Milton Row

See a video interview with the author’s granddaughter here.

Milton Row – a poetic insight into teaching in the impoverished areas of post-war London – was written by Robert John Newlands. A crofter’s son, Robert trained as a teacher and devoted his career to motivating and empowering pupils from the same humble backgrounds as his own.

Written in the mid-60s and published here for the first time, this long-form poem offers a unique and intriguing portrait of schooling in the 1960s. Sure to resonate with anyone who experienced it themselves, it also offers much for those of us living (and teaching) today, over a hundred years since the author’s birth – both in the way things have changed and, perhaps presciently, the many ways they haven’t.