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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Too much toothache is a contemporary ill
John Dent’s book takes issue with some idiotic strands in modern poetry, writes 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
ANYONE who found themselves strangely unmoved by the recent row in the broadsheets about this year’s TS Eliot prize should get hold of a copy of Too Much Toothache (Penniless Press, £11.99), a new book about the contemporary poetry scene by poet and editor Alan Dent.
The prize is awarded for the “best collection” of new verse and one of the sillier claims made for this year’s winner Sarah Howe was the author’s “powerful use of blank space.” Which brings to mind the advice of Chilean poet Nicanor Parra in Young Poets: “Write as you will/In whatever style you like... In poetry everything is permitted./With only this condition of course,/You have to improve the blank page.”
Too Much Toothache is a collection of Dent’s criticism over the last 20 years in the small magazines he has edited, Penniless Press and Mistress Quickly’s Bed.
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