To Patricia Craig’s illuminating and affectionate obituary of Ciaran Carson (31 October), I’d only add a tribute to For All We Know, his sequence of 70 unrhymed elegiac sonnets published in 2008. Embedded in Belfast and the Troubles, and in the post-Wall uncertainties of eastern Germany, this story of a love affair threads its way through memory and grief. It’s alive with detail; haunted by a complex past; and written in 14-syllable lines, so supple you never notice the technique. What a poet!
Christine Webb
Burnham, Buckinghamshire
• Please will somebody point out to Donald Trump, who believes that he is the subject of “the greatest witch-hunt in American history” (House vote takes Trump a step closer to impeachment, 1 November), that 14 women and five men were hanged in Salem in 1692-93 (and Giles Corey was crushed to death after he refused to enter a plea).
Ian Ferguson
Thornton Dale, North Yorkshire
• Terrific that young people are still being taught the values of good citizenship in school, but what makes them “British values” (Letters, 2 November), and how are they different from those of any civilised society?
Rev Jenny Welsh
London
• You do not need a pumpkin to get Halloween callers (Letters, 2 November). I paint a face on a large orange and put that on the doorstep. It seems to work.
Maxine Leyland
Coulsdon, London
• Janet Lail went “chumping” while collecting material for Bonfire NIght in Leeds (Letters, 2 November). In nearby Shipley we went “progging”. Any more variations?
Paul Tattam
Chinley, Derbyshire
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