A Constellation of Sorrows
Patrick Jones 
(Repeat Records)

PATRICK JONES is a Welsh poet and playwright who is a key figure in the Welsh labour movement tackling social issues in Wales and wider afield. Jones went to Palestine in June 2023 and the experience and anger of that visit fuelled his criticism of Israel’s actions especially since October 8, 2023, waging war on the civilians of Gaza.

His latest album of poems and music, a Constellation of Sorrows, starts with a visceral work called After Niemoller, taking the 1946 poem by Martin Niemoller as a starting point. It contains audio samples of US President Joe Biden and the heartbreaking last phone call of six-year-old Hind Rajab asking for help before being executed by the Israel Defence Force.

The words are redolent and suffused with the many tortuous defences that are uttered to defend Israel’s genocidal actions: “First they came for the civilians and I didn’t speak out because Israel has the right to defend itself. Then they came for the schools and universities and I didn’t speak up because they are built on terrorist tunnels.”

The Heart is a Security Risk is Jones’s angry response to having his suitcase searched as he exited Israel to return to Wales, saying he brought back the love from Palestine and Israel “will never take that from me.” The track also features Wales-based Palestinian Oud player Salih Hassan.

Minor News Story is about a child returning home and trying to find their schoolbag, with Jones saying sorrowfully there is no bag, no school and no home.

Butcher Bastards is a constant refrain from the Masters of Misery and is an intonation of all the evil acts that Israel commits in its oppression of the Palestinian people. “Are we not brothers and sisters made from the same stardust” is the question asked in the title track of this powerful poem.

Jones spoke at the inaugural meeting of Stop the War Cymru where he also performed his poem The New Crucifixions (October 6th) inspired by his visit to the occupied West Bank and which is featured here as well.

Jones’s album deserves the widest audience for the quality of his writing, but also its core message against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The album will also be launched on January 18 at the Tangled Parrot, Swansea, with special guests Angharad and Tom Emlyn.

A Constellation of Sorrows is released on January 17 with all proceeds donated to Unicef’s Gaza appeal. See: repeatfanzine.bandcamp.com