HENRY BELL is fascinated by the underlying curiosities and contradictions of one of the great poets of the Mediterranean
The power of mass demonstration
ANDREW MURRAY is compelled by the moment of revolution in British history when Parliament had political intimacy with society
Assertion of Liberty of Conscience by the Independents of the Westminster Assembly of Divines, by John Rogers Herbert, 1847. It depicts a meeting of the Westminster Assembly on 21 February 1644. Philip Nye, a member of the independent party, argues that the form of church government advocated by the presbyterians, under which local congregations submit to higher assemblies of elders, was "thrice over pernicious, to civil states and kingdoms". He was immediately "cryed down", according to Robert Baillie, who kept a journal of the proceedings. The painting depicts many individuals who were not members of the Assembly, because when issues of particular interest were debated, non-members would attend as spectators.
[Public Domain]
DAVID RENTON recommends a books that explores the ways in which disabled people are made to feel both of and not part of this world
JONATHAN TAYLOR is fascinated by the philosophical problems that permeate the art of life-writing
GORDON PARSONS steps warily in between the lines of Britain’s most famous diarist
SIMON DUFF recommends a recording of Arvo Part that takes the listener on a pilgrimage through seemingly distant times and events of the Bible
JENNY FARRELL relishes an intimate memoir about growing up in the household of the great Irish communist and playwright Sean O’Casey
SIAN LEWIS relishes a comprehensive account of high rise social housing in Britain by prize-winning social and political historian Holly Smith
The Fiery Spirits
John Rees, Verso, £30
CONNECTING mass political movements with parliamentary representation is a perennial issue for the left in Britain and, indeed, elsewhere.
It is correct to say that the former — the struggle beyond the Palace of Westminster — is the determining factor in political outcomes, but also true that parliamentary articulation can help shape and empower the movement, even as MPs draw strength from it.
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