‘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
Evan Jones obituary
Poet best known for The Song of the Banana Man who went on to become a prolific playwright and screenwriter
Poem of the week: Crossed Threads by Helen Hunt Jackson
A sonnet by a former schoolmate of Emily Dickinson is both a nature study and a reflection on the tangle of forces that govern human life
Ocean Vuong: ‘I don’t believe a writer should just keep writing as long as they’re alive’
The award-winning poet and author on bringing his career to a meaningful end, processing the death of his mother via verse, and his love of mixed martial arts
The best recent poetry – review roundup
Up Late by Nick Laird; Women in Comfortable Shoes by Selima Hill; Blood Feather by Patrick McGuinness; You Don’t Have What It Takes to Be My Nemesis by CAConrad; Before We Go Any Further by Tristram Fane Saunders; A Method, A Path by Rowan Evans
Poem of the week: Life and Song by Sidney Lanier
Imagining the poet as a kind of musical instrument is a somewhat dotty thought, but here the conceit resonates with irresistible musicality
Sleeping on Islands by Andrew Motion review – candid stories from the former poet laureate
A revealing memoir illuminates the conflict between wordly success and creative freedom
Amanda Gorman ‘gutted’ after Florida school bans Biden inauguration poem
Poet, 25, vows to fight back after single complaint, which wrongly ascribed The Hill We Climb to Oprah Winfrey, prompts removal
No rhyme or reason: why is poetry missing from the new Caffè Nero book awards?
Despite rising sales in the UK, there is no poetry category in the new writing prize. The reason isn’t a lack of audience but a lack of imagination
Pete Brown – the final interview: ‘Music gives you a focus, you can see a goal ahead’
A jazz poet and countercultural hero who wrote lyrics for Cream, Brown died last week aged 82. In this interview at sessions last month for his final LP, he explained why he was making art until the end