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A California union’s decision to host a meeting about US policy towards Cuba has prompted a congressional probe and renewed attacks on international solidarity, writes CAMERON HARRISON
Rage on stage: Angry poets of the world unite
A festival of ranting poetry packed with talks, gigs and exhibitions is giving the politcal elite a good left hook, writes JASON KING
The Baltic state is set to reverse its constitutional prohibition on nuclear weapons and foreign bases as part of accelerated Nato war preparations, warns TOM UNTERRAINER
Long-term underfunding and state neglect, while simultaneously probation services have been undermined, have intensified the prison crises, argues SOLOMON HUGHES
Holyrood incompetence has cost jobs and put the future of Clydeside’s Ferguson Marine shipyard into jeopardy. Its future should have been assured, argues KENNY MACASKILL
With the agitated debate now raging in the media about the early release schemes, Prison Officers Association general secretary STEVE GILLAN gives the view of those who work in the sector
The hounding of the late Jason Arday is an all too familiar experience for many black people. ROGER McKENZIE calls for collective action to combat what can feel like personal isolation
RICHARD III isn’t the only thing to have been dug up of late. Ranting verse, a style of immediate, angry, political poetry has also been getting a dusting off, and it’s in better health than limp Dick.
Poet and Well Versed contributor Tim Wells has been exploring the history of this 1980s poetic tirade on his Stand Up and Spit blog, and now a series of gigs, talks and an exhibition is underway.
Readers of our Well Versed column will know that poetry and politics often buy each other a round, and many of the poets will be familiar to our readers: Attila the Stockbroker, John Cooper Clarke, Salena Godden, Tim Wells, Janine Booth and Linton Kwesi Johnson (LKJ) among many, many others. Attila is still a very active poet, as readers of his regular Morning Star column will be more than aware.
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