Anna Johnson, Editor

In difficult times, we turn to Art; poetry, in particular, is one of the pithiest ways to process events that seem extreme. When life and politicians’ verbs are conditional, and we don’t know how the future will look, poetry gives voice to our feelings. When words are deployed to whip up fear, to accuse, to isolate, it can be a refuge.

Hopefully Chaos will provide a mirror for strange times; it was certainly produced in extremis and runs the gamut from rage to love, grief to hope. There is poetry here that restores humanity to the refugees who would otherwise be effaced. There is nostalgic verse about the ‘magic’ of travelling freely across Europe. There is poetry that reminds us that we are all alike under the skin.

Some poems were previously published in: Refugees and Peacekeepers; My Europe and Tempest.

Contributors to Chaos include George Szirtes, Christine De Luca, Catherine Coldstream and MW Bewick.

Key Words: poetry, politics, refugees, Europe, EU, Brexit, US relations, climate change, pandemic

 

The anthology was selected by the Poetry Book Society for the month of January 2021. It can be ordered direct from Inpress.