The recent heatwaves revealed how ill-prepared Britain remains for a hotter future – and how unequal the ability to cope with it has become, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
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Rage on stage: Angry poets of the world unite
A festival of ranting poetry packed with talks, gigs and exhibitions is giving the politcal elite a good left hook, writes JASON KING
Extreme heat is now one of the defining public health challenges of a warming world, explains Prof IAN WILLIAMS
The US-Israeli conflict with Iran has had far-reaching consequences, including a boost to Pakistan’s regional standing, argues ROGER McKENZIE
19.01.1930-23.04.2026
Kate Clark pays tribute to Ricardo, whose life spanned the hopes of Allende’s Chile, the horrors of military dictatorship and decades of campaigning for justice in exile
Keir Starmer's early political life suggests a very different future from the one he ultimately embraced, says KEITH FLETT
After the dismissal of union representatives and years of precarious working conditions, Kimpton Clocktower workers are drawing a line, writes THOMAS BELL
RICHARD III isn’t the only thing to have been dug up of late. Ranting verse, a style of immediate, angry, political poetry has also been getting a dusting off, and it’s in better health than limp Dick.
Poet and Well Versed contributor Tim Wells has been exploring the history of this 1980s poetic tirade on his Stand Up and Spit blog, and now a series of gigs, talks and an exhibition is underway.
Readers of our Well Versed column will know that poetry and politics often buy each other a round, and many of the poets will be familiar to our readers: Attila the Stockbroker, John Cooper Clarke, Salena Godden, Tim Wells, Janine Booth and Linton Kwesi Johnson (LKJ) among many, many others. Attila is still a very active poet, as readers of his regular Morning Star column will be more than aware.
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