Joelle Taylor’s C+nto & Othered Poems, about butch lesbian culture, wins Polari prize
In the UK’s only dedicated awards for LGBTQ+ literature, Adam Zmith’s history of poppers and children’s book Nen and the Lonely Fisherman were also honoured
Poem of the week: The Claim by Jane Draycott
A meditation on the arduous labour of the gold rush resonates with modern-day environmental destruction
Clouded Reveries review – ode to otherworldly Irish poet with a scalpel of a pen
Ciara Nic Chormaic’s documentary following writer Doireann Ní Ghríofa offers an often literal visual rendering of the poet’s ethereal perspective
Atarah Ben-Tovim obituary
Orchestral flautist who inspired generations of children with her innovative approach to music education
Poem of the week: No Remedy by Drummond Allison
A complicated meditation on vexed personal relationships is leavened with energetic invention
The best recent poetry – review roundup
Heritage Aesthetics by Anthony Anaxagorou; Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency by Chen Chen; Cane, Corn & Gully by Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa; Slide by Mark Pajak
Poem of the week: Poetry for Supper by RS Thomas
The contested virtues of spontaneity and slog, when it comes to producing art, spark off a lively pub debate
TS Eliot’s women: the unsung female voices of The Waste Land
As the epic poem turns 100, devotee Jude Rogers examines the work’s thrilling, intriguing women, including Emily Hale, Eliot’s first love, to whom he wrote more than 1,000 recently revealed letters
TS Eliot’s Waste Land was a barren place. But at least a spirit of optimism still prevailed
A century on, the epic masterpiece speaks to today’s anxieties about loss of tradition
On my radar: Derek Owusu’s cultural highlights
The poet and novelist on Chuck Klosterman’s take on the 90s, time-travel as a never-ending party and how Beyoncé helped him embrace albums
Michael Asser obituary
Other lives: Librarian and arts administrator who translated Greek biblical texts into English
Where to start with: Sylvia Plath
You will have heard of the great American poet, but how much of her work have you actually read? This handy primer suggests some good ways in
Peach Pig by Cecilia Knapp review – truth becomes her
The debut collection by a former young people’s laureate for London is arrestingly frank in its exposure of everyday worries and profound melancholy
Poem of the week: George Moses Horton, Myself by George Moses Horton
The poet, who lived most of his life in slavery, uses his own name to title a stirring hymn to freedom
Yomi Ṣode: ‘The last thing I want to be is a preacher’
The poet and performer on his debut poetry collection, drawing on Caravaggio and the concept of ‘manorism’