In a time of bitter, divisive politics, the positive, as well as the negative aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it is truly global: people everywhere feel the same fear, sorrow and frustration at the same time.
Every Christmas, London’s Old Vic delivers a production of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. This year is no exception – except that it comes to us via Zoom.
Poetry review – THE PEREGRINE FALCONS OF YORK MINSTER: Alwyn Marriage finds a “delicious mixture of humour and pathos” in Carole Bromley’s collection
Poetry review- JANUARY: Emma Storr enjoys a varied and accessible first collection by Sarah Barr
C.J. Cooke, also known as Carolyn Jess-Cooke, is formidable in her achievements. An award-winning poet, novelist, academic and mother of four, her latest work is a text-book example for her creative writing students of how to write a tense page-turner that presses all the right buttons.
Even more than an outpouring of passionate pacifism, Benjamin Britten’s Owen Wingrave is a universal exploration of the heroic strength of character required to reject decades of blind allegiance to an unholy cause.
Poetry review – FARMERS, QUEENS, TRAINS AND CLOWNS : Charles Rammelkamp finds both lament and celebration in a character-filled collection by g emil reutter
Poetry review – translating silence : Mat Riches admires the consistent and creative evocation of silence in a chapbook by Mike Barlow
Poetry review – BIG SEXY LUNCH: Pat Edwards enjoys fresh, boisterous and irreverent poems by Roxy Dunn
Poetry review – KISSING IN THE DARK: Carla Scarano follows Pat Edwards in a poetic exploration of identity and relationships
THE HOUSE WITH THREE EYES: John Lucas encounters a page-turner in John Harding’s atmospheric novel about mysterious events in Venice
Poetry review – WEST SOUTH NORTH NORTH SOUTH EAST: Mat Riches navigates a sometimes disturbing and frequently sensual collection by Daniel Bennett
By Michael Bartholomew-Biggs • books, poetry reviews, year 2020 1 • Tags: books, Mat Riches, poetry