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Romanceros
64 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2024
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September 9, 2024
Romanceros is a collection of 38 poems celebrating the working-class Teessiders who travelled to Spain to fight for the Republic against the fascists. How different, one might add, to the present day, when bands of fascists recently roamed the streets of Middlesbrough during the August 2024 riots.
The collection begins with an ekphrastic poem based on the Salvador Dali painting "The Face of War" (1940). The painting itself is a horrifying depiction of war featuring a severed head, wreathed with serpents, in a desert landscape. The head contains even more severed heads within its eye sockets and mouth, all of which seem to repeat endlessly, as if in a mirror. The poem inspired by the painting sets the sombre tone for what is to follow.
Romanceros is one of those works which reminds us about historical events which tend to be either forgotten and/or not included in the school syllabus. The same is true of events such as the English Revolution (1640-60) - in other words, anything that shows the working class engaged in left wing political activity is to be quietly consigned to the dustbin. Kudos to Bob Beagrie for refusing to let that happen.
The collection begins with an ekphrastic poem based on the Salvador Dali painting "The Face of War" (1940). The painting itself is a horrifying depiction of war featuring a severed head, wreathed with serpents, in a desert landscape. The head contains even more severed heads within its eye sockets and mouth, all of which seem to repeat endlessly, as if in a mirror. The poem inspired by the painting sets the sombre tone for what is to follow.
Romanceros is one of those works which reminds us about historical events which tend to be either forgotten and/or not included in the school syllabus. The same is true of events such as the English Revolution (1640-60) - in other words, anything that shows the working class engaged in left wing political activity is to be quietly consigned to the dustbin. Kudos to Bob Beagrie for refusing to let that happen.
Displaying 1 of 1 review