London Grip Poetry Review – Cook
Peter Ualrig Kennedy is excited by Elizabeth Cook’s impressive collection of referential poems, each one new, fresh and alluring.
The Mystery of Dunkirk, by Jane McChrystal.
Dunkirk has emerged as 2017’s summer blockbuster movie. The director Christopher Nolan has been widely praised for his ability to immerse film-goers in the terrifying experience of soldiers, sailors and airmen involved in the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) by land, sea and air between 26th May and 4th June, 1940.
“Gone With The Wind” Revisited
Many years after first reading the classic 1930s novel, Sarah Lawson decided to open the book again and write down her second impressions: Emma Lee considers that this re-appraisal was well worthwhile.
A Spoonful of Sherman, Zedel, London. Review by Barbara Lewis.
After studying literature and painting, Robert B. Sherman, the elder half of one of the world’s most prolific song-writing duos, set about writing the great American novel, while his younger brother Richard, who had studied music, was working on the great American symphony.
London Grip Poetry Review- Foyle
Thomas Ovans admires a poetic memoir by Naomi Foyle which celebrates the life of the Belfast writer and activist Mairtin Crawford
London Grip Poetry Review – Saphra
Mining the Motherlode: Brian Docherty finds Jacqueline Saphra to be an entertaining narrator whether or not she is an unreliable one.
London Grip Poetry Review – Williams
The undoubted cleverness in Chrissy Williams’ collection is never merely play but also has purpose, observes D A Prince
The Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy, 2017, Burlington House, Piccadilly. Review by Jane McChrystal.
On the whole, the curators have given the works the space they need and brought a coherent approach to displaying them in relation to each other, which provides the viewer with a largely satisfying experience.
The Hired Man, Union Theatre, London. Review by Barbara Lewis.
In a capitalist society, we’re nearly all hired hands, but the extent of the exploitation is more or less pernicious. Melvyn Bragg’s gritty, Northern, sweeping tale ultimately finds the best option for the ordinary man is to accept a pittance to work above ground rather than to toil in a futile World War I trench or in a narrow coal seam beneath the sea.
The Living Thames Cruise, Sunday 27th August. By Jane McChrystal.
Londongrip’s readers are invited to take a cruise on the Thames Estuary on Sunday, 27th August. The cruise offers an unusual opportunity to get a closer look at some of the Estuary’s less accessible attractions: the Red Sands Forts, built to protect London during the Second World War; the sunken cargo ship, SS Richard Montgomery and the Thames Sailing barges racing in their annual match.
London Grip Poetry Review – Acharya
Sarah Lawson finds seriousness and humour, the personal and the fanciful in this recent and retrospective selection of Shanta Acharya’s poetry
London Grip Poetry Review – McEwen
Ian McEwen’s unorthodox verse forms also employ some traditional poetic skills