Poetry review – EMERGENCY DREAM: Pat Edwards admires the way that Polly Atkin’s poetry links the personal with wider societal and global issues
society
Poetry review – CONVERSATIONS WITH A MACHINE : Michael Bartholomew-Biggs reviews a slim collection by Ruth Irwin that seeks to engage with big questions
Poetry review – HAIL SISTERS OF THE REVOLUTION: Kelly Davis admires Caroline Gilfillan’s tribute to a 1970s band of freedom fighters
CORONATION STREETS: ENGLAND THEN AND NOW: John Lucas reflects upon Chris Arnot’s account of how England has changed since the 1953 coronation
Poetry review – THE BIG CALLS: Thomas Ovans is quick to admire Glyn Maxwell’s furious lament over the current state of England
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 – ROCK, BIRD, BUTTERFLY: Pam Thompson takes a close look at Hannah Lowe’s delightful poetic examination of 18th century Chinese wallpapers
Why We Sing, by Julia Hollander. Review by Barbara Lewis. Sometimes we sing because we are happy. More importantly, we sing to make ourselves happy – and not just in a good mood, but healthier, saner and part of a more cohesive community.
Poetry review – EUROPE, LOVE ME BACK: Pat Edwards admires Rakhshan Rizwan’s ways of tackling the difficult theme of racial intolerance
Poetry review – SHELLING PEAS WITH MY GRANDMOTHER IN THE GORGIOLANDS: James Roderick Burns appreciates the atmospheric detail in an admirable first full collection by Sarah Wimbush
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 – ENGLISH LAUGHTER: John O’Donoghue finds hope in the humour and fair-mindedness that Alan Morrison perceives as being vitally English characteristics
By Michael Bartholomew-Biggs • books, history, poetry reviews, politics, society, year 2026 • Tags: books, history, John O’Donoghue, poetry, politics, society