-
On ‘Moving Day’ by Jenny King
Regina Weinert “Jenny King was born in London during the Blitz and wrote poetry from childhood”, start the short biographical notes in King’s second and third pamphlets, Tenants and Midsummer, published […]
-
Two poems by Jack Warren
Photo by Ahmed Zayan on Unsplash from Five Poems for Mushrooms Collared Earth Star Undeterred by lax mornings of noiseless rain. I […]
-
‘All our past lives’: on Emily Berry’s ‘Unexhausted Time’
Nicola Healey I have long admired the way Emily Berry’s poetry handles complex thought, not just feeling, within carefully considered sentences, her intelligent sensitivity to our interior […]
-
Three poems by Daniel Bennett
Photo by Krišjānis Kazaks on Unsplash Chris’s Room When Auden bought his first home- a farmhouse in Kirchstetten- he wept tears of happiness for […]
-
Two poems by Kate Behrens
Photo by 青 晨 on Unsplash CT Scan When x-rayed in slices, at least an idea of wholeness shrinks into blatant meat: bone, […]
-
On ‘High Desert’ by André Naffis-Sahely
Richie McCaffery It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a collection of poetry as much as André Naffis-Sahely’s new offering, High Desert (Bloodaxe, 2022). That said, […]
-
On ‘Glut’ by Ramona Herdman
Matthew Stewart It might initially seem snide or negative to suggest that a poet’s work is best represented by their idiosyncratic use of one specific punctuation mark, […]
-
Two poems by Paul Stephenson
Photo of Tbilisi by Eugene Chystiakov on Unsplash Climbing Tbilisi Above the brick-domed baths of Abanotubani, rare trees ache with invasion and enemy grab. City spreads, […]
-
‘V.E. Day’: a poem by Sally Festing
V.E. Day in Selwyn Road, Cambridge. Author pictured in back row, third from the left. V.E. Day She holds a finger to her chin. Flowers bind […]
-
On ‘Summer/Break’ by Richie McCaffery
Declan Ryan Richie McCaffery’s third collection, Summer/Break (Shoestring, 2022), is one of quiet peril. Everywhere one looks there is a quest, however forlorn, for salvation, a desperation […]
-
On ‘Central Air’ by George Bilgere
Neil Elder In America, George Bilgere is widely published and revered, winner of a Pushcart Prize and a regular in many of the best journals. How his work […]
-
Three poems by Camille Francois
Photo by Mediocre Studio on Unsplash She puts away childish things Early mornings – I would turn no light on, open no curtain, and […]
-
Three translations of Osip Mandelstam
Alistair Noon writes: Osip Mandelstam (1891–1938) grew up in St. Petersburg and published his first book, Stone, in 1913. One more volume followed before he began encountering publishing […]
-
‘Not Harlem but Close’: a poem by Idman Omar
Photo by Ben Allan on Unsplash Not Harlem but Close The place that produced me was heavy as the heavens. Its tiger tooth pinched monthly, […]
-
‘Aged’: a poem by Stuart Henson
Aged I’m thinking again of Gallagher’s strat. You can’t get that sweated scrubbed-out look from a custom shop, and you can’t cheat it down […]
-
‘Silence’: a poem by Jack Houston
Photo by bennoptic on Unsplash Silence A squirrel scampers the wall of the nature reserve In this idyll I’m not sure I fully deserve, […]
-
Two poems by Tim Scott
The Form of an Armoured Car (Belfast, 1977) A Saracen’s squat tonnage shudders through the lines of flat-faced houses. Its heartbeat pulses on their […]
-
On ‘Hollow Palaces: An Anthology of Modern Country House Poems’
Rishi Dastidar An odd place to start but bear with. The Fence, a new-ish, waggish magazine (think Private Eye meets Popbitch) shared the following snippet in a […]
-
‘Landskein’: a poem by Jenny Pagdin
Photo by Dagmara Dombrovska on Unsplash Landskein The hut tilted and in came the tide, gathering jars and books from my shelves – but it […]
-
‘Two Visions’ – a translation from the Estonian of Mathura
Below is an English version of the two-part poem ‘Kaks nägemust’ (‘Two Visions’) by the Estonian poet, Mathura. Winner of the Gustav Suits Poetry Award and other literary prizes […]