MATTHEW HAWKINS witnesses a contemporary ballet that represents human life as subjected to artificial intelligence
Latest editorial
Words of wisdom as old parrot speaks out
Andy Croft reviews some of the latest poetry
by Marwa Paikan
A misfit couple unhappily ever after, a dead man walking, dodgy journos, and trench art trucking
New releases from Javon Jackson, IZE Trio, and Mal Waldron Trio
PAUL DONOVAN applauds an intriguing multi-layered depiction, dominated by a stunning impersonation of Marilyn herself
EWAN CAMERON marvels at the impossible ambition, realised with dreamlike finesse of translating Italo Calvino to the stage
TONY BURKE speaks to JOEL McIVER, co-author of the biography of bluesman John Mayall
Dannie Abse has published over 30 books but few as satisfying or as enjoyable as Speak Old Parrot (Hutchinson, £15).
Now in his 90th year, Abse is naturally concerned with the passage of time: "profligate, I wasted time/- those yawning postponements on rainy days,/those paperhat hours of benign frivolity./Now time wastes me."
There are some great poems here about the comedy of ageing, like The Old Gods - Trident has lost his trident, Saturn has time on his hands and Bacchus has cirrhosis of the liver - and some fine poems about youth and memory like Cricket Bat, Moonbright and Sunbright.
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