Often Provocative but Rarely Dull. Review on The Spectator

The Spectator is a long standing political and literary magazine which is often provocative and quite frequently entertaining as well.

Published since 1828 its forte is basically politics, the arts and it also has an excellent book review section. It is something of a controversial publication,especially to ''liberals'' because historically it has undeniably been ''right wing'' and certainly ''right of centre''.

It undoubtedly attracts good writers. Indeed many of its contributors are very well known members of the British literary scene or political figures of considerable importance.

Because of its ability to attract ''big name'' writers it is not actually a very good market for freelancers.

Despite criticisms of it by those of a ''liberal'' persuasion,the standard of writing in the Spectator is usually very high and often issues are analysed with considerable insight and in a provocative,mind challenging manner. Sometimes you feel it ''goes over the top'' and it is being a tad controversial for controversial's sake.

It is an intellectual publication and aside from its articles of a political nature it does accord a fair amount of editorial content to the arts broadly defined. Its book reviews are,in my opinion,often excellent and it has also carried restaurant reviews and stories on the cultural infrastructure. Again such features are often written ''tongue in cheek'' and can be very entertaining.

Some critics feel that in recent years that this famous magazine has both lost a bit of its sparkle and is no longer so right of the political centre it once was. Nowadays it is increasingly compared somewhat unfavourably with its more ''liberal''rival, the New Statesman.

This weekly is for me an interesting read and although I do not buy it regularly it is the sort of publication I enjoy browsing through from time to time. Whilst I often dont agree with its views I do find its provocative slant can be rather refreshing at times.