DAVID YEARSLEY is fascinated by the account of four composers who transformed their experiences of the second world war and the Holocaust into deeply moving works of art
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Normal life in North Korea
Given the prevalence of negative propaganda, KEITH BENNETT welcomes a rare picture book of the DPRK that seeks to present rather than sensationalise
Package tour in the Kumgang mountains, 2013
[Glyn Ford]
PETER MASON thrills to the sound of south London-born Yussef Dayes, and the galaxy of musicians drawn into his orbit
From post-human revolution in Puerto Rico to trans poetics and queer mythmaking, these three books that imagine new ways of being together
JAMIE BRITTON recommends that we all buy at least two copies of a remarkable book of poems
Re-releases from Iain Matthews, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and The Charlie Daniels Band
JAMIE BRITTON recommends that we all buy at least two copies of a remarkable book of poems
Picturing the DPRK
Glyn Ford, Spokesman Books, £15.99
VERY few British people, or Westerners generally, including from the left or the labour movement, have had the opportunity to visit the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), to give the country more widely known as North Korea its proper name. Indeed, since 2017, the US government has maintained a blanket ban on visits by its passport holders.
One exception is Glyn Ford, who served as a Labour member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1984-2009. Much of his work was focused on east Asia and he has visited the DPRK nearly 50 times since his first visit in 1997.
Since leaving the European Parliament, he has continued with his “Track 2” diplomacy and has long since been the “go-to” person for European social democracy in engaging with the country.
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