Kitty Empire is the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of a British writer and music critic, currently writing for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

''.

Early life

Empire says that she was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

in 1970 and brought up in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

before arriving in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

in 1988. She studied at Wadham College,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and Thames Valley University before working as a stage door-keeper for the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

and London's Barbican Theatre. Empire describes herself as a feminist.

Career

Empire began writing about music at the '' NME'' in 1995, continuing for seven years. In 2002, she became pop critic for ''

''. She has also contributed to a variety of publications and broadcasts such as ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'' (US), GQ, Radio 4's ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented ...

'', ''

Newsnight Review ''The Review Show'' was a British discussion programme dedicated to the arts which ran, under several titles, from 1994 to 2014. The programme featured a panel of guests who reviewed developments in the world of the arts and culture. History ' ...

'', '' Uncut'' and ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pare ...

''. In 2008, she served as a judge for the

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

and she is a guest judge for the 2022 ''Observer'' /

Anthony Burgess John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire ''A Clockwork ...

Prize for Arts Journalism. Empire also featured on 5Live, BBC 6Music, and BBC2's The Culture Show and

Critical reception

Writing in Cambridge University's ''Popular Music'' journal,

Devon Powers Devon Powers (born 1977 or 1978) is an American communication studies professor, author, and former music journalist. Biography Powers was born in 1977 or 1978. Her father, Lee R. Powers, is an engineer and her mother, Mandy Powers, is a nurse. ...

and

Tom Perchard Tom Perchard (born 1976, Canterbury, England) is a writer and musicologist. He is the author of ''Lee Morgan: His Life, Music, and Culture'' (Equinox, 2006), the first biography of the jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan (1938–72). His other works inclu ...

describe Empire as "one of the UK's comparatively few broadsheet pop critics, and one of the most insightful." Jennifer Skellington notes that Empire's reviewing style focuses as much upon the artists as their art, and reflects a trend towards "a less conservative approach to rock- and pop-related writing" in the quality press. Educator Mary Hogarth praises Empire's "

show, don't tell Show, don't tell is a technique used in various kinds of texts to allow the reader to experience the story through actions, words, thoughts, senses, and feelings rather than through the author's exposition, summarization, and description. It av ...

" approach to writing, her pacing, and her balance of description, perspective, and first-hand experience.

References

External links

Profile
at ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' 1970 births Living people 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers Alumni of the University of West London Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford British music critics British music journalists British women journalists Canadian emigrants to the United Kingdom Canadian music critics Canadian women music critics British women music critics NME writers Pseudonymous women writers The Observer people {{UK-journalist-stub