NEW POETRY – JUNE/JULY 2019 SELECTION: IAIN TWIDDY, FRED JOHNSTON, SIÚN CARDEN

by

IAIN TWIDDY studied literature at university and lived for several years in northern Japan. He has poems published or forthcoming in The Poetry Review, Stand, Poetry Ireland Review, The Blue Mountain Review, The Stinging Fly and elsewhere. FRED JOHNSTON was born in Belfast… Continue reading

The Burden of Gratitude: ‘The Ungrateful Refugee’ by Dina Nayeri

by

Dina Nayeri, The Ungrateful Refugee (Canongate, 2018) By Lynnda Wardle Living in a crumbling Italian hotel-turned-refugee camp, the 8-year old Dina Nayeri witnesses a story as old as time itself. While everyone waits… Continue reading

REFUGEE TALES III: The Foster Child’s Tale

by

Refugee Tales III (ed. David Herd and Anna Pincus) is published 11th July 2019 by Comma Press. Refugee Tales is an outreach project of Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group, and all proceeds from the… Continue reading

REFUGEE TALES III: The Stateless Person’s Tale

by

Refugee Tales III (ed. David Herd and Anna Pincus) is published 11th July 2019 by Comma Press. Refugee Tales is an outreach project of Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group, and all proceeds from the… Continue reading

NEW POETRY – MAY/JUNE SELECTION: CHERYL FOLLON, MHAIRI OWENS, NATHANAEL URIE

by

CHERYL FOLLON‘s latest collection, Santiago is published by Bloodaxe Books (2017). Her poems have appeared in The Herald, The Dark Horse, The Times Literary Supplement, and on BBC Radio 4 amongst other places.… Continue reading

“Sounds how the cutting of time might”: O. at the Edge of the Gorge by Martyn Crucefix

by

O, At the Edge of the Gorge. Martyn Crucefix (Guillemot Press, 2018) Review by Alison Graham Martyn Crucefix has a remarkable body of work behind him, ranging from the equal parts startling and… Continue reading

NEW POETRY – APRIL/MAY SELECTION: SHEILA HAMILTON, CLARE PHILLIPS, PAUL LAUGHLIN, AND NEIL FLYNN

by

SHEILA HAMILTON‘s poems have been widely published. A full-length collection, The Spirit Vaults, was published in 2017 by Green Bottle Press. A new pamphlet, Lotus Moon, With Blossom, is published by 4Word. CLARE PHILLIPS retired… Continue reading

Even More Mad: Ariana Harwicz, ‘Feebleminded’, translated by Carolina Orloff and Annie McDermott

by

‘An Evening with Ariana Harwicz’ took place at Waterstones on Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, on 26th April 2019. The discussion was chaired by translator Daniel Hahn, and featured translator and Charco Press editor Carolina Orloff.… Continue reading

The Mundane Goes Weird: ‘Live Show: Drink Included’ by Vicky Grut

by

Vicky Grut, Live Show: Drink Included (Holland Park Press, 2018) By Lynnda Wardle “Perhaps it sounds uncaring” says one of the characters in Vicky Grut’s fine debut collection Live Show: Drink Included, “but… Continue reading

TRANSLATED LIVES: Louise Bourgeois and Annie Ernaux

by

Annie Ernaux, The Years, trans. Alison L. Strayer (London: Fitzcarraldo, 2018; first published as Les Années, 2008) Jean Frémon, Now, Now, Louison, trans. Cole Swenson (London: Les Fugitives, 2018) By Becky Varley-Winter In… Continue reading