Jones, with the movie version of Sex and the City taking an impressive £2.1m in British cinemas on its first day.

Joan Smith: So how many more women must die?

Thursday, 5 June 2008

Once again the police are on the rack, bombarded with questions about the murder of a teenager who allegedly lived in fear of a stalker. This time the victim is a schoolgirl, Arsema Dawit, who was stabbed on Monday in the lift of the block of flats near Waterloo, south London, where she lived with her mother. The 15-year-old, whose family is from Eritrea, is the newest name on a roll call of young women whose friends and relatives believe they were tragically let down by the authorities.

Joan Smith: Sharon's lipstick diplomacy suits the Dalai Lama

Sunday, 1 June 2008

Was it bad karma? Or possibly, feng shui? I must say I hadn't considered either as the cause of the earthquake that devastated China nearly three weeks ago. I was thinking more along the lines of tectonic plates and sudden releases of energy. So I am grateful to Sharon Stone for alerting me to the possibility of a supernatural explanation. Ms Stone thinks all those tons of rubble could have been caused by China's treatment of her "good friend" the Dalai Lama.

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