Poetry
Grace
A poem by Roger Robinson, from “A Portable Paradise”
Easter Sunday, 2020
Poetry by Rowan Williams
Robert Conquest: Garland for a Propagandist
The Commissar of Bray: Robert Conquest satirises Communist hackery
New poetry
“Reader, there never was a choice. The air between these pages is sucked out each time we watch her go”
Last lines: Clive James
Fans of Clive James cherished his poetry as much as his other accomplishments. This is an excerpt from Ian Shircore’s new biography, “So Brightly at the Last”, the first full-length study of the man and his muse
‘Surface Tension’ and ‘Falconry’
The birds are stoned with the humidity / in the sluggish air, the element / condensing on their feathers like beads.
Will the green agenda be killed off by the pandemic?
‘Will the green agenda be killed off by the longer-term coronavirus recovery? Or might the closure of so much business, and the cleaner air that results from planes not flying and factories not working, give us extra years to gain control of our environment?’
Why T.S. Eliot still matters
His contemporaries’ reputations have diminished. But Eliot’s has grown: he is the poet who shows us what can be saved from the ruins
Music’s in the house
Rappers have found a role in lockdown: chronicling coronavirus with topical tunes. Most people, though, are rushing to the safety of the past