Newsletter October 2022
THE NDLHS AGM Saturday 19 November 1.30 – 2 pm at The Mechanics, 3 North Sherwood Street, Nottingham. To be followed at 2 pm by a talk on “Lib-Labism in Nottingham.” by Phil Henshaw
Culture and Politics: Class, Writing, Socialism by Raymond Williams, (edited with an introduction by Phil O’Brien), London: Verso 2022 Raymond Williams – ‘To be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing’. Ten essays by Raymond Williams dating from 1958 to 1987, five of which are published for the first time, the rest being relatively difficult to access, marks this as a significant centenary collection. The introduction by Phil O’Brien adds important publishing context as well as helpful biographical and political background. The bigger question, I suppose, is whether a further collection of Williams’ essays can be justified for any audience wider than RW completists? My answer, after reading these pieces is most certainly yes. Accepting for the moment a possible decline in interest for a period immediately following Williams’ premature and unexpected death in 1988, our new century has seen unmistakable signs of an upswing in those recognizing the central importance of his writings across a number of fields.