CORONATION STREETS: ENGLAND THEN AND NOW: John Lucas reflects upon Chris Arnot’s account of how England has changed since the 1953 coronation
politics
Poetry review – REPUBLIC: Pat Edwards reviews an unusual and original collection of prose-poems by Nerys Williams
Poetry review – MAD PARADE: Rennie Halstead reflects on the durability of Neil Fulwood’s political poetry
Poetry review – THE BIG CALLS: Thomas Ovans is quick to admire Glyn Maxwell’s furious lament over the current state of England
Poetry review – SANCTUARY: THERE MUST BE SOMEWHERE: Tim Murphy considers Angela Graham’s thought-provoking – and mildly collaborative – debut collection
European Solidarity Centre, by Barbara Lewis. Many of us can spell Solidarnosc, because we’ve seen it written so many times in the bold, red logo created by Jerzy Janiszewski in the early days of the Solidarnosc movement credited with toppling Communism in eastern Europe and leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Poetry review – YOU HAVE NO NORMAL COUNTRY TO RETURN TO: Alwyn Marriage finds herself sharing some of the discontent expressed in Tom Sastry’s poems
Poetry review – COUNTRY OF ARRIVAL: Wendy French is moved by Hubert Moore’s collection speaking for the displaced and persecuted
THE NAKED WORLD: Sue Wallace-Shaddad follows Irina Mashinski on her autobiographical journey in prose and poetry
Poetry Review – SMOKESTACK LIGHTNING: Merryn Williams greets an important anthology which celebrates the 200th publication from Smokestack Books
HOPE IS A GIRL BORN IN A KYIV BUNKER – a personal response by Shanta Acharya to the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Poetry review – LANDSCAPE WITH MINES: Peter Ualrig Kennedy is moved by the strength and immediacy of Anna Bowles’ poetry in this impressive pamphlet.
By Michael Bartholomew-Biggs • books, history, poetry reviews, politics, year 2026 • Tags: books, history, Peter Ualrig Kennedy, poetry, politics