literature

Steve Roud’s ‘Folk Song in England’ is a much-needed book, less about the song and more about the cultural life of those who sang them. He tackles the murky waters well as he investigates the wider social history of traditional song in England and he succeeds at furthering our understanding rather than hindering it. An essential and inspiring read.

The Poetry and Lyrics Festival returns to Kings Place in June, celebrating the inexorable link between music and verse. Including Jackie Oates, Nest Collective, Don Paterson & PJ Harvey, Kayo Chingonyi, Kristin McClement, Murray Lachlan Young and more.

Following his celebrated adventures in drama, translation, travel writing and prose poetry, Simon Armitage’s eleventh collection of poems, The Unaccompanied, heralds a return to his trademark contemporary lyricism. Watch Simon read ‘Thank You for Waiting’, an exclusive new poem.

West Virginian poet Randi Ward publishes Whipstitches…about how people, words, images, memory, and other things become bound up in one another— even as they are simultaneously becoming something else.

As sales figures report that the UK’s love affair with the printed book is far from over The Bookshop Band take that love and prepare for the Spooky Season with their new album That Ghost Belongs To Me from which we take our Song of the Day. Support your local bookshop.

From a small town on the north-east edge of Dartmoor called Chagford a comic book artist, painter and writer & folk musician have created The English Magic Tarot – the first of its kind to draw explicitly on the English magical tradition.

Ezra Furman will be in discussion at the British Library this month talking about his new book ‘Transformer’ to be released by Bloomsbury next year as part of their ongoing 33 & 1/3 series.

Tim Burgess returns with a follow-up to his successful autobiography ‘Telling Tales’. ‘Tim Book Two’ is a tale of Tim’s lifelong passion for records, the shops that sell them, and the people who make them. Book tour kicks off in July 2016.

Poetry and Lyrics is a new festival dedicated to the relationship between poetry and music which will be hosted at London’s Kings Place featuring Cerys Matthews, Chris Wood, Gareth Bonello, Haiku Salut, Dizraeli and many more.

How does a thirteenth century poet born in the Persian Empire speak to us today? This new recording brings together the most experienced translator/interpreter of Rumi’s words, a poet who traces his roots back to the Beats and a contemporary American Iranian poet.

Described as Ireland’s equivalent to the story of the blues in America, The Wheels of the World tells the fascinating story of Ullieann Pipers through some of the most entertaining and revealing interviews – a seriously riveting read.

There are few books I can name that actually make such an impression as to change the way I think about music but Josh Rosenthal’s ‘The Record Store of the Mind’ is one. Do yourself a favour and buy it!