JAMES WALSH is moved by an exhibition of graphic art that relates horrors that would be much less immediate in other media
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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.
RON JACOBS welcomes the translation into English of an angry cry from the place they call the periphery
GUILLERMO THOMAS recommends a useful book aimed at informing activists with local examples of solidarity in action around the world
HENRY BELL is provoked by a book that looks toward, but does not fully explore the question of who gets to imagine the shapes of cities to come
MATTHEW HAWKINS surveys the upcoming programme of contemporary dance in Glasgow, and picks some highlights
‘Chance encounters are what keep us going,’ says novelist Haruki Murakami. In Amy, a chance encounter gives fresh perspective to memories of angst, hedonism and a charismatic teenage rebel.
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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