At the risk of appearing repetitious, a June Jordan obituary.

I heard Simon Armitage on the radio this morning, which reminded me of this poem.

What I want for my birthday

Another Guardian article on the Tour de France. There is a link to an interactive guide on the race at the end. Highly recommended.

Bluegrass seems to be the Buena Vista Social Club of the moment. It's not without its malcontents though. Gillian Welch is a New York girl, although her antecedents allow her leeway. They also provide material for spiritual speculation. Theres nothing like a guy who resents that others have muscled in on his private obsession