When Kevin Higgins takes great delight in informing us that he “moved like Kevin Keegan” in his new football boots, instantly, the reader expects that the poetry to follow will be a realist description of the life, love and tribulations of the aforementioned author and his experience of growing up. And all of this is Read More
Ben Wheatley’s latest film, A Field in England, is a bold psychedelic adventure filmed entirely in monochrome which follows a group of deserters during the civil war era who lose themselves to mushrooms, madness, alchemy and greed. During the special Q&A session which followed the screening of the film, Wheatley exclaimed that he hoped nobody had Read More
Before Midnight is the long awaited third instalment in Richard Linklater’s series of films which began withBefore Sunrise and Before Sunset. These films together follow the twists and turns of a romance that first bloomed between two strangers conversing on a train. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, reprising the roles of Jesse and Céline, aid Linklater’s believable story Read More
The Studio Game by Peter Burnett, follows a young couple trying to ‘make it big’ in the contemporary art world. However, Liska and Guy Poynti ng believe the only way that this can be achieved is through their own death. Having completed their final collection, the couple plan to jump hand in hand from a Read More
Jon Grahame (pseudonym of journalist Denis Kilcommons), winner of the John Creasey Award from the Crime Writers’ Association of Great Britain for his first book, The Dark Apostle, offers Reaper, the first of his new trilogy of the same name. Reaper is a post-apocalyptic revenge tale-turned vigilante plot, full of action and violence…and not much Read More
Grahame Davies (Seren, 2012); pbk, £8.99 In Grahame Davies’ collection, Lightning Beneath The Sea, the final poem, “Doorway”, ends with the line, “Come on”, you said, “There’s plenty more to see.” The same can be said for Davies’ poems. Curious, reflective and often introspective, his poems introduce the different people we may encounter in a Read More
Julian Lees (Sandstone Press, 2013); pbk £8.99 Before even beginning to read Julian Lee’s novel The House of the Trembling Leaves, the title provides poignant imagery with its suggested opposition: the sturdiness of a house to the fragility of leaves. This contrast between strong and weak is one that recurs in this poetic novel which Read More
Elizabeth Reeder (Kohl Publishing, 2012); pbk. £8.99. Elizabeth Reeder’s second novel, Fremont, follows hot on the heels of her well-received debut, Ramshackle. Fremont has the same assuredness and lightness of touch, strong characterisation, and beautiful poetic prose as the earlier novel. It also takes the reader to a different state, in many different ways. Fremont Read More
(USA, 2012) 7 -13 June; DCA. Peter “Ginger” Baker is a London-born, red haired pioneer of percussion, often cited as the most influential drummer of the 1960s. Setting the tempo for bands such as Cream and Blind Faith, and infusing jazz, rock and African rhythms, has won Baker a long list of admirers of his Read More
Maria Jastrzębska (Waterloo Press, 2013);pbk: £10.00. It is well known that our senses create our most vivid recollections: familiar smells, images and objects bring back memories just as if they are present in the here and now. In At The Library of Memories, Maria Jastrzębska takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of her personal Read More