industrial

The Book Bag: Strike by Sarah Wimbush

Welcome back to The Book Bag. I hope you’ve had a poetic week.

What an eventful week!

On Wednesday, Eleanor Holmes became the newest featured poet in The Book Bag: Poetic Voices series. Read part one here. It is jam-packed with greatness.

Before that, on Tuesday, Unwhispered Legacy was launched into the world. Raising money for Médecins Sans Frontières, the anthology can be downloaded from its dedicated webpage here. If you feel you are able to donate, all proceeds go to MSF and would be greatly appreciated. If you’re a UK taxpayer, you can also add gift aid which means they will receive further funds. I’m super proud of this anthology.

Also, this week I visited my parents and took another trip to Barter Books — one of the best second-hand bookshops you’re likely to ever see.

I have also been able to get over to the allotment and plant our potatoes. It was good to see some of our flowers beginning to bloom and the fruit trees flowering. I’m looking forward to harvesting some produce.

On top of that I’ve been reading;

Strike

  • Poet: Sarah Wimbush
  • Press: Stairwell Books

A few weeks ago, I visited Woodhorn Museum, a mining museum built on the site of a former working colliery in Northumberland. Aside from the tremendous immersive and interactive exhibit, they also house a poignant and moving collection of photography titled Coal Town by the social documentarian Mik Critchlow. I must also thank Jenny from the museum for her insight.

It was that visit that prompted me to seek out a Strike, a book I’d seen in poetry press (shortlisted for the Forward prize in 2024) but hadn’t read. Lucky for me I found a copy of Strike online.

This book is a mixture of poetry based on the mining strikes that took place across the UK in the 1984 with photography from the time. The spectre of the pit closures still haunts communities across the UK. 

Sarah Wimbush does not hold back against the power players in either side of the strike. The pieces ‘Thatcher’, ‘Kinnock’ and ‘Scargill’ are portraits that sum up their sensibilities, aptitude and attitudes without caricaturing. ‘This Is The BBC’ highlights the poor reporting (putting it mildly) from the BBC and their commitment to representing the government narrative. 

The landscape of 80’s Britain is brought to life through vivid language that adds colour to the pieces. Poems such as ‘Stop’, (one of my favourites), and ‘Picketing at Penrhiwceiber, are both terrific examples of this. 

‘Strikebreaker’, ‘Berry Hill’ and ‘BASTARD NACOD SCABS’ give the readers glimpses into the attitudes to those who didn’t strike or crossed the picket line. ‘Silver Birch’ cleverly portrays Chris Butcher, a man backed by the Mail and businesses to try and break strikes.

Excerpt from Berry Hill

Pieces including ‘Coal Boy’ and ‘The Police, The Miners’ Wives, Their Children’ capture the reality of how families were affected by the strike and the aftermath. ‘Miners Leaning Forwards’ highlights the financial struggle that miners experienced when relying on hardship payments from the NUM. 

The collection also shows the resilience of the women behind the men and how they took to the streets and organised too. One of my favourites in the collection, ‘Women Against Pit Closures’ is a testament to the women who rallied around and showed they were in the fight to. 

There is an angry undercurrent throughout the book., however, we are regularly treated to humour throughout the book. The piece ‘Flat Cap’ is a satirical look into the future and how the common clothing item may be considered. The piece ‘Our Lady Of The Pit Canteen’ gives a smile as the achievements are minimised against the return of plates. The leaning into the Yorkshire dialect adds the authenticity which emphasises the humour further. 

Form and style is played with throughout the book. It is an excellent display of ekphrastic poetry. The list poem ‘The Enemy’ is a cracking piece that brims with anger. In ‘Mounted Policeman Canters Towards Lesley Boulton’ the use of couplets gives the sense of urgency and danger. 

This is a book that will appeal to those who like poetry of testimony, readers who may have been impacted by industrial action and those with an interest in major social and political events.  It will appeal to poetics who appreciate various forms and styles. This book got under my skin – I’m sure it would resonate with many people my age who live close to a former pit, shipyard or steelworks. This is an important and powerful book that I highly recommend. 

Favourite Poem:
I’ve already mentioned ‘Stop’ and ‘Women Against Pit Closures’ and I could easily choose a lot more but the ones in mind today are ‘Standards’, ‘Pits and Perverts’, ‘People Who Support the Miners’ and ‘Kick-off’. 

You can read more about Sarah and buy her book from Stairwell Books here.

This week’s playlist has a more serious edge to it in keeping with the themes of the book;

Grimethorpe Colliery Band – Gresford (The Miner’s Hymn)
Frank Wilson – Do I Love You 
Bruce Springsteen – Dancing In The Dark
The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead
Manic Street Preachers – A Design for Life
Sam Fender & Easington Colliery Band – Remember My Name
Erasure – A Little Respect
Test Dept – Shockwork
Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy
The Clash – This is England 
Linton Kwesi Johnson – Fite Dem Back 
Desford Colliery Band – Share My Yoke

Before I Go…
April’s Poetic Voice, Eleanor, is holding an online launch on Sunday 19th April. Hear Eleanor and a wonderful ensemble of poets celebrating #MOTH . Full details here. 

