Review 31
@review31.bsky.social
An online literary review. Est. 2011
www.review31.co.uk
www.review31.co.uk
"Her writing is spare but lingering in its suggestiveness, in the exorbitant honesty of its emotional repertoire."
Stuart Walton on Galia Admoni's poetry collection, SOMEBODY SHOULD HAVE PRESSED RECORD
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Stuart Walton on Galia Admoni's poetry collection, SOMEBODY SHOULD HAVE PRESSED RECORD
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Hey Joe
Review 31 is an online literary review.
review31.co.uk
October 8, 2026 at 3:39 PM
"Her writing is spare but lingering in its suggestiveness, in the exorbitant honesty of its emotional repertoire."
Stuart Walton on Galia Admoni's poetry collection, SOMEBODY SHOULD HAVE PRESSED RECORD
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Stuart Walton on Galia Admoni's poetry collection, SOMEBODY SHOULD HAVE PRESSED RECORD
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Reposted by Review 31
ICYMI my interview with author and translator Philip Terry, editor of The Penguin Book of Oulipo (that's my review copy!) and much else besides, came out on @review31.bsky.social this week — #books #Oulipo #Fridayreading
review31.co.uk/interview/vi...
review31.co.uk/interview/vi...
September 25, 2026 at 9:38 AM
ICYMI my interview with author and translator Philip Terry, editor of The Penguin Book of Oulipo (that's my review copy!) and much else besides, came out on @review31.bsky.social this week — #books #Oulipo #Fridayreading
review31.co.uk/interview/vi...
review31.co.uk/interview/vi...
Reposted by Review 31
“We have in Henri Coulette a new major minor poet to marvel at: his forms are exact, his humour dark and wry, and he wears his learning lightly.”
In @review31.bsky.social, Austin Spendlowe reviews Henri Coulette’s “New and Selected Poems” - review31.co.uk/article/view...
In @review31.bsky.social, Austin Spendlowe reviews Henri Coulette’s “New and Selected Poems” - review31.co.uk/article/view...
Returned From the Wilderness
Review 31 is an online literary review.
review31.co.uk
June 23, 2026 at 1:43 PM
“We have in Henri Coulette a new major minor poet to marvel at: his forms are exact, his humour dark and wry, and he wears his learning lightly.”
In @review31.bsky.social, Austin Spendlowe reviews Henri Coulette’s “New and Selected Poems” - review31.co.uk/article/view...
In @review31.bsky.social, Austin Spendlowe reviews Henri Coulette’s “New and Selected Poems” - review31.co.uk/article/view...
Reposted by Review 31
Non-fic review this time. Joe Luc Barnes' Farewell to Russia follows his travels through the fifteen countries that used to make up the Soviet Union. Boozy, funny and full of insight into places many of us know too little about. Read for free at @review31.bsky.social review31.co.uk/article/view...
An Old Master Too Large to Ignore
Review 31 is an online literary review.
review31.co.uk
June 30, 2026 at 7:50 AM
Non-fic review this time. Joe Luc Barnes' Farewell to Russia follows his travels through the fifteen countries that used to make up the Soviet Union. Boozy, funny and full of insight into places many of us know too little about. Read for free at @review31.bsky.social review31.co.uk/article/view...
Reposted by Review 31
"We have in Henri Coulette a new major minor poet to marvel at: his forms are exact, his humour dark & wry, & he wears his learning lightly."
Austin Spendlowe on Henri Coulette's New and Selected Poems (@carcanet.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Austin Spendlowe on Henri Coulette's New and Selected Poems (@carcanet.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
June 23, 2026 at 10:47 AM
"We have in Henri Coulette a new major minor poet to marvel at: his forms are exact, his humour dark & wry, & he wears his learning lightly."
Austin Spendlowe on Henri Coulette's New and Selected Poems (@carcanet.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Austin Spendlowe on Henri Coulette's New and Selected Poems (@carcanet.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
"We have in Henri Coulette a new major minor poet to marvel at: his forms are exact, his humour dark & wry, & he wears his learning lightly."
Austin Spendlowe on Henri Coulette's New and Selected Poems (@carcanet.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Austin Spendlowe on Henri Coulette's New and Selected Poems (@carcanet.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
June 23, 2026 at 10:47 AM
"We have in Henri Coulette a new major minor poet to marvel at: his forms are exact, his humour dark & wry, & he wears his learning lightly."
