books

John Forth finds that – among its many other achievements – Ann Drysdale’s poetry nearly always cheers him up

David Cooke considers Jenny Lewis’s important new version of the Gilgamesh epic

Wendy French dips into a promising first collection by Sue Burge

D A Prince praises a new collection by Kate Noakes which deals with dislocation and survival

Nick Cooke finds honesty and authenticity in a debut collection by Ian Humphreys

Nicholas Bielby seeks to do justice to the scale of this major collection by W D Jackson

Thomas Ovans enjoys Neil Fulwood’s eloquently forthright poetic opinions about the state we’re in

James Roderick Burns is moved by a thoughtfully chosen selection of Joan Ure’s defiant poetry

Alwyn Marriage admires the depth and musicality of John Greening’s long poem about creativity and its loss

Michael Bartholomew-Biggs tries to keep up with Keith Howden’s poetry as it covers the landscape, the history and the people of the Lancashire Moors

John Lucas finds this substantial novel from Paul Binding particularly satisfying because of its underlying connections and resonances

Thomas Ovans is captivated by John Harvey’s skilful evocation of fond memories