John Self @john-self.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Is Andy Burnham the first prime minister in my lifetime who actually likes fiction and poetry? I feel quite moved to hear him talk with genuine enthusiasm about Tony Harrison’s V. 159317 0
kevin davey @kvind.bsky.social · 30/09/2026there’s a working class into catholic/grammar school-type conformity dyo his preferences (Larkin, Harrison, Hamlet…) IMO - better than most of his peers, but not leading edge for the period… However, Old School non-modernist literature, and defiant social democratic politics are an OK reset by me 000 0
Richard Brown @richardbrown.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Liking V is a very good short cut to my esteem... 000 0
Ian D Smith @iandsmith77.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Burnham needs to read Zaffar Kunial’s response to Harrison. 100 0
Michael Ledger-Lomas @michaelledgerlomas.bsky.social · 30/09/2026You do sense he's not read much new since Part II, but that goes for a lot of busy Oxbridge grads. 020 0
SinisterBulb @sinisterbulb.bsky.social · 01/10/2026That makes me like Burnham a lot more than I did before you told me he’s a Tony Harrison fan. 000 0
Cosmoiselle @cosmoiselle.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Can't see Heart of Darkness having the capacity to turn any reluctant reader (unless they're a fan of rather questionable depictions of cannibals) 😬, and always Othello over Hamlet, but, yes, certainly heart warming ❤️ 000 0
North of Cam @northofcam.bsky.social · 01/10/2026There was a lovely reel on FB I saw ofLem Sissay’s ANTHEM OF THE NORTH which they did for the Markham byelection - got slightly tearful. 100 0
Erica Wagner @ericawgnr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Seriously, my word, this brought a tear to my eye 140 0
Post Monkey @postmonkey.bsky.social · 04/10/2026When you think youre Chuck Marlowe but busy learning youre really Mr Kurtz. 000 0
John Self @john-self.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Also I just realised, 30 or so years after first reading it, that the V. in Tony Harrison’s title, which in the poem is used as an oppositional ‘versus’, is a pun on ‘verses’. 🤦♂️ 1250 0
Ben Holmes @benbuythebook.bsky.social · 30/09/2026Apparently he's the first English lit graduate to be Prime Minister. 180 0
