Ron's rages are sincere and — according to his wife — healthily cathartic. But can these splenetic outbursts loosen the grip of capitalism at its most monstrous?
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Words of wisdom as old parrot speaks out
Andy Croft reviews some of the latest poetry
ANGUS REID considers the power of the podcast as a vehicle for consensus building in opposition to mainstream media narratives
GLENN FOSBRAEY recommends a biography worth reading for both existing George Michael fans and those yet to be converted
FRANCIS DEVINE introduces a new collection of essays that draws on Pease McKenna’s example to indicate future paths for the movement
KEVIN DONNELLY and MARIA DUARTE review Shoot the People, The Last One For The Road, Rosebush Pruning, and Moana
JAMES WALSH recommends an exceptional documentary about the experience of Western doctors in Gaza
Dannie Abse has published over 30 books but few as satisfying or as enjoyable as Speak Old Parrot (Hutchinson, £15).
Now in his 90th year, Abse is naturally concerned with the passage of time: "profligate, I wasted time/- those yawning postponements on rainy days,/those paperhat hours of benign frivolity./Now time wastes me."
There are some great poems here about the comedy of ageing, like The Old Gods - Trident has lost his trident, Saturn has time on his hands and Bacchus has cirrhosis of the liver - and some fine poems about youth and memory like Cricket Bat, Moonbright and Sunbright.
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