The Penguin Book of the Prose Poem, edited by Jeremy Noel-Tod – review
An essential collection of prose poems from across the globe, by old masters and new, reveals the form’s astonishing rangeYou might think of a prose poem as a bastardised form – neither one thing nor...
View ArticleBest books of 2018: Hilary Mantel, Yuval Noah Harari and more pick their...
Our favourite authors on the most outstanding books they read this yearContinue reading...
View ArticlePoem of the week: Sonnet – September 1922 by Ivor Gurney
This meditation on defeat was written around the time the author was declared insane, but shows a thoroughly lucid artistrySonnet – September 1922Fierce indignation is best understood by thoseWho have...
View ArticleRevel in Cornwall’s sublime literature | Letters
Readers Veronica Edwards, Clive Boutle and John Osborne rush to the defence of Cornish literatureMax Liu’s portrayal of Cornwall (Why neglected Cornwall needs a literature of its own, 3 December) is...
View ArticlePrime Minister’s Literary awards 2018: Gerald Murnane wins for 'exquisite' novel
Border Districts described as ‘crowning achievement of a singular literary career’, beating works by Peter Carey and Richard FlanaganGerald Murnane has beaten Peter Carey, Richard Flanagan, Kim Scott...
View ArticleUnseen Rupert Brooke letter to 'lovelorn' admirer to be sold
Correspondence from 1907 sees the 19-year-old poet advising college friend that ‘I am sorry you have placed me on a pedestal’An unpublished letter in which a young Rupert Brooke advises his lovelorn...
View ArticlePrize-nominated poet's debut cancelled as plagiarism accusations build
Several authors have accused Ailey O’Toole of using their poems to write her own, including the Pushcart-nominated Gun MetalA prize-nominated poet’s debut collection has been cancelled and her work...
View ArticleRobin Robertson: ‘Writing poetry has very little to do with the intellect’
The Scottish poet and editor on defying conventions of genre, the elusive nature of what he does, and the importance of external validationRobin Robertson is an acclaimed poet who has won all three of...
View ArticleJane Harper, Tom Keneally, Anne Summers and more on what they're reading this...
Plus essays from Alice Pung, a new Garry Disher thriller, a biography of Germaine Greer and short stories from a Miles Franklin winnerContinue reading...
View ArticleBest books of 2018
Observer critics pick their must reads of 2018, from life in 50s Harlem to a tale about the Troubles via Michael Wolff’s lurid profile of Donald TrumpContinue reading...
View ArticlePoem of the week: Event by Charles Tomlinson
Silence, and what might be contained in nothing, gets quiet attention in this satisfyingly calm workEventNothing is happeningNothingContinue reading...
View ArticleOur favourite books of the year, and prose poetry with Claudia Rankine –...
On this week’s show, Richard looks at whether the prose poem could be the next big thing, with poets Claudia Rankine, Jeremy Noel-Tod and Emily Berry. Claire and Sian join him in the studio to chat...
View ArticleBest books of 2018: Hilary Mantel, Yuval Noah Harari and more pick their...
Our favourite authors on the most outstanding books they read this yearContinue reading...
View ArticleWelsh-language pop culture is having a party – and everyone’s invited |...
The first song in Welsh to hit 1m plays on Spotify is part of a wave spreading the joy of my country’s cultureWhen you’re a speaker of a minority language, you become fairly used to that language and...
View ArticleIn troubling times, it’s best to turn to your inner poet | Ruth Padel
As Jeremy Corbyn found with Shelley’s Masque of Anarchy, a resonant poem can help us make sense of the tumult“Never be afraid of saying you like poetry,” Jeremy Corbyn told thousands of people at...
View ArticleThe importance of poetry and reading between the lines | Letters
Mary Gameson wants to see poetry on our front pages, while Joan Lewis looks into Sats results and reading abilityPoets are writing about the “tumultuous events of our day” – Ruth Padel cites Ben Okri’s...
View ArticleElena Ferrante: ‘If people still told their stories in verse, I would be too...
Writing prose with the rhythm, the harmony, the images that characterise a poem is a death trapI grew up with the idea that being a poet is for truly exceptional people, while anyone can have a go at...
View ArticleCan a sleepless night awaken creativity?
Famous insomniacs include William Wordsworth, Emily Brontë, Vladimir Nabokov and Marcel Proust so could there be a positive side to sleeplessness, asks Marina Benjamin“A bad night is not always a bad...
View ArticleHannah Sullivan on Hanwell: ‘Rural enough for blackberrying; urban enough not...
The poet on west London’s libraries, Indian restaurants and returning to ‘Bunny park’ and Horsenden hill with her sonI was born in Northolt, then in Middlesex, during the snowiest winter anyone...
View ArticleFrancis: A Life in Songs by Ann Wroe review – the saint’s life in poetry
A rich and intriguing verse biography that balances intimacy and distance, the word and the fleshAmong the stranger moments in the saga that is Brexit was Michael Gove’s suggestion that Theresa May,...
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