Poetry review – THE BATTLE OF HEPTONSTALL: Stuart Henson admires the eloquent blending of historical and contemporary in Michael Crowley’s collection
politics
Poetry review – THE LEADING QUESTION: John Williams admires Roger Elkin’s skill at making poetry from tragic events.
A study of political murders that destroyed Gladstone’s efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Irish problem.
Poetry review – ANXIOUS CORPORALS: Paul McDonald praises the delightful anti-capitalist riffing in Alan Morrison’s ‘essay in verse’
CLOSING TIME AT THE ROYAL OAK: Richie McCaffery admires the way that John Lucas has embedded perceptive social observation in a history of his local pub
POEMS FOR THE YEAR 2020: Neil Fulwood surveys a well-timed selection of poems reflecting a complex year, well-curated by Merryn Williams
Poetry review – The Sailors of Ulm: Neil Fulwood marvels that the bizarre workings of Andy Croft’s imagination can be contained within such well-crafted formalism
Her Other Language: Wendy French gets to grips with a bold and frank anthology addressing domestic violence
Virgin & Child: Michael Bartholomew-Biggs is intrigued by a new novel by Maggie Hamand in which a theological conundrum leads to tension – and ultimately violence – within the Vatican
The Ugly Side of Beauty. Connie Woodring discusses the downside of our beauty culture as it relates to women’s physical/mental health and safety.
Social Solidarity and the Arts in Woke Times: Michael Crowley advocates against an ever-increasing subdivision of the arts into racial, age-related or gender groups for a similar audience
Poetry review – THE LAST DINOSAUR IN DONCASTER: James Roderick Burns finds gritty lyricism in a promising first collection by Sarah Wimbush
By Michael Bartholomew-Biggs • books, poetry reviews, politics, society, year 2021 • Tags: books, James Roderick Burns, poetry, politics, society