An entangled web of chains run through the Africa-shaped-afro of the figure on the front cover, complimenting the complex themes explored inside this poetry debut by Kev Inn: Adventures in Racial Capitalism. Here are stories of prejudice and hardships felt by the author to tales of home and hope.
Jeanette L. Clariond’s The Goddess of Water transmogrifies reality, bringing the reader into her world and holding them long after they have left the book behind. Clariond has published many collections and her ability to not only write poetry but craft it into such a deliberate, thoughtful structure speaks to her experience. Every page proves a maze, drawing the reader in and leading them through the rich tapestry of Aztec myth, spoken with striking lyricism and intertwined skilfully with the all too contemporary subject of femicide and gendered violence in South America.
Manuel SolanoDCA until 20 November The DCA publicity for Manuel Solano’s exhibition announces that their work ‘recalls and celebrates childhood moments impacted by formative influences like family, friendships, cinema, television and pop music’. The gallery space utilises the contemporary white cube concept of display, (sanitized white walls, a spacious plan and a minimal bench allocation), Read More
In this collection, Mohammed El-Kurd celebrates the life of his grandmother, the eponymous Rifqa, whom El-Kurd describes as ‘older than Israel’ and through his poetry, shows how Rifqa inspired him to bring the World’s attention to the plight of the Palestinian people. It is a challenging read, a lucid and angry voice against an unjust situation to which there seems no hope of resolution.
Lesley Harrison(Shearsman Books, 2020); pbk £10.95 In her first full-length collection after multiple pamphlet publications, Lesley Harrison envisions a voyage towards healing humanity’s fractured bond with the natural world. Through archival documents, past voyages, and local myths deftly explored, Harrison ties the past and present together in the shared space of the North Sea. The Read More
Rosaline Nashasibi & Lucy Skaer Cooper Gallery Dundee, 30th September – 10th December For the next three months the Cooper Gallery will be displaying the collaborative work of Rosalind Nashashibi and Lucy Skaer, who have been working and exhibiting together since 2005. The exhibition, Chimera, is an enigmatic manifestation of new and familiar work by Read More
Tim Allen’s A Democracy of Poisons, his third collection with Shearsman, possesses rich, surreal imagery—visions that float or collide with the reader, betraying his avant tendencies. However, his dreams aren’t pleasant—they’re anxious, tense.
Don Quixote trades in his horse for a mobility scooter in this flamboyant and tender retelling from Dundee Rep Theatre and Perth Theatre written by Ben Lewis and directed by Lu Kemp. With wit, heart and a live musical accompaniment, Cervantes’ metaphysical comedy becomes a thoughtful commentary on modern life, alienation, growing old and also the stories we tell ourselves.
Based on a thirteen-poem series, The Wilds is a powerful poetry comic – written by Russell Jones and illustrated by Aimee Lockwood – connects the themes of grief, the natural world, and survival. It explores the experience of a teenage girl coming to terms with the death of her mother, understanding that loss is never easy but can be survived.
Sunday, 3pm. Eric Watt’s collection of selected fragments of city lives in Coming Into View, spanning several decades, an exhibition curated by Isobel McDonald and Alison Brown, today coalesce in the surround-sound of Kelvingrove’s organ recital. In a celebration of both Watt and Glasgow, portraits of ‘St Andrew’s Suspension Bridge’, in the damp of an all-too-familiar smirring rain, and girls with umbrellas traversing glistering tarmacadams, rivers of shining light (‘Kingston Umbrellas, 1960’), segue into street-kids sheltering from a ‘Rainy Day’ and echoey images of the Clyde with its tidal eddies (‘Fairfield’s Yard, 1965’).