Poetry review – HALFWAY TO BARKING: Jennifer Johnson enjoys a light-hearted and fanciful collection by Sarah Lawson
Poetry review – MARGINAL FUTURE: James Roderick Burns examines S J Litherland’s rich and vivid state-of-the-nation collection and finds it grimly truthful but not without hope
Poetry reviews – STILL LIFE and SUBCUTANEOUS: Emma Storr reviews prizewinning chapbooks by Rebecca Bilkau and Maria Isakova-Bennett
Poetry Review – HOTEL AMOUR: Sarah Leavesley finds this collection by Deryn Rees-Jones offers questions and images that are endlessly fascinating
Poetry review – WILD BOAR Pat Edwards explores the world conjured and vividly conveyed by Jenny Hope’s poems
Cosi fan tutte. Review by Julia Pascal. What is so shocking about this opera written by Mozart in 1790 is how contemporary it is. This co-production with New York’s Metropolitan Opera was first seen at the Coliseum in 2014.
Poetry Review – WHEREOF: Jennifer Johnson discovers what she thinks about the philosophical poetry of Christopher Norris
Poetry review – SUNBATHING WITH FISHERMEN: Emma Storr admires the strength of feeling in Penny Sharman’s poems whether they are dealing with pain and loss or joy and pleasure
Poetry review – SELECTED POEMS: Paul McDonald enjoys a well-chosen and well-arranged selection of Maurice Riordan’s work
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
Poetry review – THE MAYDAY DIARIES: D A Prince admires Robin Houghton’s wide-ranging collection which succeeds in mixing the personal with the political
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
By Michael Bartholomew-Biggs • books, poetry reviews, year 2025