A New Life for the Riding-Crop-Handle Maker; Sarah Lawson reminds us of a popular account of an immigrant’s experience which has – perhaps undeservedly – fallen out of the public eye
year 2017
Even in times when rehash is more common than originality, the risk with a revival of Burt Bacharach’s late 1960s musical Promises, Promises, in turn based on Billy Wilder’s 1960 film The Apartment, is that it feels doubly derivative.
A POET’S CALENDAR: Brian Docherty reviews Peter Daniels’ latest collection
Emma Lee reviews a handsome anthology of poems inspired by the South Lookout on Aldeburgh Beach
We are delighted to announce Spectrum’s competition, The Spectrum Art Prize. This is a new national award which celebrates the exciting work produced by artists on the autistic spectrum.
D A Prince discusses John Freeman’s direct and emotionally honest poetry
Graham Hardie is won over by a freshness and simplicity he finds in Hamish Whyte’s poetry
Wendy French enthuses about a prize-winning first collection by Gillie Robic
Nick Cooke catches up with a dramatic but sometimes unsettling collection by Fran Lock
Michael Bartholomew-Biggs dips into a collection of ‘lost’ ekphrastic poems by R S Thomas
If you’re a Londoner with time on your hands, take a trip to Rotherhithe and spend an afternoon immersed in centuries of history.
STILL SHINING: Brian Docherty reflects on the wealth of experience which adds extra polish to Katherine Gallagher’s poetry
By Michael Bartholomew-Biggs • books, poetry reviews, year 2017 • Tags: books, Brian Docherty, poetry