Andy Carrington

Another reviewer of this poetry book said it was so current that some of the themes were in today’s headlines, and that’s still true and noticeable when reading this latest offering from Andy Carrington. You’ll find references to Muhammed Ali’s death: “Last week the media/praised a (dead) MUHAMMAD/ALI/without ever mentioning/his religion;/this week, there is a new killer/with brown skin/thought to be a ‘RADICAL ISLAMIST’/(though it’s yet to be confirmed)”, Euro 2016: “The idiots are here/with their drunken yells of ‘NO SURRENDER/TO THE IRA!’/(outside an IRISH pub)”, the EU referendum: “Sick to death of hearing bout the referendum/(they all talk shit)”, Ghostbusters: “…it’s a crime against humanity that GHOSTBUSTERS/is being re-made”, and the Orlando shooting: “Fuck homophobia/in its arse”.

So this is a collection that I recommend reading whilst it’s still contemporary, but at the same time, the themes in this poetry have been contemporary for far too long and will sadly continue to be so, therefore this book will equally stand the test of time

Just listing some of the titles in this collection will give you a good idea of what to expect:

‘£1.50 to Draw Out My Own Money’
‘Everything You Read in THE SUN is a Lie’
‘TV is Shit’
‘Tony Blair’s Face Still Gets on My Tits’
‘Another Local Boozer Gone’
‘M is for McMURDER’
‘Over 4 Quid for a Watered-Down CARLSBERG’
‘What Happened to this CUNTry?’

Carrington is a much needed voice in this modern world of propaganda, injustice and hate. I recommend that you not only read this book yourself – whoever you may be, you need to read it – I also recommend you buy this book for other people to read and that they buy it for other people too, ‘cos Carrington is a poet whose words should be heard by all.

Although I am a bit pissed off to find out that it’s the Carringtons of this world who piss over toilet seats. But discovering that he does it out of protest, makes it a little more understandable.

“APATHY WILL KILL US ALL/… when all that’s left is mediocrity/and each day just bleeds into the n… (altro)

If only I could walk into my local Tesco Express (which used to be an independent corner shop, but of course all independent corner shops are now fucking Tescos), and see a copy of The Daily Fail on the newsstand in place of the Daily Mail. If I had any money, I’d actually think about buying up fifty copies of Andy Carrington’s latest and placing them there myself. ‘Cos, as we all know, the Daily Mail contains brainwashed middle suburbia bollocks. The Daily Fail, however, reflects modern Britain much more than any tabloid newspaper ever does. There are plenty of us out there who agree, sympathise and relate with Andy Carrington’s view of the world – you just don’t often see it in mainstream media. That’s why supporting independently published books like this is just as important as supporting things like independent corner shops, so you’d better get hold of a copy of this soon, before Tesco buy up Andy Carrington’s muse.

Alongside the anger about racist, fascist, Nanny State modern Britain, there are also a fair few poems that are quite romantic and sentimental, where Andy highlights crap situations like kids having nowhere to go in his rundown hometown, but how that means that memories like smoking dope at bus shelters become fondly remembered moments. Besides the balance of political and sentimental poems, you’ll also find warranted views about Skynet already being here and how robots/technology of the future is something to be very afraid of, and you’ll also find Andy opening his front door to the postman whilst being naked.

This collection is a combination of ire, bittersweetness and fun and The Daily Fail, contrary to its name, succeeds in every way.… (altro)

This is anarchist-activist-protest-punk poetry for the underbelly of modern Britain at its very finest. Whether Andy Carrington is writing about immigration, fascism, Wetherspoon pubs and Starbucks taking over, roads being unnecessarily dug up, dumb-down T.V, or being skint and just trying to survive, he manages to acutely say exactly what most leftie intelligent people always think about the injustices of the world, and he says it extremely well. I found myself nodding in agreement or empathy with every poem, so much so that I wanted to make a placard right there and then and parade through my local High Street with a megaphone.

I also loved the fact that he links news stories with some of his poems so that the reader can get a better understanding of what he’s talking about; ‘cos, for instance, I guess some people might not even know that Cameron apparently did actually stick his small willy into a dead pig’s mouth.

But I don’t recommend this book to the protestors, punks and anarchists, as much as I’m sure they would feel as energised as I did from reading this collection. No – I recommend this book to the people who watch Big Brother, the people who slag off Polish people living in Britain, the people who shop at Ikea, the people who wear Keep Calm And Carry On T-shirts, the people who read the Daily Mail… because they’re the ones who really need to hear what Carrington has to say.

I’ve become a fan of Andy Carrington’s hard hitting, empathic poetry over night and I can’t wait to read more.… (altro)

By Andy Carrington’s own admission, ‘Somewhere in-between Misanthropy & Anti-Fascism / PAKI LOVER’ isn’t his favourite book he’s written, perhaps ‘cos it’s one of his earlier works, and us artists often feel that old works aren’t as good as they could be, but it’s a hell of a lot better than Andy probably thinks. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that this collection contains some of his best poems.

Having said that, it’s perhaps not as rounded overall and a few poems missed the spot slightly, but I only say that in comparison to all his other books, which usually get the five star award from me.

A little trimming of this book could actually make it one of Carrington’s best.… (altro)