The title of this anthology, published by Dempsey and Windle under their VOLE imprint, is taken from lines by Dylan Thomas: “The force that through the green fuse drives the flower / Drives my green age; that blasts the roots … Continue reading
Trieste IIn the crook of Italy,the coffee capital of Illy and Hausbrandt,that dark rich brew of a cityhuddled in a demitasse cup –home of Italian ceramics,Istrian truffles and old world grandeur,Architecture comes with a mixed message:Mitteleuropa with mansard windowsmeets full-on … Continue reading
Poet and travel writer Melissa Davies lives in the North West of England. After embarking on a short career in cancer care, she spent 18 months in 2018 exploring the mountains of Europe and North Africa by bike and on … Continue reading
Prize-winning poet, acclaimed novelist, editor and playwright, Jeff Phelps, is the author of two novels Painter Man (2005) and Box of Tricks (2009), both published by Tindal Street Press and the poetry pamphlet Wolverhampton Madonna (2016) published by Offa’s Press. … Continue reading
‘Rivers connect people and places. They carry water and nutrients to areas all over the globe…to travel down rivers of this length is to travel through different languages, societies and cultures’. (Neil Leadbeater & Monica Manolachi) Here’s an interesting and … Continue reading
Jazz apples had caught Steve out more than once and ruined his act. Described as an exciting fusion between a Royal Gala and a Braeburn, the look of them always made him nervous. Steady up until this point, they constantly … Continue reading
Brighton-based poet and playwright, Claire Booker’s debut pamphlet of poems, ‘Later There Will Be Postcards’ was published by Green Bottle Press. A further pamphlet, ‘The Bone That Sang’ was published by Indigo Dreams. She was a recipient of a Kathak … Continue reading
Born and raised in Ammanford, once the heartland of coal mining in West Wales, Paul McGrane is the co-founder of the Forest Poets poetry collective in Walthamstow, London. From 2006 to 2020 he was the Poetry Society’s Membership Manager. His … Continue reading
Gustav Holst Considers a Pebble While Composing ‘The Planets’ He cradles its convexitiesin the palm of his hand,feels its significance,weighs its bulk. Striated it could be Saturn,whose drawn linesare deeply scarredfrom hard-earned experience. Pockmarked with craters,it could have been Mars. … Continue reading
Prior to writing this review I was listening to a recording of Elgar’s ballet ‘The Sanguine Fan’. Written in 1917 for the benefit of wartime charities, the name derives from the fact that the theme of the piece was inspired … Continue reading