Clik here to view.
Poster poems: origins
It's a riddle that has inspired poets for millennia: where did we come from? Give us your existential reflections in verseIt's an old riddle, and one that science is finally coming to grips with: which...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Seamus Heaney – an appreciation
In Seamus Heaney's poetry, ordinary objects and places – a sofa, a satchel, the sound of rain – are sanctified. But it has edge and politics, too. Blake Morrison recognises an astonishing poetic...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Parallax by Sinéad Morrissey – review
Fran Brearton enjoys a deft exploration of the artificiality of art in framing and containing its subjectAt the start of Sinéad Morrissey's brilliant, Forward prize-shortlisted fifth collection, she...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Saturday poem: Deer
by Helen MortThe deer my mother swears to God we never saw,the ones that stepped between the treeson pound-coin-coloured hooves,I'd bring them up each teatime in the holidaysand they were brighter...
View ArticleClik here to view.
On my radar: Bernardine Evaristo's cultural highlights
The writer and critic on genealogy websites, Caribbean poets and the simple pleasure of riding your bicycleBernardine Evaristo is an award-winning writer, editor and critic. She grew up in Woolwich,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Poem of the week: To Althea, from Prison by Richard Lovelace | Carol Rumens
The imprisoned poet's poignant evocation of an imaginary visit from his fiancee blends Cavalier flair with Puritan toughnessAre you a Roundhead or a Cavalier? The distinction is alive and well in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Instant-flex 718 by Heather Phillipson – review
Phillipson's debut collection displays her accomplished approach to language in playful yet weighty free verseIn tandem with her rise as a poet, Heather Phillipson has emerged as an artist who combines...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Music at Midnight: The Life and Poetry of George Herbert by John Drury – review
The 17th-century parson poet has a new audience, attracted by his message that love must come before GodTowards the end of Richard Linklater's vertiginous, queasy Waking Life is one of the most strange...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Alberto Bevilacqua obituary
Italian writer, poet and film-maker who adapted and directed his own novels for the screenThe distinguished Italian novelist, poet and film-maker Alberto Bevilacqua has died aged 79. Bevilacqua was one...
View ArticleGuardian Australia's Brisbane Festival Podcast: episode two
Ryan van Winkle is Edinburgh City Libraries reader in residence, a program he created to focus on engaging and growing audiences for poetry. He is in Australia performing at the Brisbane Festival as...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Poem of the week: Autumn Twilight, Dwelling Among Mountains by Wang Wei
An admirable translation of poems by the 8th-century Chinese poet includes this beautifully serene work about the changing seasonsThe Selected Poems of Wang Wei, translated by David Hinton and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Seamus Heaney: justly honoured for revealing the greatness of our language
The National Portrait Gallery has done right to hang Tai-Shan Schierenberg's painting of this extraordinary elegistPortraiture is a strange and impure art. It includes many of the most profound...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Transport for London performs U-turn on poets' fees for safety campaign
Artists' concern over copyright and pay leads to climbdown by TfL over their 'poets in residence' Underground schemeRegular travellers on London's tube network are familiar with Poems on the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Nick Clegg, like Oliver Twist, wants more. But he seeks power not soup
Leader has turned Liberal Democrats from protest party into pragmatists and made sure he himself is safe until 2015Nick Clegg's message could hardly be plainer. Like Oliver Twist, he wants some more....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bill Callahan doesn't just write songs, he sings poems
You don't need to hear Bill Callahan's music to feel the magic of his songs: just read his lyrics and the poetry is obviousTo apply the label of poet to a singer-songwriter might well be a losing game,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Saturday Poem: The marshalling yard
by Helen DunmoreThe marshalling yard In the goods yard the tracks are unmarked.Snow lies, the sky is full of it.Its hush swells in the dark.Grasped by black ice on blacka massive noise of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Poets' Daughters: Dora Wordsworth and Sara Coleridge by Katie Waldegrave...
Almost single-handedly, the daughters of Wordsworth and Coleridge shaped their poetry for posterityAmid the idyllic landscape of the Lake District lived three poet patres familias– the now all but...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ann Wordsworth obituary
Ann Wordsworth, who has died from a heart attack aged 80, was my tutor at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and a dearly loved friend. A specialist in 19th- and 20th-century literature, she was passionately...
View ArticlePlagiarism scandal has revealed an ugly side of Australian poetry | Toby Fitch
Toby Fitch: I don't condone plagiarism, but it would be a great shame if in our rush to lynch a couple of plagiarists, we forget to remember why poetry needs experimentationToby Fitch
View ArticleClik here to view.
Poem of the week: To Autumn by John Keats
Marked by sensuous profusion and artistic control, this most widely published of English poems is laden with meaningIt is, apparently, the most anthologised English poem. And if critical essays were...
View Article