Poetry review – HALFWAY TO BARKING: Jennifer Johnson enjoys a light-hearted and fanciful collection by Sarah Lawson
year 2025
Poetry reviews – STILL LIFE and SUBCUTANEOUS: Emma Storr reviews prizewinning chapbooks by Rebecca Bilkau and Maria Isakova-Bennett
Poetry review – THE YELLOW KITE: Jennifer Johnson admires Vicki Feaver’s skilful use of poetry to explore the experience of living with life-changing illness
Fiddler on the Roof. Review by Julia Pascal. In Fiddler on the Roof, inspired by Sholem Aleichem’s 1894 Yiddish short story, and now a celebrated revival from the 1960s, we have to explore what this means today.
Storehouse. Review by Barbara Lewis. As the former CEO of the national independent TV and radio stations in Georgia, Liana Patarkatsishvili has strong views on freedom of expression and on attempts to stifle the truth.
Poetry review – THE ICONOSTASIS OF ANXIETY: Pam Thompson engages with a dense and complex short collection by W N Herbert
Poetry review – SUB/URBAN LEGENDS: Sarah Leavesley reviews a collection by Pam Thompson which seeks to open the reader’s eyes to the everyday legends all around us
Giffords Circus – Laguna Bay. Review by Barbara Lewis. Imagine a time when childhoods were free from mobile phones, video games and Instagram, and when the arrival of an exotic circus troupe on a village green or at the seaside represented magic and excitement far beyond the everyday.
Poetry review – NOT MY BEST SIDE: John Forth admires this new selection of U A Fanthorpe’s poetry for its laconic and compassionate voice and its comic precision
No More Normal. Review by Barbara Lewis. Consultant neuropsychiatrist Alastair Santhouse has for more than a quarter of a century worked to try to solve the diverse and complex issues of those considered to be abnormal.
Poetry review – LEAVES BORROWED FROM HUMAN FLESH: Nick Cooke admires Abigail Ardelle Zammit’s forthright poetry, fierce in its commitment to justice
Poetry review – THE MAYDAY DIARIES: D A Prince admires Robin Houghton’s wide-ranging collection which succeeds in mixing the personal with the political
By Michael Bartholomew-Biggs • added recently on London Grip, books, poetry reviews, year 2025 0 • Tags: books, D A Prince, poetry