The bard celebrates two other fine practitioners of the art, and laments a lost brewer
Latest editorial
Tim Wells - In Praise of Chimene Suleyman
Edited by JODY PORTER
This right-wing conspiracy theory is used to justify the coercive measures against gender, race and labour rights that best serve capitalism, attests GAVIN O’TOOLE
KENNY MONROSE recommends a new exhibition that highlights the significance of Black British music
ANGUS REID is bowled over by an exuberant film about the making of Keith Jarrett’s legendary concert
MARIA DUARTE, FIONA O’CONNOR and ANDY HEDGECOCK review Savage House, Enzo, Madfabulous, and Erupcja
CHRIS SEARLE recommends a work of love and deep admiration for a great musician
In Praise of Chimene Suleyman
Tim Wells
Behind me on the top deck
of the 67 bus
two Turkish girls,
dressed for a night out,
talk about life
since leaving school
the other side of summer.
One works in Westfield,
the shopping centre that’s
our Olympic legacy.
The other’s started college
but isn’t enjoying it much.
‘I have to go,’ she explains,
‘my dad’s a Marxist.
He says I have to be educated
‘cos the bourgeoisie
treat the proletariat like mice.’
Her friend nods and says,
‘He’s worked in shops, your dad.’
As founding editor of the poetry magazine Rising, Tim Wells has published the work of new and established writers. He likes pie and mash, reggae, bad jokes and Leyton Orient FC. His Boys’ Night Out in the Afternoon (Donut Press) was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection in 2006 and his most recent publication is Keep the Faith (Blackheath Books).
Similar stories
ALAN MORRISON recommends a consummate, heart-warming collection about a working-class upbringing in the industrial north-east
ANDY CROFT welcomes the publication of an anthology of recent poems published by the Morning Star, and hopes it becomes an annual event
RUTH AYLETT reviews two collections of outright political poetry
by Widad Nabi