Latest editorial
GORDON PARSONS recommends an entertaining account of the years between Germany’s defeat in WWI and Hitler’s seizure of power
Becky Cherriman - Austerity
Well Versed is edited by Jody Porter
MIGUEL YOSHIDA explains the evolution and influence of the Cuban Casa De Las Americas in joining culture to the revolutionary struggle
ANDY HEDGECOCK is charmed by a skilful adaptation of Tove Jansson’s lyrical portrait of three generations of a family, overcoming grief
ALEX HALL treads warily through a messy, dialectical struggle fought in the mundane machinery of driving licences, criminal law, and birth registries
MICHAL BONCZA, FIONA O’CONNOR, JAMES WALSH and ANGUS REID review Atlas of Disappearance, Love Me Tender, Bouchra, and This Tempting Madness
Flitting between myth and the modern world, Medusa is determined to steer clear of human affairs. When her resolve crumbles, the result is petrifying in every sense
Austerity
Becky Cherriman
Hear it scutter
along the guttering of offices,
in the bins behind Waitrose,
the thorned bushes at the playground’s edge –
a language devised by the high-born
to parch the lips of those with less.
Live here too long
and it will shudder down your throat like flu.
You will wake one morning aching with it,
all other tongues you know forgotten –
the vernacular of the workers,
lexicons of children with little,
dialects of kindness,
the diction of being human.
Similar stories
The Bard contributes to the campaign of Count Binface, and applauds Burnham’s plans for vocational training
by Mary Gilonne
by Alistair Findlay
by Rosie Jackson