CHRIS SEARLE recommends a work of love and deep admiration for a great musician
Latest editorial
Chris Bartter: Trade unionist and cultural activist
KENNY MacASKILL relishes a fictionalised account of the life and death of the principled Irish anti-colonialist, executed for betraying his English imperial masters
FIONA O’CONNOR admires an ambitious first novel that loosens South Africa’s rainbow collective to examine the racial tensions within
Aussie mining corporation murder, Liverpudlian ex-cop amnesia, a naive vigilante tries to reset capitalism, and the riddle of the dead psychoanalyst
SYLVIA HIKINS is persuaded by an entertaining play that the true miracle of Lourdes would be for attitudes toward disability to change
JAMIE BRITTON recommends this fine analysis of the architectural, ecological and infrastructural destruction of the Gaza Strip
CHRIS BARTTER, who died on October 28 at the age of 64, was a huge, almost omnipresent, figure on Scotland's cultural, labour and trade union scene.
His towering physical height was considerable but what made an impression on people was his warmth, sensitivity, knowledge, intellect, creativity and his sense of fun. It was that humanity that led to such an outpouring of shock and devastation when his passing was announced.
In recent years, Chris was a regular and highly valued contributor to the arts and books pages of the Morning Star.
Similar stories
Campaigns against nuclear weapons on the Clyde, financial backing for arms firms and rising militarism are converging with solidarity for Palestine, as Scotland’s peace movement builds momentum ahead of the 2026 Holyrood election, says ARTHUR WEST
The EIS president who defended Marxist politics in the 1980s fought Thatcherite educational policies while organising Teachers for Peace rallies and ensuring Morning Star circulation in Scotland’s pit villages and factories, writes JOHN FOSTER
Robinson successfully defended his school from closure, fought for the unification of the teaching unions, mentored future trade union leaders and transformed teaching at the Marx Memorial Library, writes JOHN FOSTER
SALEEM BADAT and VASU REDDY introduce a new book about an outstanding interpreter of the world, and an activist scholar committed to changing society