Fran Lock – Page 2 – Culture Matters

Igniting the Fire: Poetry and Keeping Hope Alive

14 September 2023 / 308

I began writing this quarterly column looking for reasons to stay ‘hopeful’, whatever that means. I used to know. Or else, I thought I did: something like... Continue reading

Fran Lock

Poetry

Daffodils

11 August 2023 / 340

Daffodils by Fran Lock and what of them? hardy stragglersbetween wastelands, waste laneswith the weather wetly trepanning the factories. by junctions of squathope, the stooping of resolute... Continue reading

Fran Lock

Poetry

But Billionaires are People Too!

11 July 2023 / 289

Fran Lock introduces her quarterly poetry column Amidst rolling news coverage of the Titan sub disaster, I scrapped the first draft of this quarter’s column, and began... Continue reading

Fran Lock

Poetry

Poetry, labour, and the dream of a General Strike

24 March 2023 / 273

The last – the only – general strike to take place in Britain was in May 1926. The strike was called by the TUC in support of... Continue reading

Fran Lock

Cultural Commentary

Why Birkbeck Needs To Nurture English Literature

18 February 2023 / 297

Introduction by Fran Lock This story both is and isn’t about Birkbeck. On the one hand, it is absolutely particular to an iconic institution that recently celebrated... Continue reading

Fran Lock

Poetry

Christmas poetry round-up, 2022

24 December 2022 / 314

Fran Lock unleashes her annual round-up of outstanding poetry collections; image above by Imtiaz Dharker So here it is, “merry” Christmas? Or not. Not a lot to... Continue reading

Fran Lock

Poetry

On Poetry and Working-Class Joy

7 December 2022 / 306

As odd as it might sound – given the present state of the world – this article is all about joy. Before anyone starts to wonder who... Continue reading

Fran Lock

Poetry

rue

13 September 2022 / 288

rue by Fran Lock, with image above by kennardphillips after the acrostic Floral Tribute, by Simon Armitage heave, between the balms and banes, the hoods, the wryts, the... Continue reading

Fran Lock

Cultural Commentary

the limits of (my) sympathy

13 September 2022 / 285

the limits of (my) sympathy by Fran Lock, with image above by kennardphillips exhorted to remember her humanity, as if humanity itself were some vaguely miraculous quality,... Continue reading

Fran Lock

Poetry

The climate, capitalism and poetic resistance

4 September 2022 / 298

As I started planning this column the temperature outside was 35 °C, and the surrounding fields like tinder. I had been in Cambridgeshire less than a week.... Continue reading

Fran Lock

Page 2

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