Editorial

Are British poetry institutions failing poetry?

That is the controversial accusation levelled at the poetry establishment by long-time poet, editor and literary commentator, William Oxley, in this latest issue of Horizon Review. Authoritative bodies such as the Arts Council, Poetry Society, Arvon Foundation and Poetry Book Society are examined for their roles in this ‘establishment-centred’ problem as Oxley suggests that the teaching of creative writing now dominates the poetry world, with few outside poetry actually buying and reading the finished product.

In addition, we present the usual array of in-depth essays on art and literature: Colin Fisher discusses the publication of the first English translation of Kafka’s The Trial in June 1937; poets Craig Raine and Jean Earle are brought under examination; an interesting theory of Beckett’s affinities with Buddhism is put forward by John L. Murphy, while Jon Stone expertly introduces us to the global lit-art phenomenon that is Manga.

In related news, I’m delighted to announce that Dr Mark Williams, a Research Fellow in Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic at Peterhouse, Cambridge, joins us in this issue as the new Arts Editor for Horizon.

In our Fiction section, Elizabeth Baines returns with a gripping new story, alongside five other talented writers under the editorship of Nuala Ní Chonchúir.

Also featured in this issue you will find celebrated poets Carrie Etter, Katy Evans-Bush, Peter Riley, Vidyan Ravinthiran, John Greening and Steven Waling, with a host of other new and established voices.

The well-known francophone Romanian poet, Linda Maria Baros, is our guest in the Translation section. Her poems, here translated by Youna Kwak, take ‘the A4 motorway’ peopled by bikers ‘high on speed and insanity’.

In our Reviews section, under the vigilant eye of editor George Ttoouli, new books in the hot seat include work from John Ashbery, Michael Hulse, Tom Lowenstein, Rupert Loydell, Peter Robinson, Mario Petrucci and Mark Weiss – whose ground-breaking anthology Six Decades of Cuban Poetry already looks set to become a classic.

Also in Reviews you will find an interview with Peter Brennan of Perdika Press, and a round-up of recent Perdika titles; David Midgley presents us with a Blind Criticism of ‘The Sea Book’ by İlhan Berk; Martin Stannard’s new biography of Muriel Spark is put under the spotlight; while those interested in the translating of Latin American fiction must read Sophie Mayer’s insightful discussion of Suzanne Jill Levine’s The Subversive Scribe.

Meanwhile, Gaynor Arnold, author of Girl in a Blue Dress — a spectacularly successful debut novel long-listed for the Man Booker, the Orange, the Desmond Elliot and the McKitterick Prizes – is our novelist under scrutiny in this issue’s Bedside Table Interview.

Last but not least, our fourth issue bows out with Horizon’s regular twin columns of controversy. This time round, ludicrously well-read Guardian-blogger Peter Robins waxes cynical about ebooks and the obsolence of pencils, while poet-cum-editor George Ttoouli examines the latest round of poetry anthologies and wonders what would happen if Wales were made of cake.

As ever, we welcome letters to the Editor concerning any of the work or ideas featured in this or earlier issues of Horizon Review: jane@saltpublishing.com

Jane Holland