An Acute Adolescence: Review of playtime, by Andrew McMillan

Andrew McMillan's debut poetry collection, physical, was warmly received for its tender portrayal of modern masculinity. His second book, playtime, continues these themes but pushes them into a fraught adult context. Cheryl Julia Lee reviews ahead of Andrew McMillan's appearance at Durham Book Festival on 14th October. Given the bracing intimacy of Andrew McMillan’s writing, it is...

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Review of The Song of Hild by Vibeke Vasbo, translated by Gaye Kynoch

Human sacrifice; the belief in wights; Latin. Anglo-Saxon England may seem like a time far removed from our own, but in The Song of Hild, Rachel Fennell encounters a novelised world that, in its treatment of women, remains uncomfortably close to home.  It is 633 A.D and the Northumbrian king, Edwin, has fallen in battle. With...

Songs of the Spuggies – Review of Land of Three Rivers: The Poetry of North East England

From its rich seams of oral poetry, to the wealth of writers and publishing houses currently based here, the North East is a dominant region on the poetic landscape. Suzannah V. Evans enjoys Land of the Three Rivers, a ‘celebration of North-East England in poetry’, edited by Neil Astley. An anthology of astonishing breadth, Land of Three...

Cunning and Art: Review of Leásungspell, by Bob Beagrie

Set in 657AD, moving between Hartlepool and Whitby, and drawing on Old English, modern English and Northumbrian dialect, Bob Beagrie's new epic poem, Leásungspell, takes readers on a historical, geographical and literary journey. Reviewer Jamie McKinstry enjoyed the voyage. A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees This quotation from William...

Review of The Sparsholt Affair, by Alan Hollinghurst

As it moves from the 1940s to the present day, Alan Hollinghurst's new novel The Sparsholt Affair traces the complexities of gay sexuality against the backdrop of a changing England. Ahead of Hollinghurst's appearance at Durham Book Festival, Fraser Riddell reviews a poignant and darkly funny masterpiece.  What Peter had created was a portrait of a demigod...