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RITA DI SANTO draws attention to a new film that features Ken Loach and Jeremy Corbyn, and their personal experience of media misrepresentation
Farewell to Harry
BEN LUNN pays tribute to Accrington-born giant Harrison Birtwhistle – but wonders if working-class kids today have the opportunity to explore music that he did
JULIA TOPPIN recommends Patti Smith’s eloquent memoir that wrestles with the beauty and sorrow of a lifetime
MARJORIE MAYO welcomes an account of family life after Oscar Wilde, a cathartic exercise, written by his grandson
KEN COCKBURN guides us through a survey of Chekov’s early short fiction, and the groundwork it laid for his later masterpieces
ANDY HEDGECOCK revels in a hugely enjoyable but deadly serious examination of the 1930s, that is an indictment of our own era
The bard distills our hellish times into fiery words
ON APRIL 18, the Accrington-born giant and musical hell-raiser Harrison Birtwistle passed away. To say he was one of the largest voices in British music is an understatement.
His music has had a resonance and reach which can only be compared to a few other British composers — namely Henry Purcell, Edward Elgar and Benjamin Britten.
The broad outpouring of sadness at his passing, combined with numerous hilarious anecdotes and stories, shows his connection to the world around him was as large as his music.
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