DENNIS BROE finds much to praise in the new South African Netflix series, but wonders why it feels forced to sell out its heroine
21st century poetry with Andy Croft
New offerings from Rebecca Lowe, Alun Rees, Mike Jenkins, Trisha Heaney and William Blake at the Bridge Hotel that showcases the work of 10 longstanding cultural activists on Tyneside
Trisha Heaney’s Apricot Sun has many strong poems like Dropped (about Marcus Rashford), Pa Tells us (racism), Twas Ever Thus (homelessness)
CARL DEATH introduces a new book which explores how African science fiction is addressing climate change
In his second round-up, EWAN CAMERON picks excellent solo shows that deal with Scottishness, Englishness and race as highlights
Fiery words from the Bard in Blackpool and Edinburgh, and Evidence Based Punk Rock from The Protest Family
MATTHEW HAWKINS is mesmerised by a performance that dissolves the line between audience and performer
MATTHEW SHARPE recommends the essays of a Renaissance politician that instruct and unnerve after 400 years
GAVIN O’TOOLE welcomes the reissue of a seminal work of revolutionary theory that have genuine relevance in the current context
FIVE strong new books of poetry from the ever-impressive Culture Matters, demonstrating the power of speaking plainly, and the importance of naming the enemy. At a time when so many UK poets seem interested only in writing about themselves, each of these books is a reminder of poetry’s obligations to the wider world.
Our Father Eclipse (£10) by the Welsh poet Rebecca Lowe is a brilliant, inventive and original take on contemporary feelings of impending apocalypse, constructed around the image of a solar eclipse – “We dare not gaze directly / for fear of blindness, / but know instinctively / the gathering dark.”
Wide-ranging and eloquent, these poems barely contain their rage at the way we treat our neighbours and our planet in the 21st century:
“’34 per cent of children living in poverty / 19% of people in extreme poverty / 60 per cent of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles / wiped out by human activity since 1970, / Australia on fire, / more record temperatures on the way, / the greatest climate catastrophe / the world has ever faced…”
More from this author
ANDY CROFT rallies poets to the impossible task of speaking truth to a tin-eared politician
New titles from Fran Lock, Richard Skinner, Tara Bergin and Mark A Murphy
New titles from Kurdish poet İlhan Sami Comak and Volker Braun, one of Germany’s most important writers
New collections from Neil Fulwood, Kevin Higgins, Clare Saponia, Nora Blascsok and Peter Godfrey
