Connected Worlds of Bruges. Review by Barbara Lewis. As part of the constant flow of luminaries in and out of the cultural and commercial hub of 16th-century Bruges, Henry VIII sent Thomas More there in 1515 as part of a diplomatic mission to settle trade and financial disputes. His visit to Flanders was also when More began his classic work “Utopia”.
history
Metamorphoses. Review by Barbara Lewis. The final word of Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” is “vivam”: I shall live. It was prophetic. More than any other poet, Ovid lives on as a muse to fine artists to this day.
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.
Poetry review – LANDSCAPE WITH MINES: Peter Ualrig Kennedy is moved by the strength and immediacy of Anna Bowles’ poetry in this impressive pamphlet.
Unseen Photography from the 19th Century. Review by Barbara Lewis. Belgium, which declared independence in 1830, became a forerunner in photographic identification and is home to the oldest preserved mugshots, dating from 1843. As well as using photography to catch criminals, Belgium led the way in putting the technique to arguably criminal uses, including pornography and the wider abuse of power, which sadly finds an echo in today’s AI image manipulation.
Poetry review – IMPERFECT BEGINNINGS: Anne Ryland is touched by the powerful and painful poetry in this collection by Viv Fogel
Poetry review – AGAIN BEHOLD THE STARS: Emma Storr admires a prize-winning historical sequence by Alex Josephy
Poetry review – HAIL SISTERS OF THE REVOLUTION: Kelly Davis admires Caroline Gilfillan’s tribute to a 1970s band of freedom fighters
Poetry review – LEARNING FINITY: Clare Morris admires the use of memory and story in these poems by Deborah Harvey
Archaeological Museum of Heraklion and Palace of Knossos. By Barbara Lewis. Regarded as the first advanced civilisation in Europe, Minoan Crete dated from around 3000 BC until around 1100 BC, preceding ancient Greece.
LAST ON HIS FEET: JACK JOHNSON AND THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY: Charles Rammelkamp reviews a shocking and powerful graphic novel by Youssef Daoudi & Adrian Matejka
Poetry review – THE ALDERBANK WADE: Nick Cooke considers a Civil War ‘novel in verse’ by Alan Morrison
By Michael Bartholomew-Biggs • books, history, poetry reviews, politics, year 2026 • Tags: books, history, Nick Cooke, poetry, politics