Poet laureate
Poem of the week: CLM by John Masefield
The poet’s abiding grief for a mother he lost aged six arrives at large-hearted thoughts about women in general
Carol Rumens
18, Dec, 2023 @12:22 PM
RSC to put on work by poet who wrote Stratford theatre’s first words
John Masefield wrote poem for 1932 opening of Shakespeare Memorial theatre, which is now staging The Box of Delights
Dalya Alberge
24, Oct, 2023 @1:16 PM
John Betjeman dismissed as ‘songster of tennis lawns’ in 1967 search for poet laureate
Records from the National Archive reveal the cut-throat world of British poetry, and the politics behind selecting candidates
Caroline Davies
18, Jul, 2023 @11:01 PM
‘I’m CBE, I’m poet laureate so I’m clearly not a republican am I?’: Simon Armitage
When Simon Armitage left his job as a probation worker to become a full-time poet his dad was horrified. Is the former young subversive turned royal appointee now part of the establishment?
Simon Hattenstone
08, Apr, 2023 @10:00 AM
Poet laureate honours Queen Elizabeth II with new work, Floral Tribute
Simon Armitage’s poem, which spells out the late monarch’s name acrostically, pays homage to ‘a promise made and kept for life’
Lucy Knight
12, Sep, 2022 @11:01 PM
Five men and one woman who took on impossible job – of poet laureate
Several of the poets appointed by, or inherited by the Queen, had to deal with public mockery. No wonder Philip Larkin turned down the role
Adam Newey
10, Sep, 2022 @10:00 AM
Unpublished Ted Hughes poems about partner Assia Wevill to be sold
The recently found notebook of fragments and finished work has been described as the poet’s ‘most direct’ response to the suicide of his partner and daughter in 1969
Lucy Knight
08, Jul, 2022 @1:45 PM
Poet laureate Simon Armitage writes Ukraine war poem Resistance
Armitage calls his piece a ‘refracted version of what is coming at us in obscene images through the news’
Harriet Sherwood Arts and culture correspondent
11, Mar, 2022 @10:21 AM
Pomp, circumstance and very bad poetry | Brief letters
Brief letters: Jubilee poems | Royal bias | Lisztomania | Subpostmasters
18, Feb, 2022 @6:01 PM
This be the verse for the Queen’s jubilee: Philip Larkin, Ted Hughes and Elizabeth II | Letters
Letter: David Evans recalls Philip Larkin’s poem for the silver jubilee and his pastiche of what he imagined Ted Hughes might write
Letters
11, Feb, 2022 @6:02 PM
Country diary: The bird box and tree trunk are no longer separate things
Wenlock Edge, Shropshire: Like our fleeting winter, this box is merely an impression of what it once was, and what it should be
Paul Evans
13, Jan, 2022 @5:30 AM
Amanda Gorman says she has declined around $17m in deals since inauguration
The American poet will grace Vogue’s May issue and spoke about being conscious of ‘taking commissions that speak to’ her
Priya Elan
07, Apr, 2021 @10:08 PM
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