‘It’s a golden age’: poetry flourishes in Ukraine – but at a terrible price
Conflict has changed Ukrainian poetry, and readings are popular, but several poets have died or disappeared
Benjamin Zephaniah laid to rest in private funeral
Wellwishers are asked to plant flowers in Birmingham-born poet’s name or donate to Vegan Society or Inquest
Helen Garner, Diana Reid, Nam Le and others: Australian books to look forward to in 2024
Among next year’s highlights are debut fiction from Bri Lee, nonfiction from Peter Goldsworthy and a new novel from 2023 Miles Franklin winner Shankari Chandran
Poem of the week: Breadcrumbs for the Sparrows by Paul Bailey
Straightforward and subtle, these short poems confront grief and loss with deep feeling, wit and flinty concision
Poetry sales boom as Instagram and Facebook take work to new audiences
Writing and reading poems is no longer a minority pastime as verse overlaps with self-help genre and classics are revisited
The best European culture of 2023
Critics, writers and broadcasters pick their home country’s cultural highlight of 2023, which they hope will find international success in 2024
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
The 25 best Australian books of 2023: Richard Flanagan, Alexis Wright, Robyn Davidson and others
Just in time for your Christmas shopping: Guardian Australia’s critics and staff pick out the best of the best
Benjamin Zephaniah remembered by Raymond Antrobus
15 April 1958 – 7 December 2023The fellow poet recalls his hero, a writer of inspirational power and integrity who turned down an OBE but revelled in the love of his readers
‘If I must die, let it bring hope’: the power of poetry in the Palestinian struggle
Thousands of dollars have been raised around the world as writers unite in support of civilians in Gaza
‘A moment after death when the face is beautiful’: rare Raymond Chandler poem discovered by US editor
The Strand magazine ran Requiem, dated to 1955, after editor found it in Bodleian library at University of Oxford
Poem of the week: The Weight of the World by Seni Seneviratne
A mother and daughter’s awkward cooperation while taking down washing folds in much more than laundry
Benjamin Zephaniah was a trailblazer. He broke every glass ceiling going
His dub poetry had a rhythm that attached you to its words. He was a rebel, a guiding light, and my hero
‘His poetry, his activism… I was inspired’: readers pay tribute to Benjamin Zephaniah
Those who met and worked with him, and those who had their lives changed by his work, remember their connections to the writer and performer
As we mourn Benjamin Zephaniah’s death, learn this lesson from his brilliant life
He was a man of strong progressive views, readily expressed, and yet retained a public affection that ensured his voice was heard, says Guardian columnist Hugh Muir