Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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The Stare’s Nest: poetry that commits to the struggle - Judi Sutherland
The Stare’s Nest poetry blog aims to counteract the cynicism of commentators like Jeremy Paxman. Editor Judi Sutherland has the story
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
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NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
Poets know that creative ideas sometimes emerge from a collision of disparate events. This was the case with my poetry blog/zine, The Stare’s Nest.
It had two unlikely muses: Jeremy Paxman and Nigel Farage.
The European elections of May 2014 plunged me into despair. I watched the rise of Ukip, aided by Farage’s constant appearances on TV and in print. After the results were announced, the news programmes reported that 31 million people had not bothered to vote. Presumably they didn’t think it mattered.
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The bard celebrates two other fine practitioners of the art, and laments a lost brewer
TONY FOX invites readers to come and hear the story of the remarkable Liverpudlian International Brigader Alexander Foote
ANDY CROFT rallies poets to the impossible task of speaking truth to a tin-eared politician
by Widad Nabi