Austin Spendlowe on Henri Coulette's New and Selected Poems (@carcanet.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Austin Spendlowe on Henri Coulette's New and Selected Poems (@carcanet.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Reposted by Review 31
"Those looking for poetic diction will be thinly sated... What there is instead is a relentless exercise in auto-therapy, working through, stumbling on the occasional breakthrough."
Stuart Walton on Joe Carrick-Varty's BEFORE VIOLENCE (@carcanet.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Stuart Walton on Joe Carrick-Varty's BEFORE VIOLENCE (@carcanet.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
May 8, 2026 at 1:27 PM
"Those looking for poetic diction will be thinly sated... What there is instead is a relentless exercise in auto-therapy, working through, stumbling on the occasional breakthrough."
Stuart Walton on Joe Carrick-Varty's BEFORE VIOLENCE (@carcanet.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Stuart Walton on Joe Carrick-Varty's BEFORE VIOLENCE (@carcanet.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Reposted by Review 31
"Halfon’s descriptive, collative method allows her to remain slightly askance of Gombrowicz, sketching out his contradictions without ever flattening them."
Simon Firth on Mercedes Halfon's OUTSIDER EVERYWHERE (@fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Simon Firth on Mercedes Halfon's OUTSIDER EVERYWHERE (@fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
May 8, 2026 at 1:18 PM
"Halfon’s descriptive, collative method allows her to remain slightly askance of Gombrowicz, sketching out his contradictions without ever flattening them."
Simon Firth on Mercedes Halfon's OUTSIDER EVERYWHERE (@fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Simon Firth on Mercedes Halfon's OUTSIDER EVERYWHERE (@fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
"Those looking for poetic diction will be thinly sated... What there is instead is a relentless exercise in auto-therapy, working through, stumbling on the occasional breakthrough."
Stuart Walton on Joe Carrick-Varty's BEFORE VIOLENCE (@carcanet.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Stuart Walton on Joe Carrick-Varty's BEFORE VIOLENCE (@carcanet.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
May 8, 2026 at 1:27 PM
"Those looking for poetic diction will be thinly sated... What there is instead is a relentless exercise in auto-therapy, working through, stumbling on the occasional breakthrough."
Stuart Walton on Joe Carrick-Varty's BEFORE VIOLENCE (@carcanet.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Stuart Walton on Joe Carrick-Varty's BEFORE VIOLENCE (@carcanet.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
"Halfon’s descriptive, collative method allows her to remain slightly askance of Gombrowicz, sketching out his contradictions without ever flattening them."
Simon Firth on Mercedes Halfon's OUTSIDER EVERYWHERE (@fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Simon Firth on Mercedes Halfon's OUTSIDER EVERYWHERE (@fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
May 8, 2026 at 1:18 PM
"Halfon’s descriptive, collative method allows her to remain slightly askance of Gombrowicz, sketching out his contradictions without ever flattening them."
Simon Firth on Mercedes Halfon's OUTSIDER EVERYWHERE (@fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Simon Firth on Mercedes Halfon's OUTSIDER EVERYWHERE (@fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social)
review31.co.uk/article/view...
"An eloquent, humane work of criticism, which displays Vendler's typical sensitivity to what Wordsworth called the ‘turnings intricate of verse.’"
Bret van den Brink on Helen Vendler's Inhabit the Poem
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Bret van den Brink on Helen Vendler's Inhabit the Poem
review31.co.uk/article/view...
April 11, 2026 at 1:07 PM
"An eloquent, humane work of criticism, which displays Vendler's typical sensitivity to what Wordsworth called the ‘turnings intricate of verse.’"
Bret van den Brink on Helen Vendler's Inhabit the Poem
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Bret van den Brink on Helen Vendler's Inhabit the Poem
review31.co.uk/article/view...
"At his best, Lerner combines fiction & criticism to postulate both a novel vision of the social possibilities of art & the artistic possibilities of socialising."
Nick Bartlett on Ben Lerner's Transcription
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Nick Bartlett on Ben Lerner's Transcription
review31.co.uk/article/view...
April 11, 2026 at 1:05 PM
"At his best, Lerner combines fiction & criticism to postulate both a novel vision of the social possibilities of art & the artistic possibilities of socialising."
Nick Bartlett on Ben Lerner's Transcription
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Nick Bartlett on Ben Lerner's Transcription
review31.co.uk/article/view...
