books

Although Jon Bloomfield intended “Our City” for a general audience, I think some of our elected representatives could learn a lot from it.

Stuart Henson reviews a new novel by John Lucas which, intriguingly, hinges on some lines from a poem…

Emma Lee picks her way through a narrative sequence by Math Jones about untangling life’s complexities

Peter Ualrig Kennedy recommends an epic and heartbreaking poem, beautifully translated from the Dutch of Guus Luijters

Leah Fritz offers a very personal response to a final compilation of writings by Günter Grass

David Cooke commends the ability of Iraqi poet Fawzi Karim both to reflect and to transcend his own circumstances

Kate Noakes relishes a short sequence by Maitreyabandhu which combines nature writing and memoir

Merryn Williams discovers that Anne Stewart’s poems about bereavement succeed on several levels

Jeremy Wikeley eventually comes to terms with the unconventional poetry of James Davies

Mat Riches assesses the success of Greg Gilbert’s attempts to make poetry out of his experience of serious illness

Stephen Claughton is transported by Wendy Holborow’s atmospheric poems from India and Africa

Adele Ward praises Robert Peake’s highly personal collection for both skill and emotional authenticity