A letter published in The Guardian suggests that a famous quote often attributed to Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci may actually have roots in the poetry of Matthew Arnold. The quote, “The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born,” appears in a recent article by Patrick Wintour. However, Hugh Macmillan of Dorchester on Thames points out that Gramsci, as a critical sociologist, would likely have been aware of Arnold’s lines: “Wandering between two worlds, one dead / The other powerless to be born…”
Other letters in the same edition touch on a range of topics. Jim Hatley of Brighton warns that before renaming Washington as “Trumpton,” US President Donald Trump should listen to the 1985 song “Trumpton Riots” by Half Man Half Biscuit, which describes socialists storming a market square and assassinating an autocratic figure.
Alan Apperley of Cannock, Staffordshire, shares a spoof sign in Stamford that reads: “On this site Sept. 5, 1782 nothing happened.” Meanwhile, Ian Harley of Fair Oak, Hampshire, adds a further stage to the discussion of TV viewing: being unable to remember whether you’ve seen the best shows of 2025.
Rhoda Koenig of London questions the phrasing in a Guardian headline about Nigel Farage’s victims being “on the wrong end of racist or antisemitic abuse,” asking if there is a “right end.” Finally, Dr John Doherty of Stratford-upon-Avon notes that Kemi Badenoch was the only party leader to mention the birth of Christ in her Christmas message, prompting the question: “Have the Tories found a saviour?”
