IT MAY BE 2026, BUT MANY HARD-WON RIGHTS FOR WOMEN ARE UNDER THREAT. WE ASK GROUNDBREAKING ACTIVISTS, STORYTELLERS AND A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER HOW TO MAINTAIN HOPE AND EFFECT CHANGE, EVEN WHEN THE WAY FORWARD IS UNCLEAR

Catherine Clarke A History of England in 25 Poems400pp. Allen Lane. £25. Mark Forsyth Rhyme and ReasonA short history of poetry and people (forpeople who don’t usually read poetry)368pp. Allen & Unwin

David Farrier Nature’s Genius Evolution’s lessons for a changing planet 288pp. Canongate. £20. In David Farrier’s latest book, he warns us that humanity is endangering every facet of life on Earth thr

RECENTLY, I READ A NEWS ITEM ABOUT THE jobs most likely to disappear because of the impact of artificial intelligence (AI). And first among them, along with translators, are historians! Now I’m biased

PHOTOGRAPHS: FABIEN MONTIQUE, ALANA O’HERLIHY THE POET MAYA ...

WHEN A FRIEND ASKED HENRY James how he endured the devastation of World War I, the writer replied, “Feel, feel, feel all you can.” His exhortation contains the essence of what it means to remain human