Gwen John: Art and Life in London and Paris. Review by Barbara Lewis. As curators and art historians work to redistribute glory that men historically monopolised, Pallant House Gallery’s latest major exhibition devotes itself to extracting Welsh-born artist Gwen John from beneath the shadow of her more worldly brother Augustus John.
Poetry review – THE PRETENCE OF AN UNDERSTANDING: Thomas Ovans enjoys the sense of optimism in a first pamphlet collection by Beth Davies
TABULA RASA: Merryn Williams reviews a new anthology of women’s poetry from Linen Press
Poetry review – EARTH HOUSE: Paul McDonald admires Matthew Hollis’s new collection of poems exploring place and time
Poetry review – RECOVER: Charles Rammelkamp reviews a slender but rewarding collection by Allison Joseph
TEXTUS: Nancy Mattson visits a richly rewarding exhibition of text and textiles at the Torriano Meeting House
ARE YOU JUDGING ME YET?: Kate Noakes reviews an essay collection written by Kim Moore to accompany her own poetry
Poetry review – LET HIM BRING A SHRUBBE: Edmund Prestwich takes a close and appreciative look at Katharine Towers’ collection which draws on the life & music of composer Gerald Finzi
Poetry review – GRACE NOTES: Nancy Charley‘s new collection is wide-ranging and sometimes surprising but is built round a strong central theme
Trouble in Tahiti. Review by Barbara Lewis. Opera typically is the medium for extraordinary emotion on a grand scale. The great straddler of genres Bernstein makes it the vehicle to explore the depressing ordinariness of the countless millions who can’t find their way back to the extraordinary emotion they once felt.
Poetry review – LETTER TO ’OUMUAMUA: James Roderick Burns recommends James Norcliffe’s new collection as a stimulating and constructive vade mecum for our times
Poetry review – DYNAMO: Mat Riches is drawn into an intriguing and imaginative world by the poems of Luke Samuel Yates
By Michael Bartholomew-Biggs • books, poetry reviews, year 2023 • Tags: books, Mat Riches, poetry