Acumen 112 – May 2025

Acumen 112 presents a rich and varied selection of poetry, interviews, translation, and reviews, featuring both familiar and fresh voices across generations and geographies. Poets in this issue include: Seán Street, Gill Learner, Fred Beake, Caroline Maldonado, Chris Hardy, Diana Pinto, Mantz Yorke, Daljit Nagra, Michael Jennings, Denise Bennett, Simon Richey, Kathleen McPhilemy, Christopher Levenson, Rachel Mann, Jeremy Young, Wendy Klein, Jim C. Wilson, Jeremy Page, Peter Sutton, Wendy Webb, Sue Hubbard, Annemarie Austin, John Daniel and Philip Gross.

Interviews include an insightful conversation between David Perman and Daljit Nagra, who discusses his poetic approach, recent collaboration with Koleka Putuma on a war memorial project in Cape Town, and his work on BBC’s Poetry Extra. Perman also interviews Rachel Mann, exploring her creative influences and recent success with Eleanor Among the Saints, a collection shortlisted for the 2025 T.S. Eliot Prize. Duncan Forbes revisits the life and work of U.A. Fanthorpe, whose poems graced early issues of Acumen. Thoughtful reader responses to Acumen 111 appear, while Poetry in Translation includes works by Paul Verlaine, Miguel Otero Silva, Anna Akhmatova, Chen Que and more.

Contents
Editorial
Poems: Seán Street, Gill Learner, Fred Beake, Millie Woodrow, Lynn Thornton, Caroline Maldonado, Chris Hardy, Diana Pinto, Mantz Yorke
Interview with Daljit Nagra – David Perman
Poems: Daljit Nagra, Michael Jennings, Denise Bennett, David Harmer, Christine Griffin, Mike McNamara, Simon Richey, Jennifer Langer, Jane North, Trish Harewood, Seán Street, Sara Davis, Janet Laugharne, Julian Colton, Damaris West, Niall McGrath, Matt Gilbert, Mark Christmas
The Poetry of U.A. Fanthorpe – Duncan Forbes
Poems: Daljit Nagra, Kathleen McPhilemy, Eve Jackson, James Pendle, Stuart Handysides, Matthew Caley, Lydia Fulleylove, Jason Ryberg, Damon Moore
Poetry in Translation: Paul Verlaine (Dinah Livingstone), Miguel
Otero Silva (Chris Holdaway), Anna Akhmatova (Peter Eagles), Chen Que (Kevin Maynard), Vasile Baghiu (Cristina Savin), Ishita Bhaduri (Mamata Nanda)
Poems: Cliff Forshaw, Denise Bennett, Janet Laugharne, Warren Mortimer, Tomi Adegbayibi, Jenny Hamlett, Martin Johns, Nicholas Hogg, Christopher Levenson, Alice Tarbuck, Simon Haines, David Punter, John Arnold, Dechen Shaw, Paul Hostovsky
Interview with Rachel Mann – David Perman
Poems: Rachel Mann, Jeremy Young, Wendy Klein, Kathleen McPhilemy, Jim C. Wilson, Jeremy Page, Peter Sutton, Wendy Webb, Charles G. Lauder, Jr., James Fountain, Terry Quinn, Sue Hubbard, Annemarie Austin, Bridget Thomasin, John Daniel
Reader Responses
Poems: Helen Ashley, Wilf Deckner, Piers Cain, Maitreyabandhu, Carolyn McCurdie, Arji Manuelpillai, Bert Molsom, Omar Sabbagh, Frank McMahon, Terry Sherwood, Antony Mair, Wilf Deckner, Maggie Freeman, Philip Gross
Reviews: Belinda Cooke, Parvin Loloi, Fred Beake, Rosie Jackson, Nigel Jarrett, Glyn Pursglove
Poetry Comment