
CHAINLINK JOURNAL
dis poetry
black and white and red all over…..take everything with a pinch of salt
AUGUST 2025
Andy Croft on Benjamin Zephaniah
Gregory Woods – three new poems
Hongwei Bao’s article on Mu Cao and a selection of translated poetry.
Fiona Robertson shares three poems.
Ruth Hobson: Three Poems
Graham Lock: Three poems on Gaza
Robert Kenchington goes overboard positive for KLAUS MÄKELÄ.
Kommandant Fulwood editorialises over fake truths..and not a mention of Epstein’s Island yet..
Neil Fulwood celebrates the work of William Friedkin on the anniversary of his death in a series of articles.
To Live and Die in L.A.
DANGEROUS PAYLOAD: Friedkin’s SORCERER and THE WAGES OF FEAR
INSECTS, TINFOIL AND ASHLEY JUDD: The crazed brilliance of William Friedkin’s BUG
Shaun Belcher gets some dodgy advice on how to be a poet from META AI
Neil Fullwood reviews Release The Sausages: Poems for Kier Starmer
New poems from Tuesday Shannon
Neil Fulwood discusses abilism in his editorial and reviews a stunning new volume from Krisztina Tóth on bloodaxe..
Shaun Belcher responds to the Raynor Winn farrago
Lucy Bellingham gets her teeth into the bizarre Japanese cult horror film ‘Hausu’
Martin Figura and Helen Ivory share poems.
Nick Ingram wonders why the TLS?
Mike Grover goes in depth on the Tuscon Music Scene
Robert Kenchington doesn’t really share the enthusiasm for Carlos Kleiber…
Shaun Belcher asks if poetry has become nothing more than a Middle Class lifestyle choice.
NEW FOR JUNE…EDITORIAL
JUNE ISSUE NOW INSTALLED ON YOUR HARD DRIVE IF YOU LUCKY.
Neil Fulwood gets Kneecapped
Alfred Brendel Tribute – Neil Fulwood
Maria Taylor offers us three poems..
Neil Fulwood finds not one but two elephants in the room and compares them..
Jonathan Taylor waxes lyrical about STOKE home of the pottery throw down and Robbie Williams and…
Shaun Belcher gives some excellent advice on how not to start a poetry career.
Roy Marshall, Martin Hayes, Dennis O’Donnell, Anthony Owen, Leanne Moden, Shaun Belcher and Neil Fulwood contribute poems to the chainlink fence..
Andy Hedgecock writes an appreciation of the works of David Graeber (1961-2020).
Lucy Bellingham asks what happened to Jason in Friday 13th?
Amy Clarke discusses Boy A
Shaun Belcher discusses two proto-eco poets in William Neil and Alasdair Maclean
Jonathan Taylor casts his expert eye over the symphonies of Hans Werner Henze.
Neil Fulwood reviews Blossom Hibbert’s debut and Alan Baker examines recent translations of Yiannis Ritsos.
LATEST CHAINLINKS BELOW…IN DATE ORDER
CHAINLINKis a NEW journal from Nottingham England of critical thinking about poetry, politics, art, culture and whatever burning issue the editor fixates upon at any given moment.
CHAINLINK is at odds with trends, movements, agendas, tick boxes and the poetry establishment in general.
CHAINLINK agrees with Andy Croft’s assertion that “conversations about poetry have been replaced by conversations about poets, discussions of tradition by accusations of plagiarism, and the language of literary criticism by the hyperbolic language of press releases promoting corporate prizes and celebrity book festivals.”
CHAINLINK values artistic integrity and craftsmanship over networking and blatant self-promotion, intelligent discussion over cheap social media acclamation, and the cut through of honest criticism over the infantile mindset of poetry as a “merit badge” activity.
CHAINLINK is radical or reactionary depending on your point of view, a natural candidate for cancellation or no-platforming that’ll be damned if anyone’s going to silence it. Whether Chainlink exists to keep its contributors inside or everybody else outside remains to be seen.
CHAINLINK is neither the hero you want nor the hero you need, but the anti-hero our divisive, deleterious and dumbed-down times deserve…
Content will be added continuously depending on traffic..