ONE OF THE MOST GRIMLY FUNNY POEMS OF the past century is Philip Larkin’s “This Be the Verse,” with its opening salvo about how our parents invariably mess us up. Larkin used a saltier word for “mess,

December round-up Although he’s been writing and performing for many years, Donald WG Lindsay might come across as a bold new Scottish talent on Two Boats Under the Moon, his excellent two-disc debut

The arts sector has long been unthinkingly in thrall to the supposedly “progressive” left but a coherent, coordinated, conservative strategy could, and should, shift the consensus

Pulse Cynan Jones (Granta, £14.99) Saints Tim MacGabhann ...

A Spanish novelist’s portrait of Pope Francis

Helen Harris always enjoyed her afternoon tea with Martha Evert, and as she knocked on the door carrying a treat of two chocolate muffins, she looked forward to an hour or two of catching up with her