Guardian Books poetry podcast: David Harsent reads Yannis Ritsos
David Harsent reads three short poems by the Greek poet Yannis Ritsos, in his own translationsDavid HarsentTim Maby
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Manchester International Festival: Shelley, Macbeth and Massive Attack
Biennial festival's premieres include Maxine Peake reciting The Masque of Anarchy and Kenneth Branagh's Shakespeare roleReading this on mobile? Click here to view the videoA string of world premieres...
View ArticleGuardian Books poetry podcast: Jackie Kay reads Edwin Morgan
Jackie Kay rounds off our series of poets choosing their favourite poems with verses from Edwin Morgan's Love and a LifeJackie KayTim Maby
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Hill of Doors by Robin Robertson – review
A collection full of flinty beauty uses Christian and classical fable to explore the divided nature of humansRobin Robertson has taken the epigram for his fifth collection from the French painter/poet...
View ArticleManchester International Festival: Maxine Peake, Adam Curtis and Inne Goris...
Actor Maxine Peake, film-maker Adam Curtis and artist Inne Goris speak about their roles in Manchester International Festival 2013
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From the archive, 2 March 1949: Follow that poet
We English, when it comes to literature, have always been more interested in Lives than in WorksWe English, when it comes to literature, have always been more interested in Lives than in Works. To-day...
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My Brother's Book by Maurice Sendak – review
Maurice Sendak's last book is a beautiful but devastating tribute to his brotherOver a career spanning seven decades, Maurice Sendak illustrated more than 90 books, but when he died last May at the age...
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Poem of the week: The snow whirls over the courtyard's roses by Tua Forsström
Poetry through cinema is expressed in Forsström's intensely visual work, inspired by film-maker Andrei TarkovskyThis week's poem, "The snow whirls over the courtyard's roses," is by the Finland-Swedish...
View ArticleAdelaide Writers' Week - in pictures
International authors from Thomas Keneally to Madeleine Thien and Tom Holland have been speaking and debating at Adelaide's Writers' Week, where they were photographed by Alicia CanterThomas...
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The poems and punch-ups of By Grand Central Station
The destructive love affair captured in the cult novel By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept always puzzled Laura Barton. She reveals how she finally unravelled the mysteryIt was in a bookshop...
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Poster poems: Chocolate | Billy Mills
Rich, but not in this instance unhealthy, this month I want to binge on your sweetest poetic treatsWhat with Easter falling in March this year there's only one kind of egg I have in mind for this...
View ArticleGuardian Books podcast: Australian writing at the Adelaide festival
This time, we're looking at the world from an Australian perspective. Publisher Michael Heyward introduces us to an ambitious project to republish all of Australia's lost classics, while critic Geordie...
View ArticleInternational Women's Day: books quiz
As the long struggle for equal rights is marked, test your knowledge of the writers who've broken through the glass ceiling
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Lucretius, part 8: teachers and pupils | Emma Woolerton
Lucretius's didactic poetry addresses a single person but cajoles his readers to heed his lesson, as he learned from EpicurusLucretius's poetry is didactic, that is, poetry that aims overtly to teach...
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Mont Blanc by Percy Bysshe Shelley
The snowy peak and riven Alpine landscape turn the Romantic poet to thoughts of meaning, perception and eternityShelley was just short of his 25th birthday when he began drafting "Mont Blanc" in July...
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Selected Poems by Tony Harrison – review
Three decades on, Tony Harrison's angry but exquisite poetry still has the power to chillHad you been listening to Radio 4 one evening a few weeks ago, you would have been transported back to the...
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Country diary: Wenlock Edge: A cynical act guided by the nihilism at the...
Wenlock Edge: For reasons only known to the farmer, this field of old pasture was poisoned with herbicide. Now, after days without rain, the field was being ploughedThe sound that filled the space...
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Quick Question by John Ashbery – review
An entertaining and supple collection of comic poems about urban New York scenesWith its exhilarating changes in register, its elusive journeys, ambitious vocabulary and, more than anything else, its...
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From the Observer archive, 14 March 1971: the genius of Stevie Smith
A tribute to the poet Stevie Smith, whose childlike vision made her both lovable and formidableIt would have been pleasant to begin this tribute with some description of Stevie for the benefit of those...
View ArticleGuardian Books podcast: Irish writers for St Patrick's Day
To mark St Patrick's Day on the Guardian Books podcast, we've put together readings from a selection of great Irish writers.WB Yeats begins with a reading of his poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree",...
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