Them! by Harry Josephine Giles; Still City by Oksana Maksymchuk; Conflicted Copy by Sam Riviere; The Collected Poems by Roger McGough; Sleepers Awake by Oli Hazzard
August 2023
Edinburgh fringe with the family: five shows for kids
Imaginary friends, runaway horses and Roger McGough’s take on the Wind in the Willows are among the treats for younger audiences at the festival
July 2023
The Guardian view on spoken word poets: powerful voices that are needed today
Editorial: Traditionally looked down on by the poetry establishment, those specialising in performance deserve their new chance to shine
December 2021
A Christmas that changed me
Our song was Christmas No 1 and we wanted to watch it on TV. So we knocked on a stranger’s door
It was Christmas Eve 1968 and Lily the Pink by the Scaffold was top of the charts. We were a long way from home - and desperate to see our performance
May 2021
Lockdown culture
Windows on the world: pandemic poems by Simon Armitage, Hollie McNish, Kae Tempest and more
Six of the UK’s best poets reveal exclusive new work and reflect on the last year, losing relatives, long-distance relationships and ‘artistic claustrophobia’
April 2020
Carol Ann Duffy leads British poets creating 'living record' of coronavirus
Major names including Imtiaz Dharker, Jackie Kay and father-and-son poets Ian and Andrew McMillan to document outbreak in verse
March 2020
'Everyone is pulling together': poems by NHS workers to raise money for Covid-19 appeal
Anthology These Are the Hands collects poems from across the health service, from doctors to cleaners
December 2016
Top 10s
Top 10 cats in literature
From riddlers to reincarnated geniuses and fine artists, author Lynne Truss selects fictional felines who show why it’s worth risking one’s reputation to write about them
November 2016
Beyond Bob Dylan: authors, poets and musicians pick their favourite songwriter
Dylan’s Nobel prize win sparked a debate about lyrics as literature. Here, Andrew Motion, Carol Ann Duffy, Johnny Marr, Naomi Alderman and others nominate songwriters whose verse has the power of poetry
June 2016
Penguin Modern Poets series gets 21st-century relaunch
Iconic brand, which brought together groups of writers – including the bestselling Mersey poets – will release contemporary collections showcasing ‘a new golden age’
October 2015
Children's books
Win a set of Puffin Poetry books
Puffin Poetry are re-launching some of their classic collections – by poets such as Michael Rosen, Benjamin Zephaniah and Spike Milligan – as well as some brand new poems by Roger McGough. For your chance to win a full set of six books, enter here
April 2015
Children's books
Sample delights from the CLPE poetry award 2015 shortlist
Books blog
A timeless voice against prejudice: your videos reading Anne Frank
November 2014
Grocery rhymes: how poetry has flourished in supermarket aisles
After a couple of students used a sonnet to take a swipe at Tesco, Kathryn Bromwich looks back at the often strained relationship between poets and superstores
July 2014
Children's books
Tony Mitton wins CLPE poetry award
Tony Mitton fights off competition from a starry shortlist to win UK's only prize for published children's poetry
May 2014
Waitrose teams up with McGough in the hope verses will open purses
Poet hopes displaying work throughout branches of the retailer will show poetry 'can be at home on the supermarket shelf'
March 2014
Liverpool Everyman: 'the theatre was as rough as our performances'
As the Everyman reopens, Alison Steadman, Roger McGough and Jonathan Pryce remember how they found their feet at the theatre
January 2014
Books blog
Keats's Ode to Waitrose? How brands use writers' reputations
John Dugdale: A shocked academic this week reported that RS Thomas's face is now on crisp packets, but he's far from the first writer to lend their brand to others'
September 2013
Robert Frost's snowy walk tops Radio 4 count of nation's favourite poems
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening displaces verse by Kipling and Eliot as most-requested on BBC's Poetry Please programme
February 2013
The Misanthrope – review
Roger McGough's version of Molière's comedy is a whimsical delight presented with a burst of baroque splendour, writes Alfred Hickling
