Birdsong. Review by Barbara Lewis. Flanders, one of the most densely populated areas of Europe, is the birthplace of artist David Claerbout, whose reaction to an excess of human frenzy is a quest to redefine time.
year 2025
HORACE – POET ON A VOLCANO: Kevin Saving considers Peter Stothard’s brief but lively biography of the Roman poet
Summers. Review by Barbara Lewis. Heejin Kim takes us to a near future where there is no longer any doubt that summers are something to fight rather than enjoy.
Women in Love. Review by Alan Price. What D. H. Lawrence’s and Ken Russell’s Women in Love have in common is a focussed passion. Both artists produced works that are vibrantly alive.
Kiefer – Van Gogh. Review by Graham Buchan. If you see here echoes of Van Gogh’s last acknowledged, doom-laden masterpiece Wheatfield with Crows (1890), then you will likely find this exhibition at the Royal Academy highly satisfying.
Poetry review – THE MAYDAY DIARIES: D A Prince admires Robin Houghton’s wide-ranging collection which succeeds in mixing the personal with the political
The Très Riches Heures of Jean, Duke of Berry. Review by Barbara Lewis. The dazzling Gothic beauty of these miniatures and calendars foreshadowed the work of Jan van Eyck and other outstanding 15th-century Flemish painters.
Poetry review – HALFWAY TO BARKING: Jennifer Johnson enjoys a light-hearted and fanciful collection by Sarah Lawson
Poetry reviews – STILL LIFE and SUBCUTANEOUS: Emma Storr reviews prizewinning chapbooks by Rebecca Bilkau and Maria Isakova-Bennett
Hiroshige, artist of the open road. Review by Barbara Lewis. Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) lived as Japan shifted from the isolationism that characterised the shogun-dominated Edo period towards opening up to the world.
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
ENDLESS PRESENT: Kate Noakes reviews a generous selection of articles and reviews by Rory Waterman
By Michael Bartholomew-Biggs • books, literature, year 2025 • Tags: books, Kate Noakes, literature