‘Impressive, ingenious and affecting’ poem about missing an absent son wins National Poetry Competition
Fiona Larkin’s poem uses Finnish grammar to explore her feelings about her son’s move from the UK to Brisbane
Poem of the week: The Stopover by Giovanni Pascoli, translated by Taije Silverman and Marina Della Putta Johnston
A swan appears to sing the aurora borealis into existence in this visionary nature poem with an unexpected war connection
Poet Jason Allen-Paisant: ‘We belong in the picture’
The Jamaican-born author on exploring nature and black identity in his nonfiction debut, his chaotic writing habits, and how the TS Eliot prize changed his life
Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project review – electric film about radical thinker and poet
Featuring interviews and archive footage of the brilliant civil rights activist, the readings of her poems will have the hairs on the back of your neck standing up
Poem of the week: The Proletariat Speaks by Alice Dunbar-Nelson
A remarkable piece of oratory records without explicit comment the stark social divisions of an unequal world
Geraint Jarman obituary
Musician, actor and poet who drew on cultural influences from reggae to European poetry in his Welsh-language work
Poem of the week: Veteran Sirens by Edwin Arlington Robinson
This delicate portrait of a group of women to whom life and time have not been kind is free from mockery or judgment
Hundreds of events mark five years since Covid-19 outbreak
Bereaved come together to commemorate those who died and pay tribute to health workers
Poem of the week: The Widow’s Lament in Springtime by William Carlos Williams
The conversational plainness of this monologue carries with it intense feeling
For a stagnating left mired in pessimism, Milton’s radical vision is poetry in motion
The poet-prophet shows us how to sustain hope and redemption in the wake of political defeat
The best recent poetry – review roundup
New and Collected Hell by Shane McCrae; The New Carthaginians by Nick Makoha; Father’s Father’s Father by Dane Holt; Hardly War by Don Mee Choi; Minx by Karen Downs-Barton
From The Sheep-Pig to His Dark Materials: the best audiobooks for children and teens
As research reveals children want to listen to books rather than read them, here are some of the best audiobooks to enjoy
Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie review – a tale of four women
The Nigerian-American author returns with an astute and moving exploration of female experience
Five football clubs to get official poems
Five clubs located in ‘priority’ communities across England are taking part in the National Literacy Trust’s A Poem for Your Club
When It Rained for a Million Years by Paul Farley – thrilling leaps of imagination
An impressive collection of poems – largely set in industrial wastelands and musing on time and distance – makes the mundane magical