Emergency Verse - Poetry in Defence of the Welfare State is a co-operatively produced protest anthology of poetry and polemic from 112 contributors, mixing writing of many fired to verse for the first time in reaction to the austertity cuts with scores of well-established poets including Sebastian Barker, Andy Croft, Victoria Field, Michael Horovitz, David Kessel, Judith Kazantsis, Alexis Lykiard, Chris McCabe, Mario Petrucci, Angela Readman, Jeremy Reed, Michael Rosen, Barry Tebb, Brenda Williams, Ken Worpole and many others. This illustrated 300pp perfect-bound book was produced in a matter of weeks as a petition for the introduction of a Robin Hood Tax on the City and against the wholesale stripping of the British Welfare State by a brutalising £18 Billion. Patroned by Green MP Caroline Lucas, it is broadly an ethical socialist publication but its contributors come from a variety of backgrounds and beliefs, all united in their collective opposition to the austerity policies of the Tory-led government. EV is stocked at Housmans Bookshop, King's Cross (housmans.com); it is also available for borrowing at the Poetry Library, Southbank Centre, along with a full audio recording of the January 2011 launch at same venue.