Andrew Motion on how to write a love poem
Penning poetry for the one you love? Here are five basic rules by Britain’s former poet laureateTraditionally, love poems were written in sonnet form, but they don’t have to be. Find the form that...
View ArticlePoets compose new Lyrical Ballads to highlight social relevance of Romantics
Andrew Motion and Alice Oswald among contributors to new version of Wordsworth and Coleridge’s pioneering collectionThe poems are full of waterfalls, frosty moors, sunlit summer days, crumbling...
View ArticleAndrew Motion wins Ted Hughes award for poetry work about returning soldiers
Former poet laureate wins annual prize established by his successor for radio project’s ‘skilful shaping’ and ‘magical transformation’ of conversationsAndrew Motion has won the Ted Hughes award for new...
View ArticleAndrew Motion and Wellcome book prize authors call on charity to divest
Leading health charity should pull money out of fossil fuels, say authors who have received and judged the prestigious Wellcome book prizeSir Andrew Motion and more than a dozen authors and judges...
View ArticleJoanna Trollope: 'UK cannot afford to close one single public library'
Ahead of National Libraries Day on 6 February, authors such as Neil Gaiman, Ali Smith and Andrew Motion join campaign to stem closuresLibrarians take legal battle against library closures to UK...
View ArticlePoetry Society top prize explores familial discord
Eric Berlin wins prestigious award with poem Night Errand, while David Morley takes Ted Hughes prizeA poem exploring the fleeting flashes of anger we direct at our family, and the shame that it brings,...
View ArticleBrexiteers driven by the basest of motives | Letter from Andrew Motion
Watching the campaign of the Brexiteers descend into racist rants, and seeing how this intimidates the fearful and prejudiced into supporting them, only confirms what I (and a lot of others) sensed...
View ArticleGeoffrey Hill: tributes to 'a poet of immense gifts'
Carol Ann Duffy, Andrew Motion and Christopher Ricks among peers and friends paying tribute to the author, who died suddenly on ThursdayGeoffrey Hill was, in poetry, a saint and a warrior who never...
View ArticleBest holiday reads 2016
From gripping fiction to history, brilliant poetry to biography, our guest contributors offer their recommendations for the beach and elsewhereThe Guardian’s summer books special: Julian Barnes, Sarah...
View ArticleIan McEwan and others criticise UEA for 'thuggish' development plans
Ian McEwan and Andrew Motion among those opposed to University of East Anglia’s rugby and parking development on wildflower meadowsA university with an international reputation for environmental...
View ArticlePeace Talks by Andrew Motion review – from Craiglockhart to modern day warfare
The former poet laureate harnesses language’s transformative capacities to communicate the pain and grief of conflictPeace Talks is the first book of poems from the former poet laureate since he left...
View ArticleBeyond Bob Dylan: authors, poets and musicians pick their favourite songwriter
Dylan’s Nobel prize win sparked a debate about lyrics as literature. Here, Andrew Motion, Carol Ann Duffy, Johnny Marr, Naomi Alderman and others nominate songwriters whose verse has the power of...
View ArticleHollie McNish: the politics and poetry of boyfriends, babies and breastfeeding
The Ted Hughes prize winner explains why she does not wish to be squeezed into a ‘performance poet’ box and why you can love hip-hop and Paradise LostHollie McNish has stopped talking for a moment;...
View ArticleRevenge of Gatsby, Mrs De Winter... the never-ending love for literary sequels
Little Women, Les Misérables and now Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde have all spawned followups by different authors. But are they ever any good?When Robert Louis Stevenson finished his 1886 novella Strange Case...
View ArticleAudio is publishing’s new star as sales soar across genres
Top thriller writer opts to publish solely in spoken-word format as demand risesWriters are turning to the spoken word as their preferred medium, encouraged by a boom in audiobook sales that is...
View ArticleAndrew Motion uses headstone tributes to write new war poem
Former poet laureate drew inspiration from personal inscriptions to write ArmisticeSome chose from the scriptures. Others, from literature and poetry. For families of the first world war’s fallen,...
View ArticleWanted: one royal versifier – an interest in trees and homeopathy an...
With Carol Ann Duffy bowing out as poet laureate, others are courting the honourSince he does not read newspapers or subscribe to news outlets, maybe someone could tell Jeremy Wright, the minister...
View ArticleHunt for next poet laureate still on as Imtiaz Dharker says no to job
Pakistani-born British poet declines ‘huge honour’ as speculation switches to remaining contenders to succeed Carol Ann DuffyThe acclaimed poet Imtiaz Dharker has turned down the poet laureateship, the...
View Article'Simon Armitage knows where the heffalump traps are': Andrew Motion on how to...
The former laureate praises the appointment of Armitage, who will make the most of a role that has become less about ‘royal stuff’ and more about the poetry of everyday life The news that Simon...
View ArticleFive 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“Oh, God, the royal poem!” John Betjeman wrote to a friend...
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