MARJORIE MAYO recommends an accessible and unsettling novel that uses a true incident of death in the Channel to raise questions of wider moral responsibility

BETTER Times Will Come is not only a hopeful message but a project launched by singer-songwriter Janis Ian, who is urging fellow musicians to record her new song inspired by the death of renowned performer John Prine.
Ian, who got in touch with the Morning Star after a recent mention in this column, is providing free downloads and sheet music so that the song can be recorded by amateurs and professionals alike.
So far, there’s an up-tempo version from English punk/folk singer Frank Turner, a sweetly melancholic offering from Americana performer Janie Barnett and a deeply cool version from British blues man Trevor Sewell.

This year’s Bristol Radical History Festival focused on the persistent threats of racism, xenophobia and, of course, our radical collective resistance to it across Ireland and Britain, reports LYNNE WALSH

LYNNE WALSH previews the Bristol Radical History Conference this weekend