One More Thing…
Rachel Turney is launching her latest book Retired Wannabe Club Kid (published by Parlyaree Press) on Zoom on Friday 17th April at 6pm MST / 8pm EST. Details here.

And Another…
On Friday 1st May, I’ll be hosting the zoom launch for Unwhispered Legacy. Starting at 7pm UK time, some of the brightest voices in contemporary poetry will be reading their pieces live. Tickets are free and you can register here. 

And Finally…
The Winged Moon is opening for submissions this coming week for both poetry and art to feature in their Substack issues planned for later in the year. Follow them on social media if you’re not already. 

Next Week’s Read

  • Title: Joy Is My Middle Name
  • Poet: Sasha Debevec-McKenney

Take it easy and stay poetic, I’ll catch you next week.

Paul

The Book Bag: When It Rained For A Million Years By Paul Farley

Welcome back to The Book Bag. I hope you’ve had a poetic week.

This week has been busy. Bank Holiday blustery winds almost sent my towels into next doors garden, I got an acceptance and a rejection,  saw some oystercatcher chicks fledge from the nest near work and attended the Broken Spine Arts open mic on Thursday evening. Also, I started anniversary celebrations with a visit to a very special restaurant. Details on that in couple of weeks maybe.

I also launched The Book Bag: Poetic Voices. If you’re yet to read, each month will feature a different Poet, showcasing an exemplary piece of poetry. I’m really excited for the names coming up and chuffed to bits that Matthew MC Smith agreed to be the inaugural Poetic Voice.

On top of that, I’ve been reading;

When It Rained For A Million Years

  • Poet: Paul Farley
  • Press: Picador

Sometimes a book cover or title will grab you. This is what happened when I saw ‘When It Rained For A Million Years’. Both grabbed my attention, and as I read the back cover, I thought, yes this will do. In all honesty, I hadn’t picked up a Paul Farley book prior to this purely because I hadn’t come across his work. Something I will be rectifying.

Again, I’ve popped a playlist that I listened to whilst reading this as it was well received from last week’s episode.

There are some real impactful and emotionally charged poems within the collection including ‘Source’. The piece ‘Difficult To Enter House’ felt heavy and I had to take a few minutes to breathe before continuing reading. Another excellent example is ‘Our Father Showed Us Sea Level’, that had a different sort of weight.

Farley peppers humour throughout the book whether tongue in cheek or satire. I chuckled a while after reading ‘Turkeys’ and ‘Attack of The Fifty-Foot Poem’. However, these pieces are multi levelled and on second reading you find more and so it continues.

The imagery on display in this book is vivid and potent. Pieces such as ‘Wagtail Roost’ and ‘Cheshire Oaks Outlet Village’ and ‘Corncrakes’ are perfect examples. The poem ‘Cross Bedding, Between Edge Hill and Liverpool’ is another that I was drawn to. A marvel.

The landscape plays an integral role in this collection. The settings aren’t pastoral. Farley uses industrial backdrops (his bio does mention he is from Liverpool) to great effect, and they seem familiar. Liverpool and Newcastle are similar in terms of industrial heritage. Poems such as ‘King Carbon’ and ‘The Workaround’ (which takes us back in time and to the North East) shine a spotlight on these often-overlooked places. On a side note, the people of Liverpool have my thoughts after the horrific scenes following the bus parade.

References to pop culture appear throughout the collection. The poem ‘Usher’ takes us into the cinema of the early 90s. Each stanza headed with a movie title. Zoom pops up in the piece ‘Gorilla’ and ‘Horde’ gives readers an 80s soundtrack.



Form and style take on various forms throughout the book. One of my favourite examples of this is ‘The Execution of Anne Boleyn, Airfix 1:12’. A meticulous piece that I almost lost my head at.

Here’s the small playlist I enjoyed when reading this book.


David Bowie – Space Oddity
The Beatles – Hey Jude
Massive Attack – Unfinished Sympathy
Sting & The Police – Roxanne
Fleetwood Mac – Landslide
Soft Cell – Tainted Love
Elton John – I’m Still Standing
Bruce Springsteen – Dancing In The Dark
De La Soul – Me, Myself & I
Duran Duran – The Living Daylights
Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now
The Human League – Don’t You Want Me

This collection has broad appeal. I would recommend it to poetry readers who enjoy vivid imagery, humour and emotion woven through excellently crafted multi-layered pieces.

Favourite Poem

Again, I’m choosing a few this week. Bubblewrap, Trth and Where the Owl Sleeps and the Spiders Nest.

One More Thing…

Your regular episode of The Book Bag will be taking a break for next week as my wife and I are celebrating our anniversary. See below for the cracking book I’ll be reading for the next entry.

And Another…

I’d love some audiobook and podcast recommendations to listen to during travelling. Let me know on social media or in a comment below if you have one.

And Finally…

I’d like to say a huge congratulations to all poets who were on the longlist and the prize-winners for the Rialto Nature & Place competition that was recently announced. It was great to see Book Bag poets Matt Gilbert & Victoria Spires amongst the names.

The Next Read Coming on 15th June 2025

  • Title: I Am Not Light
  • Poet: Louise Machen

Take it easy and stay poetic, I’ll catch you next week.

Paul