Hysterical surrealism? A pop culture for our age of economic insecurity
Income inequality has spawned a new subgenre of art – less dystopian than manic and absurdCritics – and people at dinner parties – like to remark how dystopian television shows such as The Handmaid’s...
View ArticleDanez Smith: ‘I’ve never read Invisible Man. Please don’t take my black...
The prizewinning poet on the pleasures of Andrea Lawlor, Willie Perdomo and the ‘best novel ever written’The book I am currently readingI’m loving Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor....
View ArticleBook clinic: what books might ease my despair about the world’s state?
From Mary Oliver’s verse to a touching tale by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, reading can be a salve for the soulQ: What books do you recommend to help me combat my growing misanthropy caused by despair...
View ArticleFirst Macavity the cat, now Molly the mutt: the sequel TS Eliot dreamed of...
Eighty years after Old Possum, a companion collection of dog poems pays tribute to the literary giantFrom Macavity to Rum Tum Tugger, TS Eliot’s poems about cats, originally intended as gifts for his...
View ArticleGeorge the Poet: ‘My manifesto was in poetry when I ran for student union chair’
The spoken word artist from north London on drill music, using art to educate young people and the joy of podcastingSpoken-word artist George the Poet, or George Mpanga, 27, grew up in Neasden in...
View ArticlePoem of the week: Three Poetesses by Kristín Ómarsdóttir
This ghostly Icelandic parable of patriarchy subtly defies predictable sexual politicsThree PoetessesThree poetessesin white brassit around a lowround-table.With books in hand.Continue reading...
View ArticlePoet laureate writes sonnet for Danny Boyle's Armistice Day centenary events
The Wound in Time by Carol Ann Duffy was written for commemorations being led by the director at beaches around the UK and IrelandA new poem by Carol Ann Duffy, a sonnet in which the poet laureate...
View ArticleIndigenous slam queen Melanie Mununggurr-Williams crowned 2018 poetry...
Melanie Mununggurr-Williams from Darwin has been crowned champion of the 2018 Australian Poetry Slam National Final, after she dropped a stunning slam on Aboriginal identity on Sunday night at Sydney...
View ArticleGwenyth Shaw obituary
My mother, Gwenyth Shaw, who has died aged 95, gave up a lectureship in economics at Liverpool University in 1946 – the year she married – to follow her new husband, Roy Shaw, to his first job as a...
View ArticleIs love best expressed with poetry?
A poet struggles for words during a marriage proposal, leading to the question: Is poetry really better at capturing our feelings than plain old prose? Tell us in the commentsWhat makes us reach for...
View ArticleJudith Kazantzis obituary
Poet, writer and activist who examined the traps and seductions of power relationships – domestic, sexual and socialJudith Kazantzis, who has died aged 78, produced tense, taut poems as delicate and...
View ArticleDespite its critics, light verse is booming – that’s poetic justice | Claire...
A new poem commissioned by the Children’s Society will win the hearts of a new generation of readersIn a recent column for the Guardian, the Booker-shortlisted writer Robin Robertson declared himself...
View ArticleWe love a poet, but do you know it? | Brief letters
Rifles in India | Blood donors | Chuka Umunna | Poetry | Charlie BrownPeter Betts is quite right (Letters, 23 October). Ever since the so-called “mutiny” of 1857, British Indian troops were habitually...
View ArticleHow Shakespeare's 'blood cult’ became Ted Hughes’s fatal obsession
He believed he’d found the secret key to unlock all of Shakespeare’s work. Twenty years after Hughes’s death, this is the story of the lifelong fixation he feared would destroy himTed Hughes, who...
View ArticleCarol Ann Duffy: ‘With the evil twins of Trump and Brexit … There was no way...
After 10 years, the poet laureate is preparing to step down. She talks politics, swearing – and how poetry has changed since she started writing“Combover ... twitter-rat, tweet-twat, tripe-gob,...
View ArticleJohn Cooper Clarke: 'My trousers? River Island or M&S. The skinniest they do'
The poet-performer talks to Tim Adams about his new book and tour and, further down, answers questions from readers and famous fansJohn Cooper Clarke has, arguably, not only the most recognisable...
View ArticlePoem of the week: Strike it up, Tabor by Thomas Weelkes
As summer makes its exit, it’s still possible to enjoy the lusty energy of this madrigal maypole dance Strike it up, TaborStrike it up, Tabor,And pipe us a favour!Thou shalt be well-paid for thy...
View ArticlePolitical writing from Terrance Hayes to the Anglo-Saxons – books podcast
As the midterm elections loom, we welcome a poet whose verse is carved from this divided moment and search for the deep roots of political writingThis week we examine the political power of the written...
View ArticleThe Flame by Leonard Cohen review – the last word in love and despair
The songwriter and poet’s final writings are full of youthful spark, beauty and romanceThe first time I came across Leonard Cohen – before I had ever heard his songs – I was an opinionated 16-year-old....
View ArticleWomen Poets' prize reveals first three winners
Honorees include Claire Collison, whose works include a performance piece about female beauty that she performs with her mastectomy scars revealed A breast cancer survivor who performs a monologue with...
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