Poem of the week: The Red Poppy by Louise Glück
This poem by the Nobel laureate is a fierce short parable about environmental devastationThe Red PoppyThe great thingis not havinga mind. Feelings:oh, I have those; theygovern me. I havea lord in...
View ArticleScotland’s new makar Kathleen Jamie: ‘Poetry is at the heart of our culture’
The writer, ‘not naturally a public eye person’, reveals her ambitions as national poet with convulsive changes to the country and climate loomingKathleen Jamie’s tenure as makar – Scotland’s national...
View Article‘Cat Torturers names withheld’: Edith Sitwell’s gossipy address book found
Detailing hundreds of the poet’s acquaintances and why they irked or charmed her, its entries are busy with names from Gore Vidal to Elizabeth Arden and the Queen MotherEdith Sitwell was known for her...
View ArticleOn my radar: Claudia Rankine’s cultural highlights
The poet and playwright on her love of The White Lotus, the example of Naomi Osaka, and what stayed with her from the George Floyd murder trialClaudia Rankine is a poet, essayist, playwright and a...
View ArticleCountry diary: all around the Bone Caves, the stillness is spectacular
Assynt, Sutherland: Here lay the bones of bears, wolves and humans, the past looming heavy on the presentThe signs at the start of the glen tell me that a mile and a half beyond lie caves that held the...
View ArticleMartin Figura creates poetic record of life during pandemic at Salisbury...
Figura worked with staff to produce poems reflecting their experiences during the Covid crisisCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageOne poem imagines an NHS nightshift worker at...
View ArticlePoem of the week: Before Exile by Louise Mack
A moving, ballad-like poem based on the Australian writer’s own experience of leaving her home countryBefore ExileHere is my last good-bye,This side the sea. Good-bye! good-bye! good-bye! Love me,...
View ArticleLouise Glück: Poems 1962-2020 review – a grand introduction to the Nobel...
A new Penguin collection of the American poet’s work brilliantly showcases the spare beauty of her writingWhen Louise Glück won the Nobel prize last year, she was, to many in the UK, an unknown...
View ArticleHenry Normal: ‘Comedy’s like sugar. It makes things better but I wouldn’t eat...
The producer whose TV hits include The Royle Family and Gavin and Stacey on finding the poignancy in life’s little moments, and heading back to the comedy circuit with his poetryComedians become...
View Article‘Thanks for your help, Sticky’: Michael Rosen on learning to walk again after...
His traumatic experience with coronavirus inspired the author’s new children’s book – about the ‘friend’ he leaned onIt was the tweet that let the world know Michael Rosen was back on form and on the...
View ArticlePoem of the week: Leaf Color by William Logan
A sharply observed nature poem that is also a hellish pastoral towards the end of timeLeaf ColorA steely torn silver, rusted along the edges;the faint acidic yellow, like the backwashof a polluted...
View ArticleKate Clanchy book may be updated to remove racial stereotypes after criticism
Publisher Picador says it is looking at changing passages in prize-winning memoir, which Clanchy intially claimed were not in the book at allPicador, the publisher of Kate Clanchy’s award-winning Some...
View ArticleYassmin Abdel-Magied performs a new poem ahead of Guardian Australia's Book...
August is Poetry Month. Guardian Australia has teamed up with Red Room Poetry to bring you a very special edition of our interactive Zoom book club, featuring Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Omar Sakr and Evelyn...
View ArticleKate Clanchy to rewrite memoir amid criticism of ‘racist and ableist tropes’
Poet and teacher has apologised for ‘overreacting’ to scrutiny of book’s portrayals of autistic pupils and children of colourKate Clanchy is rewriting her critically acclaimed memoir after widespread...
View ArticleJean ‘Binta’ Breeze obituary
Poet who expressed female experience through dub and was a powerful performer of her own workJean “Binta” Breeze, who has died aged 65 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emerged in the 1980s as...
View ArticleSociety of Authors distances itself from Philip Pullman’s tweets
The UK’s largest trade union for writers emphasised its anti-racist stance after its president, Pullman, showed support for Kate Clanchy on social mediaThe Society of Authors (SoA) has asked the...
View ArticlePointing out racism in books is not an ‘attack’ – it’s a call for industry...
I was called aggressive for criticising passages in Kate Clanchy’s memoir. But the real problem lies deep in the overwhelmingly white world of publishingIt started with a tweet. Kate Clanchy, author of...
View ArticleOmar Sakr, Yassmin Abdel-Magied and Evelyn Araluen – on poetry in the pandemic
At Guardian Australia’s monthly Zoom book club, the poets and thinkers discussed contemporary Australian poetry – and read some of their ownGuardian Australia’s book club is a free, interactive event...
View ArticlePhantom or Fact: A Dialogue in Verse by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Written towards the end of the poet’s life, this mysterious exchange shows him reflecting on the ‘spirit’ he has lostPhantom or Fact: A Dialogue in VerseAuthorA lovely form there sate beside my bed,And...
View ArticleAmanda Gorman: hosting the Met Gala is like ‘Cinderella going to the ball’
The poet who rose to fame at Joe Biden’s inauguration will co-chair with Gen Z favourites Billie Eilish, Timothée Chalamet and Naomi OsakaAmanda Gorman has said that hosting the Met Gala next month...
View Article
