William J. Barker
@williamjbarker.bsky.social
Editorial Assistant @quillette.bsky.social
Fiction writer, film critic, journalist and poet. Currently writing my first novel.
Fiction writer, film critic, journalist and poet. Currently writing my first novel.
I found a kid’s teddy bear in the garden fifty years after the house was condemned.
Read the #shortstory by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #shortstory by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
September 16, 2025 at 11:26 PM
I found a kid’s teddy bear in the garden fifty years after the house was condemned.
Read the #shortstory by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #shortstory by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
The film’s seemingly antagonistic flavours make #Scarface a compelling watch as both a film and a cinematic artefact.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
September 16, 2025 at 2:20 AM
The film’s seemingly antagonistic flavours make #Scarface a compelling watch as both a film and a cinematic artefact.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Shuang Zou, directing Mozart's opera in the Adelaide Festival this year, has turned it into an absurd mess, like a toddler gluing a jigsaw puzzle together with play dough.
Read the #operareview by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #operareview by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
September 12, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Shuang Zou, directing Mozart's opera in the Adelaide Festival this year, has turned it into an absurd mess, like a toddler gluing a jigsaw puzzle together with play dough.
Read the #operareview by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #operareview by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
It's like #DarrenAronofsky is badly impersonating himself.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
September 12, 2025 at 1:26 AM
It's like #DarrenAronofsky is badly impersonating himself.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Thunder-
Heavy drum beat
Shaking atmosphere.
#haiku by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Heavy drum beat
Shaking atmosphere.
#haiku by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
September 4, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Thunder-
Heavy drum beat
Shaking atmosphere.
#haiku by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Heavy drum beat
Shaking atmosphere.
#haiku by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
#LawrenceofArabia is a classic film you can’t fully appreciate when you’re young. You must lose your innocence first, at least politically.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
September 2, 2025 at 3:19 AM
#LawrenceofArabia is a classic film you can’t fully appreciate when you’re young. You must lose your innocence first, at least politically.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Am I? Slit my neck
Open. Bury me. Someone
Will give me their tears.
Read the #poem by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Open. Bury me. Someone
Will give me their tears.
Read the #poem by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
August 28, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Am I? Slit my neck
Open. Bury me. Someone
Will give me their tears.
Read the #poem by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Open. Bury me. Someone
Will give me their tears.
Read the #poem by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
I don’t remember #JamesGunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy being so funny..
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
August 28, 2025 at 8:55 AM
I don’t remember #JamesGunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy being so funny..
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Without the light bulbs the night’s blackness washed right up to the church’s front door.
Read the #flashfiction story by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #flashfiction story by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
August 18, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Without the light bulbs the night’s blackness washed right up to the church’s front door.
Read the #flashfiction story by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #flashfiction story by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
About halfway through Gunn’s #Superman, you’ll find yourself wondering if you made a mistake and booked tickets for the circus rather than the cinema.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
August 18, 2025 at 10:07 AM
About halfway through Gunn’s #Superman, you’ll find yourself wondering if you made a mistake and booked tickets for the circus rather than the cinema.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
I found some Japanese efficiency in a side street in Adelaide’s East End.
Read the #restaurant review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #restaurant review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
August 12, 2025 at 7:20 AM
I found some Japanese efficiency in a side street in Adelaide’s East End.
Read the #restaurant review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the #restaurant review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Many of the scenes in #JurassicPark are short but they all end with you feeling that you understand the characters.
Read the review of the classic film by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review of the classic film by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
August 12, 2025 at 7:16 AM
Many of the scenes in #JurassicPark are short but they all end with you feeling that you understand the characters.
Read the review of the classic film by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review of the classic film by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Is #Tokyo even a big city?
Read the travel essay by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the travel essay by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
August 10, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Is #Tokyo even a big city?
Read the travel essay by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the travel essay by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
#Kurosawa’s High and Low is as thrilling as anything made by the genre’s best directors like Hitchcock, Fritz Lang and Michael Mann.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
August 10, 2025 at 7:43 AM
#Kurosawa’s High and Low is as thrilling as anything made by the genre’s best directors like Hitchcock, Fritz Lang and Michael Mann.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Is #Tokyo even a big city?
Read the travel essay by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the travel essay by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
August 8, 2025 at 6:57 AM
Is #Tokyo even a big city?
Read the travel essay by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the travel essay by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
#Kurosawa’s High and Low is as thrilling as anything made by the genre’s best directors like Hitchcock, Fritz Lang and Michael Mann.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
August 8, 2025 at 6:54 AM
#Kurosawa’s High and Low is as thrilling as anything made by the genre’s best directors like Hitchcock, Fritz Lang and Michael Mann.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Is #Tokyo even a big city?
Read the travel essay by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the travel essay by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
August 6, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Is #Tokyo even a big city?
Read the travel essay by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the travel essay by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
#Kurosawa’s High and Low is as thrilling as anything made by the genre’s best directors like Hitchcock, Fritz Lang and Michael Mann.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
August 6, 2025 at 9:36 AM
#Kurosawa’s High and Low is as thrilling as anything made by the genre’s best directors like Hitchcock, Fritz Lang and Michael Mann.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
#Kurosawa’s High and Low is as thrilling as anything made by the genre’s best directors like Hitchcock, Fritz Lang and Michael Mann.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
August 4, 2025 at 10:00 AM
#Kurosawa’s High and Low is as thrilling as anything made by the genre’s best directors like Hitchcock, Fritz Lang and Michael Mann.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Past and present live packed together like books on a shelf.
Read the travel essay about #Kyoto by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the travel essay about #Kyoto by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
August 3, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Past and present live packed together like books on a shelf.
Read the travel essay about #Kyoto by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the travel essay about #Kyoto by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
#JurassicWorldRebirth is bare wind whispering through a corpse’s mouth.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
August 3, 2025 at 10:12 AM
#JurassicWorldRebirth is bare wind whispering through a corpse’s mouth.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Past and present live packed together like books on a shelf.
Read the travel essay about #Kyoto by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the travel essay about #Kyoto by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
July 29, 2025 at 6:58 AM
Past and present live packed together like books on a shelf.
Read the travel essay about #Kyoto by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
Read the travel essay about #Kyoto by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
#JurassicWorldRebirth is bare wind whispering through a corpse’s mouth.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
July 29, 2025 at 6:54 AM
#JurassicWorldRebirth is bare wind whispering through a corpse’s mouth.
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Eat me,
She told him.
Maul my lips.
Tear my nipples
From my breasts.
Read the #poem by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
She told him.
Maul my lips.
Tear my nipples
From my breasts.
Read the #poem by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
July 1, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Eat me,
She told him.
Maul my lips.
Tear my nipples
From my breasts.
Read the #poem by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
She told him.
Maul my lips.
Tear my nipples
From my breasts.
Read the #poem by @williamjbarker.bsky.social by in #BravetheCastle here: open.substack.com/pub/bravethe...
This elusive enchantment feels like all you need and words to describe it to yourself or your friends or Mum and Dad feel unnecessary.
Read the review of #F1 by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review of #F1 by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
July 1, 2025 at 10:06 AM
This elusive enchantment feels like all you need and words to describe it to yourself or your friends or Mum and Dad feel unnecessary.
Read the review of #F1 by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...
Read the review of #F1 by @williamjbarker.bsky.social at #IntoTheScreen: open.substack.com/pub/williamj...