RECKONINGS: Charles Rammelkamp considers a collection of witheringly satirical essays by Thomas Farber
year 2026
Teatro Antica di Taormina. Review by Barbara Lewis. For more than two millennia, Taormina on Sicily’s eastern coast has laid claim to what you could say is the world’s most dramatic theatre in terms of its natural setting between Mount Etna and the sparkling Ionian Sea.
Knights of the Teutonic Order 1960. Review by Alan Price. The 1960 Knights of the Teutonic Order was a vividly patriotic and optimistic statement for the Poles who, a decade before, had sat through some bleak screen depictions of their struggles during the Second World War. The cruel knights can be seen as proto-Nazis against which Polish nationalism triumphs. And in 2000 it was the most popular film ever screened in Poland and abroad.
Strongroom. Review by Alan Price. With the BFI’s Strongroom and its extra film The Man in the Back Seat we have two powerful examples of terrifically tight story telling. Three crooks rob the strongroom of an airtight vault and lock the manager and his secretary inside. But it’s a bank holiday weekend and being there for three days means they will suffocate.
Poetry review – LANDSCAPE WITH MINES: Peter Ualrig Kennedy is moved by the strength and immediacy of Anna Bowles’ poetry in this impressive pamphlet.
Poetry review –of an octopus: an archite|x|tural awareness of words: Charles Rammelkamp reviews an intriguing new collection by Diane Sahms
Poetry Review – MEETING PLACES: Antony Johae reviews a recent collection by Sally Festing
Poetry review – WINGING IT: Jennifer Johnson wonders if the laid-back title of Malcolm Carson’s collection belies the care with which it has been composed
A Grain of Sand. Review by Barbara Lewis. We tell stories when reality becomes unbearable. We may also tell them to remember those who have not lived to tell the tale. Both statements pertain to the one-woman show created by Elias Matar that deftly combines fabulous Palestinian myths with the horrors experienced as children live and die through war in Gaza.
Poetry review – A HANDFUL OF WASPS: Lucy Winrow views a year through Stuart Henson’s haiku sequence drawn from observations recorded in real time
. Poetry review – LILITH SPEAKS: Pam Thompson admires a short collection by Clare Proctor which manages to shift through many situations
Poetry review – SCREEN MEMORIES: Charles Rammelkamp considers Henry Sussman’s poetic account of his lifelong love of cinema
By Michael Bartholomew-Biggs • books, film, poetry reviews, year 2026 • Tags: books, Charles Rammelkamp, film, poetry