"The Palm House is a funny book. Part of me wants to write blackly funny; darkly funny — but in truth, it’s the humour that operates the levers of complexity."
@marrrtha.bsky.social on Gwendoline Riley's The Palm House
review31.co.uk/article/view...
@marrrtha.bsky.social on Gwendoline Riley's The Palm House
review31.co.uk/article/view...
April 11, 2026 at 1:03 PM
"The Palm House is a funny book. Part of me wants to write blackly funny; darkly funny — but in truth, it’s the humour that operates the levers of complexity."
@marrrtha.bsky.social on Gwendoline Riley's The Palm House
review31.co.uk/article/view...
@marrrtha.bsky.social on Gwendoline Riley's The Palm House
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Reposted by Review 31
Here’s my take on Cory Doctorow’s #enshittification published by @versobooks.bsky.social for @review31.bsky.social (give them a follow)— it’s funny, depressing but ultimately it’s a useful resource for working out why so many platforms increasingly offer up awful UX. review31.co.uk/article/view...
End-stage Rot
Review 31 is an online literary review.
review31.co.uk
January 29, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Here’s my take on Cory Doctorow’s #enshittification published by @versobooks.bsky.social for @review31.bsky.social (give them a follow)— it’s funny, depressing but ultimately it’s a useful resource for working out why so many platforms increasingly offer up awful UX. review31.co.uk/article/view...
Reposted by Review 31
“Cooper’s novels remind us that an artistic life is all about practice, a way of living: observation, questions, uncertainty.”
In @review31.bsky.social, Thomas Chadwick reviews Jeremy Cooper’s new novel, “Discord” - review31.co.uk/article/view...
In @review31.bsky.social, Thomas Chadwick reviews Jeremy Cooper’s new novel, “Discord” - review31.co.uk/article/view...
A Longer, Deeper Look
Review 31 is an online literary review.
review31.co.uk
January 22, 2026 at 12:30 PM
“Cooper’s novels remind us that an artistic life is all about practice, a way of living: observation, questions, uncertainty.”
In @review31.bsky.social, Thomas Chadwick reviews Jeremy Cooper’s new novel, “Discord” - review31.co.uk/article/view...
In @review31.bsky.social, Thomas Chadwick reviews Jeremy Cooper’s new novel, “Discord” - review31.co.uk/article/view...
Reposted by Review 31
The Plains, by Federico Falco and translated by Jennifer Croft, is a "moving and beautifully made novel".
Thank you @review31.bsky.social!
review31.co.uk/essay/view/1...
Thank you @review31.bsky.social!
review31.co.uk/essay/view/1...
Chard and Beans
Review 31 is an online literary review.
review31.co.uk
January 21, 2026 at 4:59 PM
The Plains, by Federico Falco and translated by Jennifer Croft, is a "moving and beautifully made novel".
Thank you @review31.bsky.social!
review31.co.uk/essay/view/1...
Thank you @review31.bsky.social!
review31.co.uk/essay/view/1...
Reposted by Review 31
I spent some time with last year's Nightjar Press chapbooks and ended up writing about creepy birds and the contemporary gothic. Review 31 kindly took it on. Free to read here: review31.co.uk/essay/view/1...
@review31.bsky.social @nightjarpress.bsky.social
@review31.bsky.social @nightjarpress.bsky.social
Contemporary Gothic
Review 31 is an online literary review.
review31.co.uk
January 22, 2026 at 7:43 AM
I spent some time with last year's Nightjar Press chapbooks and ended up writing about creepy birds and the contemporary gothic. Review 31 kindly took it on. Free to read here: review31.co.uk/essay/view/1...
@review31.bsky.social @nightjarpress.bsky.social
@review31.bsky.social @nightjarpress.bsky.social
"The letters convey a picture of two writers in alternating states of vitality & decline, pushing against the threat of both illness & obscurity."
Rachel Dastgir on LETTERS TO EUGENE
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Rachel Dastgir on LETTERS TO EUGENE
review31.co.uk/article/view...
More Acute Agony
Review 31 is an online literary review.
review31.co.uk
January 12, 2026 at 2:01 PM
"The letters convey a picture of two writers in alternating states of vitality & decline, pushing against the threat of both illness & obscurity."
Rachel Dastgir on LETTERS TO EUGENE
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Rachel Dastgir on LETTERS TO EUGENE
review31.co.uk/article/view...
