Poetry for the Many: An Anthology

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Here’s McCluskey on Kipling’s If: “The poem’s different verses have a specific meaning to many people, hence its popularity.” The specific meaning they appear to hold for Len is as a prophecy of supposed mainstream media lies about Corbyn immediately prior to the 2019 election: “If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken/Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools/[… you’ll be a Man, my son!]” (p.16) The poets chosen are recognised for their creative abilities, often exercised in the most appalling of political and personal circumstances. Jeremy Corbyn and Len McCluskey collaborated to help achieve the biggest electoral success for socialism in recent British history. The two men share a passionate belief in a fairer, more equal Britain, encapsulated in Labour’s election slogan “For the many, not the few.”

Don’t worry, intellectually intimidated poor people! Let Uncle Jeremy and Uncle Len reassure you peasants that poetry isn’t scary at all. It’s actually quite fun! Like books, only shorter! Rather than ending with the Auden quote chosen by The Guardian in its reporting of this to do, the whole affair made me think of Marianne Moore’s ‘Poetry’, cutting to the heart of reactions against Corbyn’s tweet and the sometimes reluctant defences of it, such as The Guardian‘s. In a version of the poem cut down to three lines, Moore writes a staccato dismissal (it… it… it… it…) of the titular ‘poetry’ which nevertheless, almost against her will and the wills of her readers, leads to something authentic: I would like to tell you that a former Tory candidate would be better at grilling far-left figures like former Unite Union leader, Len McCluskey and former Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn. I would also like to say that the audience was hanging onto every charged word or phrase, but this would all be untrue. The start of Iain Dale’s Fringe campaign ‘All Talk’ started with a distant and subdued pop as a half-full house took their seats to watch the talk unfold. Jeremy also at one point recalls the natural poetry of a speech he once heard his predecessor as Labour leader Michael Foot give about the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (p.41). One poem written by a Cuban wrongly imprisoned in the US for espionage, meanwhile, “brought tears to hard-nosed British trade unionists’ eyes” when Len McCluskey read it out to the TUC conference in 2008, apparently (p.137). Did he misinterpret precisely why they all burst into tears?

The poems selected will stir every emotion, from heartbreak to profound love, from pride in bravery to the despair of war. Some poets are well-known, others less so. But all of them are inspiring to read, and their talent is celebrated by Jeremy and Len with words that are personal and passionate. Apart from the short reprints of extracts from Yeats et al, which you can easily get elsewhere for free anyway, the entire content of this book is embarrassingly worthless, albeit admittedly quite funny. That said, if people of Corbyn and McCluskey’s mindset really want to spend their days either reading modern rubbish, or systematically misinterpreting actual worthwhile poetry of the past so that, say, John Donne’s “No man is an island, entire of itself” suddenly becomes a paean to collectivist Communism, that is their business. British people inhabit a free society (at least until the Labour Party are soon re-elected) and if this really makes them happy, why not? The problem is, such obsessive ideologues are not content to leave it at this at all, but insist upon pushing it onto others by force – namely, helpless schoolchildren. The literature curriculum in British schools is increasingly dominated by politically motivated identitarian activist trash like the above, at the behest not only of certain activist teachers, but, more seriously, of examination boards and teaching unions. Rutger Bruining, Founder and CEO of StoryTerrace, comments on how poetry should be accessible for all:

Why can’t you ask something about the behaviour of the Israeli army and the Israeli government?” he said. “Why can’t you have a discussion about how a ceasefire would come about? Why can’t you ask about a process for the future which brings about peace for everybody?” Whilst there are reports of the educational benefits of reading poetry with 80% of teachers believing that poetry is a significant part of a literacy curriculum, still only 39% of teachers have had development training on poetry. Rutger Bruining, CEO and founder of the UK’s leading biography-writing service, StoryTerrace, discusses how poetry should be accessible for people from all walks of life. The show began with the two guests promoting their new book “Poetry for the Many”, which combined their love of poetry with a drive for social equality. Len’s emotional recitation of some of the English language’s best poems was pleasant, but his insight was poor, constantly overlaying each poem with his political views. This was best demonstrated by his reading of Shelley’s Masque of Anarchy, closing with “Ye are many –they are few!”. Unfortunately, the two failed to captivate their audience, whom I would assume did not pay to be read poetry.The premise of this book sounds a lot like the kind of thing that makes people laugh at the left, in that they are so blinded with self-righteousness that they can’t see how bizarrely condescending they are. The anthology ‘Poetry for the Many’ is a unique blend of literature and ideology. It reflects the shared vision of Corbyn and McCluskey, encapsulating their belief in socialism and commitment to social justice. The anthology is expected to appeal to a broad spectrum of readers, from political enthusiasts to literary aficionados. Corbyn’s Interview with Piers Morgan Speaking about the release of his poetry collection, McClusky stated that “It should be mandatory on the national school curriculum to make poetry accessible to every child and student, so that the stigma in working-class communities about it being only for ‘posh people’ can gradually be eliminated”. Chile’s Coup Shows that Fascism Is Still a Threat” — POETRY FOR THE MANY author Jeremy Corbyn interviewed in Tribune (9/15/2023) Featuring their favourite poems from the likes of Shakespeare and Maya Angelou alongside contributions from Russell Brand, Maxine Peake and Michael Rosen, ‘Poetry for the Many’ intends to encourage readers to embrace poetry and shake off any notion it’s something to be dismissed as ‘posh’.

