Money was already tight for UK families living on a low income before the COVID-19 pandemic, but national lockdowns made life much harder. Telling the stories of these families, this book exposes the ways that pre-existing inequalities, insecurities and hardships were amplified during the pandemic for families who were already in poverty before COVID-19, as well as those pushed into poverty by the economic fallout it created. Drawing on the Covid Realities research programme, and developed in partnership with parents and carers, it explores experiences of home-schooling, social security receipt and government, community and charitable support. This book sets out all that is wrong with the status quo, while also offering a powerful agenda for change. Also see 'COVID-19 Collaborations: Researching Poverty and Low-Income Family Life during the Pandemic' (Open Access) to find out more about the challenges of carrying out research during COVID-19.

In The Best Australian Poems 2015, you will find the who's who of contemporary poets and the pick of new voices. Sometimes satirical, sometimes erotic, covering family, religion, war and mortality, Geoff Page's selection celebrates the vital, the vigorous and the graceful voices that populate our poetry scene. Poets include ...Robert Adamson * Jordie Albiston* Judith Beveridge * Eileen Chong * Joe Dolce * Lin van Hek * Nigel Roberts * Robyn Rowland * Jennifer Compton * Kevin Hart * Lisa Gorton * Clive James * Rozanna Lilley * Tony Page * Michael Sharkey * Chris Wallace-Crabbe * Fiona Wright * Jakob Ziguras * Les Murray * Fay Zwicky * Jamie Grant * Lucy Dougan * Ali Cobby Eckermann * Kevin Brophy * Billy Marshall Stoneking * Bruce Dawe * Anne Elvey * Geoff Goodfellow * Jennifer Maiden and many more ...'The human desire for patterned language is as strong as the need for narrative.' Geoff Page

This is an amusing and affectionate account in verse of a late-life love affair. A vivid cast of characters surround Lawrie and Shirley, led by their censorious adult children.