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JENNY MITCHELL, poetry co-editor for the Morning Star, introduces her priorities, and her first selection
Remembering Then, Remembering Now
by Stuart A Paterson
HENRY BELL is sceptical of the notion that ‘progress’ is an ideology that the ruling class uses exclusively to camouflage appropriation
In search of political understanding, MATTHEW HAWKINS welcomes a critique of anti-semitism as codified by the Israeli state
BEN CHACKO welcomes a masterful analysis that puts class struggle back at the heart of our understanding of China’s revolution
JOHN GREEN is intrigued by the ethereal, ghostly quality of images of a London unobscured by the bustle of humanity
JENNY FARRELL relishes an outstanding Palestinian novel that immerses readers in the sensory reality of Gaza, then and now
AI-induced murder, last rites for the mob-dog, a gullible common herd, and an exemplary Christmas chiller
Who are we remembering?
Millennia of the distant, recent dead,
all men, women, children lost to
wars now only words & wars not started yet.
Who are we remembering?
Those whose ghosts of bones & faces
live on long beyond their fall upon
one word & in the loneliest of places.
Who are we remembering?
Everyone, anyone from every side,
land, faith or creed culled
in the dark harvests of press ganged pride.
Who are we remembering?
Not only those scattered, mauled, burned
& blown to bits but those who witnessed, lived
perhaps despite not wanting to, returned.
What are we remembering?
Stories, tales, legacies drawn from final breaths
for children, parents, lovers in dispatches
written ever closer to love & death.
What are we remembering?
Unimaginable terror, pain
& disbelief that what was promised
never to repeat was happening again.
What are we remembering?
Not only the horrors gone before
but those we live through now across a world
where bodies wash up on unwelcoming shores.
Who are we remembering?
A never-ending roll call of names
from every land & language, regardless of
place or race or colour. Remember them.
Stuart A Paterson is a widely published Scottish poet and performer. His most recent publication is Wheen: New and Collected Scots Poems (Ulster Scots Community Press, 2023).
