What is the relationship between poetry and social change? Standing at the forefront of political poetry since the 1970s, Linton Kwesi Johnson has been fighting neofascism, police violence and promoting socialism while putting pen to paper to refute W.H. Audens claim that poetry makes nothing happen. For Johnson, only the second living poet to have been published in the Penguin Modern Classics series, writing has always been a political act and poetry a cultural weapon. In Dread Poetry and Freedom the first book dedicated to the work of this political poet par excellence David Austin explores the themes of poetry, political consciousness and social transformation through the prism of Johnsons work. Drawing from the Bible, reggae and Rastafari, and surrealism, socialism and feminism, and in dialogue with Aime Cesaire and Frantz Fanon, C.L.R. James and Walter Rodney, and W.E.B. Du Bois and the poetry of dbi young anitafrika, Johnsons work becomes a crucial point of reflection on the meaning of freedom in this masterful and rich study. In the process, Austin demonstrates why art, and particularly poetry, is a vital part of our efforts to achieve genuine social change in times of dread.

Binding: Hardcover;306 pages; Publisher: Pluto Press; Classification: DSBH; Weight: 658 g; Dimensions: 215 x 135

Something not quite right? You have 21 days from the day you receive it, to send something back. When you purchase Debenhams Deliver+, you will have an extra 14 days on top of our standard 21-day window to initate a return.

Please note, we cannot offer refunds on fashion face masks, cosmetics, pierced jewellery, adult toys, and swimwear or lingerie if the hygiene seal is not in place or has been broken.

Items of footwear and/or clothing must be unworn and unwashed with the original labels attached. Also, footwear must be tried on indoors. Items of homeware including bedlinen, mattresses, and toppers, and pillows must be unused and in their original unopened packaging. This does not affect your statutory rights.

Click here to view our full Returns Policy.