STEVEN ANDREW is moved beyond words by a historical account of mining in Britain made from the words of the miners themselves
An outstanding anthology of female poets
PATRICK JONES recommends a vital anthology from Afghan and Iranian poets where the political and personal fuse into witness-bearing and manifesto-making

Songs of Freedom: An Anthology by Iranian and Afghan Women Poets
Edited by Shirin Razavian and Rouhi Shafii
Afsana Press, £12.99
I HAD to stop and put this book down after every few poems due to the intensity of expression and the feelings that these brave poets elicited in me, something I have never experienced before.
This is a vital anthology from Afghan and Iranian poets where the political and personal overlap and fuse into a witness-bearing and manifesto-making anthology that everyone should read.
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