US Edition
A magnificent new history of poetry – written in the form of a poem
Context Collapse, a book-length poem by Ryan Ruby, seems like a quixotic project, but with self-deprecation, wit and learning, it succeeds
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How Britain was duped into falling for the romance of Auden’s ‘Night Mail’
The documentary that built the mystique of the Royal Mail’s night-time rail service contains almost as much fiction as fact
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Rupi Kaur: The superstar poet that critics love to hate
The most popular poet in the English language on ‘Instapoetry’, turning down Kamala Harris and why her detractors don’t bother her
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Bruce Dickinson emerges as the unlikely hero in the fight to save William Blake’s home
A little-known seaside village is set to become a place of pilgrimage for devotees of the poet who penned Jerusalem
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Welcome back, Michael Rosen – these poems for children are little gems
Out of This World, a clever suite of poetry for readers of seven-plus, toggles between old memories and future dreams with panache
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The secret to a woman’s heart? Maggots, according to this Puritan pick-up artist
In his best-known poem, Andrew Marvell warned of the consequences of unrequited love – in particularly graphic detail
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Exclusive: ‘Watching the Water-Voles’ – an unseen work by Sylvia Plath
Published here for the first time, this account of a spring day at Grantchester Meadows finds the poet talking a walk on the wild side
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Why Auden thought poets must always ‘side with the enemy’
Nicholas Jenkins’s The Island offers a reassessment of WH Auden’s early life – but fails to give any insight into his composition process
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‘I have no wish to make war’: why it’s time to remember the forgotten Father of Humanism
Petrarch, who died 650 years ago, is in danger of neglect. But anyone who has ever been in love should read his sonnets
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I love Hong Kong – but I’ve renounced my citizenship for my own safety
When poet and novelist Kit Fan received a cautionary phone call, he made the heartbreaking decision to sever ties to his homeland
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Christopher Marlowe was as great a poet as Shakespeare. So why do we neglect him?
Marlowe was visionary, clever and had a humanity that could cut you to the quick. It’s time he stepped out from his contemporary’s shadow
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A sensual love letter to the very fringe of Britain
Jen Hadfield’s memoir, Storm Pegs, immerses us in Shetland’s wild life, from slimy sea molluscs to grand island vistas
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Royal Society of Literature accused of diluting fellowship criteria in inclusivity bid
The 200-year-old organisation faces controversy over previous intentions of allowing public nomination to become less ‘elitist’
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‘People thought I was excusing rape’: Why Roger McGough is rewriting his poems
The pop star poet on recording with Jimi Hendrix, the verse that Larkin ‘nicked’ – and why public readings ‘aren’t my idea of fun’
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John Burnside, vivid poet and memoirist whose work was influenced by a brutal childhood – obituary
Burnside’s memoirs recall his drunken father throwing his sister down the stairs and burning his teddy bear, yet his poems were lyrical
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Fico assassination attempt suspect was government critic who opposed Ukraine war
Juraj Cintula, a 71-year-old poet from town of Levice, posted online rants against Slovakian PM before opening fire
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GK Chesterton was an anti-Semite – but the inventor of Father Brown should still be read
Chesterton shares some common ground with Kipling – not least the fact that both writers now seem like strangers to our shores
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What real-life ‘tortured poets’ think of Taylor Swift’s new album
Being a bard ain’t easy... Paul Muldoon, Luke Kennard and other award-winning writers on the star’s album, The Department of Tortured Poets
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Lord Byron was ‘most perverted’ man, according to artist who saw his memoirs
Letter penned by society lady tells of depraved contents of poet’s writings that were later destroyed
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Why Byron’s a punchline in Britain – yet a god in Greece
200 years after his death some sneer at the warrior-poet – but Athenians worship him as a national treasure
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Hilaire Belloc’s children poems given trigger warning over ‘hurtful’ rhymes
Author’s reissued classic works latest to be slapped with cautionary notes after Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl and Agatha Christie
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Iain Banks misspelt own name in poem written at university
The Wasp Factory author’s piece to go on public display for first time since published in student magazine decades ago
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Donna Ashworth: ‘I write for the masses – you can’t criticise me for that’
It’s rare for poets to make money from their work, but one – who went viral during lockdown – has bucked the trend