I want to see change in our society” — POETRY FOR THE MANY authors Jeremy Corbyn and Len McCluskey featured in The Independent (8/6/2023) Jeremy Corbyn and Len McCluskey release poetry anthology” – POETRY FOR THE MANY featured in Ham & High (11/10/2023) This book grew out of regular conversations Len and I hold about poetry: the enjoyment we get from it and the opportunity it provides for escape and inspiration,” Corbyn said. “When putting it together, the hardest part was deciding what to leave out.” Working class women and men have contributed so much to poetry, both historic and contemporary, much of it in the form of rhyme, ode, and lyrics. Many of these styles of poetry are captured and celebrated in this book. And many recognised poets are rightly given credit for their enduring works. But will the currently ongoing woke jihad to transform poetry into mere progressive propaganda in our classrooms really bear the bright fruit McCluskey thinks it will? Over the last decade, English Literature has dropped from being the most-studied subject in English schools at A-level (the standard post-16 qualification for students in UK Sixth-Form Colleges) to the twelfth most popular, beneath even previously fringe pursuits like Sociology and Psychology.Children in ALL schools should have their creativity encouraged” — POETRY FOR THE MANY author Jeremy Corbyn featured in The Edinburgh Reporter (8/28/2023) With the burgeoning popularity of poetry, especially among Gen Z, this joyful celebration of the power of verse is bound to delight and inspire across a wide audience. In response, Mr Corbyn told Morgan: “You shout at people all the time” and said the host’s “inability to keep quiet for 30 seconds” meant he was unable to answer the question. The discussion had all the hallmarks of someone attempting to do too much in too little time, covering too many undefined topics in too many loose ways. I would recommend prospective viewers bear in mind that Dale’s show could get better with different guests, but after a wet squib of an opening night, I would not keep my hopes up. If you want searing political fireworks, or even some mild entertainment, I suggest you look elsewhere. I thought committed re-educators of youth and public taste like Len and Jeremy wanted poetry to be for the Many, not the Few?

Poetry for the Many will encourage readers to “embrace poetry and shake off any notion that it is not something to be read, written, or appreciated by working-class people”, Murphy said. What is the purpose of poetry? Like so many of the best things in life, it is its own purpose: if you even have to ask that question, then I would suggest you just don’t really like poetry very much at all, or even truly understand what it really is. A bonanza of poems for radical readers” – Jeremy Corbyn and Len McCluskey’s POETRY FOR THE MANY reviewed in Morning Star (11/6/2023) How many members of the public think a woman can’t have a penis, for example? About 99 percent. And how many, like the leftists who took over Labour during Corbyn’s tenure, think they can? About 1 per cent. On every given issue under the sun, from trans rights, to mass immigration, to the armed forces, to BLM, the likes of Len and Jeremy actually represented the opinions of the metropolitan Few, not the normal Many. However, poetry still remains left behind with a survey showing that only 20% of children read poetry outside of school and with more than 60% of those engaging with on-screen lyrics. Poetry has a high number of educational benefits for young children such as building vocabulary and encouraging creativity, discovered by Reading Partners.

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To finish off both the book and the reader, a special treat is in store: “ Calais in Winter”, a poem by Jeremy Corbyn himself, written on the train home one day from a trip to a ‘refugee’ camp in Calais, where he spent an enjoyable time emoting incontinently with the migrants. They are better known and understood on the political Left and among working-class communities, where their values and beliefs are represented more fairly. Both are revered and loved across those communities. As well as Brand, Peake and Rosen, the writer Melissa Benn has contributed to the anthology, along with actor Julie Hesmondhalgh, director Ken Loach, film-maker and writer Morag Livingstone, comedian Francesca Martinez, journalist Gary Younge and trade unionist and political strategist Karie Murphy. The level of the two main anthologists’ literary insight, revealed in their mini-introductions to each piece, are inadvertently hilarious. The collaboration between Corbyn and McCluskey is not just confined to the world of literature. Their combined efforts have been instrumental in achieving the biggest electoral success for socialism in recent British history. Their shared commitment to socialist principles has evidently resonated with the electorate, marking a significant shift in the political landscape of the country. ‘Poetry For the Many’: A Blend of Literature and Ideology