‘We exist upon the fringe of the world’: the queer American poets who battled madness and obscurity

Jack Spicer and John Wieners both wrote about their homosexuality – and in 50s America, that made them a threat. Forgotten for decades, finally their strange, anguished work has been unearthed

‘Translation is an art’: why translators are battling for recognition

Like any author, translators want to receive credit for their work instead of being treated as an afterthought

Hot off the press: authors pick their page-turners for summer

From murder mysteries to comic novels, Maggie Shipstead, Caleb Azumah Nelson, Nina Stibbe, Paul Murray and other authors choose unputdownable favourites for your summer break

The best recent poetry – review roundup

Bad Diaspora Poems by Momtaza Mehri; Wound Is the Origin of Wonder by Maya C Popa; The Recycling by Joey Connolly; Crisis Actor by Declan Ryan

Richard Ford: ‘I don’t read for comfort. Comfort I source elsewhere’

The Pulitzer prizewinning author on taking life lessons from Chekhov, warming to Woolf and reading Larkin on loop

Forward prizes for poetry add new award for performed poems

The addition marks the first time spoken-word artists have been recognised by the literary prize, a move described as ‘much-needed’ and ‘momentous’

Twitter rips into Jeremy Corbyn’s ‘pretentious’ poetry – except it’s actually by Shelley

The former Labour leader posted the famous ‘Rise like lions’ verse to promote his poetry anthology – but Twitter users thought it was his own, and weren’t impressed

Author Michael Rosen wins 2023 PEN Pinter prize for ‘fearless’ body of work

Writer of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt is a ‘passionate linguist, gifted humanist, national treasure and ambassador of gibberish’

Poem of the week: My Strike-a-Light by John Birtwhistle

An ancient stone once used to produce sparks was excavated in the grave of a child. This elegy rekindles her memory

‘I dread to think what they’d make of it on Dragons’ Den’: how poetry journals survive

Butcher’s Dog magazine was set to close this year, but readers have rallied to fund a year’s reprieve. It’s one of many that get by with few resources but love

Poem of the week: She rose to His Requirement by Emily Dickinson

Written at a wry distance from such matters, the poet considers what other women are giving away in marriage

Jeremy Corbyn and Len McCluskey to publish ‘accessible’ poetry collection

Contributions by Russell Brand and Maxine Peake feature in Poetry for the Many, which aims to help readers shake off the idea that verse is only for ‘posh people’

Poem of the week: The Province by William Carlos Williams

The poet’s gift for pin-sharp physical observation combines with abstract reflection on beauty and mortality

Ama Ata Aidoo obituary

One of Africa’s most influential playwrights and poets who served as education minister in her native Ghana

The Speculations of Country People by Majella Kelly review – crimes and punishment

Grief, injustice and cruelty dominate the Irish poet’s essential debut, a collection shot through with wisdom and a hint of magic