The revolutionary theatre of Bertolt Brecht
Australian socialist Tess Lee Ack celebrates the life and work of the revolutionary playwright and poet Bertolt Brecht.
Patient Humans and other poems
Leila Platt writes on experiences of mental health treatment, Covid and power in ‘Patient Humans’ and other poems.
Naming of parts 2020
Poem by Brian Parkin, based on an original by Harry Reed. Illustration by Mark Winter.
Letter to Edith
Parenthood is full of uncertainties; of hopes and fears. The climate crisis amplifies all of this, and brings into focus the harsh realities and stark choices we face – as individuals and as a society. A poem by Rick Lighten.
I Bring Her a Flower
On the 100th anniversary of the murder of Rosa Luxemburg, we republish a poetic tribute to her written by Sylvia Townsend Warner.
Intolerants not welcome – The Battle of Lewisham 1977
13 August 2017 will be the 40th Anniversary of the “Battle of Lewisham” when thousands of local people and other anti-racists refused to allow the fascist National Front to intimidate them with a provocative march through the community. Lewisham poet Mark ‘Mr T’ Thompson has written this poem in remembrance and celebration of the historic event. […]
A poem by Alan Gibbons
Alan Gibbons, poet and novelist, penned this poem in response to Theresa May’s vile racist speech at the Conservative conference. We are proud to republish it for National Poetry Day There was an Irish immigrant Who dug the canals And built the bridges, Who carved the tunnels And made the roads And only consumed […]
Motivation: a poem by Caliban’s Revenge
Caliban’s Revenge reflects on the state of teaching today MOTIVATION They told me to be “CUSTOMER CENTERED” So I left work and went to the American style mall and got a second job in Argos. I worked there for a week Nobody noticed Until I had a teaching observation and got “unsatisfactory”. They said no, we […]
“Important Speech on why we should go to war, just released”
Michael Rosen reports on an “Important Speech on why we should go to war, just released”. “We can drop bombs through the eye of a needle. We can’t always find the needle. But we drop the bombs anyway. And they land very accurately. On..er…whatever’s there. Which is good, isn’t it? “There will be civilian casualties. That’s […]
Sorry! An apology from Muslims (or those perceived to be Muslims) to humanity
We’re pleased to be able to republish a poem by the Syrian Kurdish poet Amir Darwish with permission of publishers Smokestack books. A collection of Amir Darwish’s poetry can be found in the book Don’t Forget the Couscous. Sorry! An apology from Muslims (or those perceived to be Muslims) to humanity We are sorry for […]
Ten radical poems for National Poetry Day
Like the song says, socialism is about bread, but also roses. With the help of rs21 members we’ve gathered ten poems about the fight against capitalism, racism and women’s oppression, and our dreams for a better world. We’ve put them together with images into a short publication. With writers from William Blake to Maya Angelou, we hope […]
Condemning the slaughter of the ‘Great War’
2014 marks the 100th centenary of the beginning of the First World War. Britain’s rulers want us to commemorate it as a ‘just war’. Matthew Cookson argues that cultural representations of the war, often from soldiers’ perspectives, are an explicit condemnation of our rulers’ justifications for the slaughter. Before he was so cruelly defenestrated as the […]
Why does Michael Gove hate Blackadder?
Today marks the 100th anniversary of Britain declaring war on Germany in the the First World War. Cameron, Gove and others want us to remember it as “just war”. But Matthew Cookson argues that cultural representations of the war are an explicit condemnation of our rulers’ justifications for it, and often an implicit critique of […]
Who was Blair Peach?
Today marks the 35th anniversary of the killing of Blair Peach by the police. David Renton looks back at Blair Peach’s life as a poet, trade unionist and committed antifascist. Blair Peach was a 33 year old teacher killed on a demonstration on 23 April 1979 at Southall against the National Front. He is one […]