Andy Croft – författare

Randall Swingler (1909–67) was arguably the most significant and the best-known radical English poet of his generation. A widely published poet, playwright, novelist, editor and critic, his work was set to music by almost all the major British composers of his time. This new biography draws on extensive sources, including the security services files, to present the most detailed account yet of this influential poet, lyricist and activist.A literary entrepreneur, Swingler was founder of radical paperback publishing company Fore Publications, editor of Left Review and Our Time and literary editor of the Daily Worker; later becoming a staff reporter, until the paper was banned in 1941. In the 1930s, he contributed several plays for Unity Theatre, including the Mass Declamation Spain, the Munich play Crisis and the revues Sandbag Follies and Get Cracking. In 1936, MI5 opened a 20-year-long file on him prompted by a song he co-wrote with Alan Bush for a concert organised to mark the arrival of the 1934 Hunger March into London. During the Second World War, Swingler served in North Africa and Italy and was awarded the Military Medal for his part in the battle of Lake Comacchio. His collections The Years of Anger (1946) and The God in the Cave (1950) contain arguably some of the greatest poems of the Italian campaign. After the war, Swingler was blacklisted by the BBC. Orwell attacked him in Polemic and included him in the list of names he offered the security services in 1949. Stephen Spender vilified him in The God That Failed.The book will challenge the Cold War assumptions that have excluded Swingler’s life and work from standard histories of the period and should be of great interest to activists, scholars and those with an interest in the history of the literary and radical left.

Randall Swingler (1909–67) was arguably the most significant and the best-known radical English poet of his generation. A widely published poet, playwright, novelist, editor and critic, his work was set to music by almost all the major British composers of his time. This new biography draws on extensive sources, including the security services files, to present the most detailed account yet of this influential poet, lyricist and activist.A literary entrepreneur, Swingler was founder of radical paperback publishing company Fore Publications, editor of Left Review and Our Time and literary editor of the Daily Worker; later becoming a staff reporter, until the paper was banned in 1941. In the 1930s, he contributed several plays for Unity Theatre, including the Mass Declamation Spain, the Munich play Crisis and the revues Sandbag Follies and Get Cracking. In 1936, MI5 opened a 20-year-long file on him prompted by a song he co-wrote with Alan Bush for a concert organised to mark the arrival of the 1934 Hunger March into London. During the Second World War, Swingler served in North Africa and Italy and was awarded the Military Medal for his part in the battle of Lake Comacchio. His collections The Years of Anger (1946) and The God in the Cave (1950) contain arguably some of the greatest poems of the Italian campaign. After the war, Swingler was blacklisted by the BBC. Orwell attacked him in Polemic and included him in the list of names he offered the security services in 1949. Stephen Spender vilified him in The God That Failed.The book will challenge the Cold War assumptions that have excluded Swingler’s life and work from standard histories of the period and should be of great interest to activists, scholars and those with an interest in the history of the literary and radical left.

Twenty years after the demise of the Communist Party of Great Britain, eight former members, all of whom who stayed in the party until the bitter end, reflect here on some of the personal, political and cultural changes of the last twenty years. The paths of Dave Cope, Andy Croft, Alistair Findlay, Stuart Hill, Kate Hudson, Andy Pearmain, Mark Perryman and Lorna Reith have followed very different political trajectories since 1991 - taking them into the Green Party, the Labour Party, the CPB, SLP, Respect and no party at all. But most have remained politically active. Combining personal and political history, analysis and autobiography, anecdote and argument, the contributors consider the consequences of the CP's dissolution for British political and intellectual life.

Barry is looking forward to his first weekend out of prison. Free at last!He has nothing to lose but his £46 discharge grant, a bag of dirty washing, and all the promises he has made to himself when he was inside . . .If you enjoy this book, you can find out what happens to Barry next in the sequel, Bare Freedom.SERIES INFORMATIONThis page-turning story is part of the Diffusion books range, written especially for teenagers and adults who want to improve their reading skills.Easy-to-read, with short chapters, the books in the series enable learners to improve their reading confidence and tackle longer stories. They are also a brilliant choice for anyone learning English as an additional language.The books also include discussion and reflection questions that help readers to understand the story and to reflect on their own lives and relationships.Buying this book will support our project to help people in prison improve both their reading skills and their life chances. To find out more visit https://spckpublishing.co.uk/diffusion-books

Barry is trying to get used to life on the outside. All he wants it to make up with his sister and lead a normal life.But with no money, no job and the local drug dealer after him, will Barry be able to keep out of trouble?Bare Freedom, is the sequel to Forty-six Quid and a Bag of Dirty Washing also by Andy Croft.SERIES INFORMATIONThis page-turning story is part of the Diffusion books range, written especially for teenagers and adults who want to improve their reading skills.Easy-to-read, with short chapters, the books in the series enable learners to improve their reading confidence and tackle longer stories. They are also a brilliant choice for anyone learning English as an additional language.The books also include discussion and reflection questions that help readers to understand the story and to reflect on their own lives and relationships.Buying this book will support our project to help people in prison improve both their reading skills and their life chances. To find out more visit https://spckpublishing.co.uk/diffusion-books

The texts in this series are aimed at teenagers and adults with reading ages below ten, or adult students learning English as a foreign language. Written by special needs teachers, the "Investigates" books offer accounts of careers, hobbies, sports, extreme sports, disasters, mysteries and animals.