Campaign in Poetry E-Book

• Herausgeber: The Emma Press
• Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
• Serie: The Emma Press Poetry Anthologies
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 34

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Campaign in Poetry is a powerful collection of poems about political and social issues in the UK. The poems have been written by contemporary poets in the months leading up to the UK General Election, reflecting current concerns and developing events in this country as well as more global trends. Some of the sharpest minds writing today offer up shrewd, provocative thoughts on nationalism, climate change, immigration, political apathy amongst voters, arts funding and feminism in the digital age. This anthology is a statement against disaffection, providing an alternative perspective on the political landscape of the UK.

Leseprobe

Campaign in Poetry

The Emma Press Anthology of Political Poems

Edited by Rachel Piercey and Emma Wright

With poems from Mona Arshi, Stephanie Arsoska, Elizabeth Barrett, Kayo Chingonyi, Ellie Danak, Dai George, Jan Heritage, Holly Hopkins, Luke Kennard, Anna Kisby, Rachel Long, Rosie Miles, Richard O’Brien, Clare Pollard, Ewan Stevenson, Jon Stone, James Trevelyan and Kate Wise.

The Emma Press

Copyright

First published in Great Britain in 2015by the Emma Press Ltd

Poems copyright © individual copyright holders 2015

Selection copyright © Rachel Piercey and Emma Wright 2015Illustrations and introduction copyright © Emma Wright 2015

All rights reserved.

The right of Rachel Piercey and Emma Wright to be identified as the editors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

eISBN 978-1-910139-22-6

Print ISBN 978-1-910139-17-2

A CIP catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library.

theemmapress.com

[email protected]

Introduction

Rachel (Piercey, my co-editor) and I decided to make Campaign in Poetry last year because we wanted to challenge voter apathy and engage with the state of democracy in the UK. The amazingly high turnout for the referendum on Scottish independence contrasted miserably with the low turnout for recent local and general elections in the UK, and the momentum built by the ‘Yes’ campaign was an instructive example of how people who think they can actually make a difference are far more likely to go out and vote. We wanted to make an anthology which would capture and inspire momentum for change.

Many of the submissions we received were about the suffragettes, and I began to muse on what I had learned at school: the hunger-striking, window-smashing suffragettes made their mark, but the more moderate suffragists and indefatigable female workers in the First World War also had a crucial role to play. Our favourite poems had a spectrum at their heart: driven by forceful conviction yet fully and incisively discussing their political themes.

Things that make people less likely to vote include feeling like a single vote doesn’t count, feeling that there’s not much to choose from between the main political parties, and feeling that the politicians don’t care about the concerns of the voters. We received many poems on these themes, and some of them were very angry. This is possibly what some people might expect from a political anthology, but often the rhythmic, pounding rage felt underlaid with resignation – the exact opposite of what we wanted.

The poems we assembled in the end do acknowledge the disillusionment felt by many would-be voters contemplating the people in power and social injustice in the UK and beyond. But, more pressingly than that, I think they make a case for greater empathy across society and for politics conducted on a human level. The poems won’t instruct you how to think, but they do make clear how important it is to think about these issues generally. I hope they can play their part in encouraging people to vote, because I believe that voting is essential to bringing about change.

Emma Wright

March 2015

Contents

Title page

Copyright page

Introduction, by Emma Wright

The General Election, by Holly Hopkins

Eventually, by Jon Stone

Will there be Bourbons? by Kate Wise

Stop, by Ellie Danak

Understanding the collapse of the economy, by James Trevelyan

Cuts, by Rosie Miles

Plea to Future Philanthropists, by Richard O’Brien

What I Know about Voting in the Scottish Referendum, by Ellie Danak

Hamelin, by Clare Pollard

The Poor Door, by Luke Kennard

Aunty, by Rachel Long

Reap the Benefit, by Anna Kisby

South Coast, by Jan Heritage

Common Nonsense, by Clare Pollard

Stockwell Invocations, by James Trevelyan

In Fashion, by Anna Kisby

Legerdemain, by Kayo Chingonyi

Wireman, by Mona Arshi

Proper Procedure, by Stephanie Arsoska

Election Live, by Ewan Stevenson

Conference Season, by Dai George

On the day Obama was inaugurated, by Elizabeth Barrett

Acknowledgements and About the poets

About the Emma Press

Also from the Emma Press