PAUL DONOVAN is chilled by the contemporary resonance of Harper Lee’s coming of age tale amidst racism and white supremacy in this excellent production
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A poetic line of march challenging election overkill
21st Century poetry with Andy Croft
GEOFF BOTTOMS recommends the unashamedly light-hearted escapism on offer in this stage version of the 1963 film
Full of mysterious religious references and radical sound design, the Scottish duo’s new offering is candidate for album of the year, suggests SIMON DUFF
MARY CONWAY revels in a powerful reminder that human lives are not defined by physical perfection
PAUL DONOVAN recommends the fine performances in this account of the pre-war meeting between the US president and the British king
TECLYN AROD relishes an intimate celebration of jazz improvisation that mixes local and national musicians
HOW can poets contribute to the debates taking place around this general election?
At the moment, it is hard enough for anyone to be heard above the white noise of cliche, point-scoring, dodgy statistics and overacting.
On the whole, politicians do not read poetry and most poets do not trust politicians. Most poems are less memorable than a soundbite and more demanding than a party political broadcast. Not many poems have ever changed anyone’s opinion and, outside the prize-giving circuit, no-one is interested in what poets have to say.
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ALAN MORRISON recommends a consummate, heart-warming collection about a working-class upbringing in the industrial north-east
ANDY CROFT welcomes the publication of an anthology of recent poems published by the Morning Star, and hopes it becomes an annual event
ANDY CROFT rallies poets to the impossible task of speaking truth to a tin-eared politician