The best theatre to stream this month: Patrick Stewart reads Shakespeare’s sonnets – all 154 of them
The great Shakespearean shares his passion project, there’s a sneak peek of Sam Ryder’s Jesus Christ Superstar and Back to the Future: The Musical hits reverse
September 2024
Brie Larson to make her West End debut in revenge tragedy Elektra
Oscar-winning actor will perform the lead role in Anne Carson’s adaptation of Sophocles’ play in London and Brighton next year
March 2024
Poetry roundup
The best recent poetry – review roundup
36 Ways of Writing a Vietnamese Poem by Nam Le; Three Births by K Patrick; After You Were, I Am by Camille Ralphs; Wrong Norma by Anne Carson; Poems 1968-2020 by Nikki Giovanni
February 2024
Book of the day
Wrong Norma by Anne Carson review – unjoined-up thinking at its best
The poet’s new collection of mainly prose pieces on subjects as diverse as Flaubert, snow and Roget’s Thesaurus is a nonstop triumph
June 2023
Top 10s
Top 10 books about missing persons
These interrupted stories, in fiction and real life, are powerfully moving and key into a universal anxiety
November 2022
Tsitsi Dangarembga, Anne Carson and Mary Gaitskill honoured by Royal Society of Literature
New authors chosen for the RSL International Writers programme, championing ‘the power of literature to transcend borders’, are announced
October 2022
Salman Rushdie among favourites for this year’s Nobel prize for literature
The novelist, who was stabbed earlier this year as he was about to give a public lecture, is highly placed by bookmakers to win this year’s award
February 2022
Shall I compare thee to a frozen food aisle? How to write a love poem in 2022
In a world where emotions are cheap and the truth even cheaper, how can we write authentic odes to our beloved? Sharon Olds, Maged Zaher and Lil Nas X show one poet the way
January 2022
Top 10s
Top 10 novels inspired by Greek myths
From James Joyce to Ali Smith and Chigozie Obioma, the archetypal stories of the ancients have inspired some of our best fiction
November 2021
Top 10s
From Paradise Lost to the Lord of the Rings: top 10 epics in fiction
From classic tales such as Paradise Lost to ‘counter-epics’ by Anne Carson and Tim O’Brien, these stories lend real grandeur to their subjects
May 2021
The best recent poetry – review roundup
The Trojan Women by Anne Carson; The Gododdin by Gillian Clarke; Hotel Raphael by Rachel Boast; American Mules by Martina Evans; pandemonium by Andrew McMillan
October 2020
Nobel prize for literature tipped to make safe pick after years of scandal
Having been postponed in 2018, last year’s return drew heavy fire for the selection of Peter Handke, so experts expect a cautious choice this week
October 2019
Burning down the house: the bittersweet appeal of break-up literature
From Richard Yates and Maggie Nelson to Ocean Vuong and Alice Munro, many of the great love stories are really about its aftermath. What can we learn from the literature of heartbreak?
July 2018
Top 10s
From Catullus to Dylan Thomas: the top 10 elegies
They date back to ancient times and remain a strong current in modern poetry. Here are some of the best
October 2016
Meet the author
Anne Carson: ‘I do not believe in art as therapy’
The poet and classics professor talks about her new collection, Float, her love of volcanoes and the power of brevity
July 2016
Nicholas Lezard's choice
If I’m Scared We Can’t Win: Penguin Modern Poets One review – a welcome return
Nicholas Lezard’s paperback of the week: In Emily Berry, Anne Carson and Sophie Collins, Penguin has showcased three funny, playful and creative writers
June 2016
Penguin Modern Poets series gets 21st-century relaunch
Iconic brand, which brought together groups of writers – including the bestselling Mersey poets – will release contemporary collections showcasing ‘a new golden age’
October 2014
Colm Tóibín: the literature of grief
Colm Tóibín explains how his new novel, Nora Webster, draws on his memories of his father's death, joining a rich tradition of writing about loss, from Sophocles to Joan Didion
March 2014
Anne Carson is bookies' favourite to win inaugural Folio prize
Verse retelling of Greek myth leads a shortlist for the £40,000 prize with combined UK sales of fewer than 20,000 copies
February 2014
What's wrong with a readable book?
Natalie Haynes
Natalie Haynes: Writers like Anne Carson make the Folio longlist a pleasure for us literary judges
