Translation: Notes on Rosa Luxemburg at 150

by Carola Susani (Translation by William Wall) Originally published in Nuovi Argomenti #7 of 2021, Rome. www.nuoviargomenti.net This translation previously appeared in Critical Legal Thinking Simone Weil was fascinated by Rosa Luxemburg, reading her brought her joy....

On poetry, politics and punctuation

This essay was first published on writing.ie 1 Poetry and punctuation Recently a friend took me to task for not punctuating a poem of mine that he otherwise liked. He didn’t see the aesthetic or political argument for it, he told me, although, in declaring it ‘a fine...

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The Temptations of Silence Being Cork Poet Laureate has been a privilege and very much a learning process. When I first took up the position in 2021 I set myself the rule that the poems had to be as accessible as possible. In addition there was the requirement (from...

A Blackbird at Polanesi

and in the evening at Polanesi high above the traffic massed bumper to bumper  on the old Via Aurelia which goes all the way  back in time to Rome a lonesome blackbird sings  his melancholy lovesong to the olive trees the little church the stone...

Ukraine and the West’s Hypocrisy

The Russian Invasion of Ukraine Let me begin by saying there is no excuse for what Russia is doing in Ukraine. There were no grounds for war. There is no justification for invasion. There is no excuse for the bombing of civilians or the destruction of housing stock,...