The Guardian view on Philip Larkin at 100: a lasting gift
Editorial: Whatever we may feel about the man, some things are eternal, and in his work he found the words for them
Sam Byers: ‘JM Coetzee made me vegetarian’
The novelist on being inspired by the Beats, discovering Chekhov, and taking notes from Pierre Boulez
Poem of the week: Spell by Greta Stoddart
A childlike curiosity opens up questions of what we can and cannot know
Michael Dawson obituary
Other lives: Arts administrator who founded the Ilkley Literature festival in 1973
‘Bitter, gentle, funny’: Irish stars unite to celebrate overlooked poet Patrick Kavanagh
Celebrities including Bono and Liam Neeson hope to bring their homeland’s bard to a global audience with an album of read poems
Michael Rosen and his son Joe look back: ‘I am gooning about, but this photo is tinged with sadness’
The poet and children’s author and his film-maker son on homework, holidays and health scares
Folio from ‘world masterpiece’ illuminated manuscript goes up for auction
Section of the Shah Tahmasp Shahnameh is expected to fetch between £4m and £6m at auction next month
Floral Tribute, a poem for the Queen by Simon Armitage
The poet laureate pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II
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’
Poem of the week: The Sunflower by Dora Greenwell
An allegory of Christian devotion also sounds a lot like a lyric of unrequited love
Odyssey of the overlooked: a journey around Black Britain
Photographer Johny Pitts and poet Roger Robinson wanted to use their art to reflect on the experiences of Black Britons. So they rented a red Mini Cooper and set off clockwise around the coast
Javier Zamora: ‘Now the chances of me crossing the border and surviving would be slim’
The Salvadorian poet on his journey to the US as a nine-year-old, the exciting literature coming from his homeland – and why he is indebted to Dave Eggers
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
Poem of the week: Ballad by William Soutar
A tragic folk romance is told in fresh, vivid Scots that is both deeply traditional and awake to a much changed modern world
Poetic justice: WB Yeats’s time in London to be celebrated at last
Years of campaigning will come to fruition this week with the unveiling of a sculpture in Bedford Park to the great writer