"Dog Days is a work that contends with the difficulty of committing words to a page, & letting them stay there."
Julia Merican on Emily LaBarge's DOG DAYS
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Julia Merican on Emily LaBarge's DOG DAYS
review31.co.uk/article/view...
The End of the Good Story
Review 31 is an online literary review.
review31.co.uk
January 12, 2026 at 2:00 PM
"Dog Days is a work that contends with the difficulty of committing words to a page, & letting them stay there."
Julia Merican on Emily LaBarge's DOG DAYS
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Julia Merican on Emily LaBarge's DOG DAYS
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Reposted by Review 31
My pick for @review31.bsky.social's Books of the Year 2025 is Alex Pheby's Waterblack, the third volume in the Cities of the Weft trilogy. Superb, strange fantasy that has reinvigorated the genre. @alexpheby.bsky.social @galleybeggars.bsky.social
review31.co.uk/essay/view/1...
review31.co.uk/essay/view/1...
Review 31's Books of the Year 2025
Review 31 is an online literary review.
review31.co.uk
December 20, 2025 at 3:30 PM
My pick for @review31.bsky.social's Books of the Year 2025 is Alex Pheby's Waterblack, the third volume in the Cities of the Weft trilogy. Superb, strange fantasy that has reinvigorated the genre. @alexpheby.bsky.social @galleybeggars.bsky.social
review31.co.uk/essay/view/1...
review31.co.uk/essay/view/1...
Reposted by Review 31
A pleasure to contribute to this connoisseurs' list of books of the year for @review31.bsky.social
review31.co.uk/essay/view/1...
I chose Old Kiln by Jia Pingwa, translated by James Trapp, Olivia Milburn and Christopher Payne, published by @sinoistbooks.bsky.social
review31.co.uk/essay/view/1...
I chose Old Kiln by Jia Pingwa, translated by James Trapp, Olivia Milburn and Christopher Payne, published by @sinoistbooks.bsky.social
Review 31's Books of the Year 2025
Review 31 is an online literary review.
review31.co.uk
December 19, 2025 at 4:47 PM
A pleasure to contribute to this connoisseurs' list of books of the year for @review31.bsky.social
review31.co.uk/essay/view/1...
I chose Old Kiln by Jia Pingwa, translated by James Trapp, Olivia Milburn and Christopher Payne, published by @sinoistbooks.bsky.social
review31.co.uk/essay/view/1...
I chose Old Kiln by Jia Pingwa, translated by James Trapp, Olivia Milburn and Christopher Payne, published by @sinoistbooks.bsky.social
Reposted by Review 31
That time of year again, and here's my off-trail Book of the Year choice.
December 16, 2025 at 1:50 PM
That time of year again, and here's my off-trail Book of the Year choice.
Review 31's Books of the Year 2025
Review 31 is an online literary review.
review31.co.uk
December 16, 2025 at 1:07 PM
"Pester has a precise ear for the frictionless formulations of contemporary organisational life that promise progress while pointing at nothing. These empty signifiers become a source of dread rather than comedy."
Robert Kiely on THE EXPANSION PROJECT
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Robert Kiely on THE EXPANSION PROJECT
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Scope Creep
Review 31 is an online literary review.
review31.co.uk
November 3, 2025 at 11:55 AM
"Pester has a precise ear for the frictionless formulations of contemporary organisational life that promise progress while pointing at nothing. These empty signifiers become a source of dread rather than comedy."
Robert Kiely on THE EXPANSION PROJECT
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Robert Kiely on THE EXPANSION PROJECT
review31.co.uk/article/view...
"The internet is cooked. What began as a genuinely participatory medium ... has since become an extractive device, mining human creativity for corporate profit."
Christopher Webb on Joanna Walsh's AMATEURS!
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Christopher Webb on Joanna Walsh's AMATEURS!
review31.co.uk/article/view...
‘Some of what we did became a thing'
Review 31 is an online literary review.
review31.co.uk
November 3, 2025 at 11:53 AM
"The internet is cooked. What began as a genuinely participatory medium ... has since become an extractive device, mining human creativity for corporate profit."
Christopher Webb on Joanna Walsh's AMATEURS!
review31.co.uk/article/view...
Christopher Webb on Joanna Walsh's AMATEURS!
review31.co.uk/article/view...