The Alexandra Sequence

John Redmond

Carcanet Collection  

In The Alexandra Sequence John Redmond views contemporary urban life through the suggestive prism of the ‘mummers play’, a seasonal British folk-theatre staged in the streets and door-to-door. The book’s title takes its name from an area of Liverpool, a city shaped by its recent history of trade and migration, still recovering after a long period of decline. Experiences of urban uprootedness and social precarity shape suburban livelihoods that are ‘livid with accident’. Drawing on the two central themes of the mummers play – combat and resurrection – the poems reveal both dark and light parallels between the modern neighbourhood and medieval theatre: the carnivalesque zombie-drummers marching through a local park find their mirror-image in the daily disguises of life in a housing estate, or in the masked infractions of the 2011 England Riots. Mixing narrative and lyric, Redmond paints a neighbourhood of lively, unlikely references, from Juvenal to Tommy Cooper, Brueghel to indie rock.

Subscription Features

  • Fully-searchable access to the growing archive of current and back issues.
  • Unlimited IP-authenticated access and remote access options available.
  • Cross-platform compatibility with all Web, iOS and Android devices.
  • Usage reports, MARC records and excellent customer support.

IP Access

Seamless IP-authenticated access on a range of platforms including web, iOS and Android.

Fully Searchable

Advanced search including Boolean operators and cross-title matching.

Comprehensive Support

Enjoy high quality and prompt technical support from our dedicated team.

  • Author: John Redmond
  • Publisher: Carcanet
  • ISBN: 9781784102043