Poetry

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Photo of a calm lake at dusk with a hippo partially submerged, only its eyes and ears visible above the water’s surface.

Communication and language

idea

Metaphors open up our minds – but can also shut them down

The best analogies in poetry and science really crackle, but when do they expand our thinking and when do they constrain it?

by Claire O’Callaghan

Painting of an elderly couple in 16th century attire, man in fur-lined coat and woman in white headdress on green background.

Love

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There’s no good reason to love each other – and that’s a relief

Loving is an unreasonable decision (we are all extremely unpleasant little beasts) and that’s what allows it to survive

by John Kaag

Painting of a woman in 18th-century attire holding flowers by a window with a small dog on a bench.

Poetry

guide

How to write a love poem

Flirtatious texts are soon forgotten. Learn to express your feelings in a beautiful way that will make a lasting impression

by Dan Simpson

Photo of a person speaking into a microphone holding an electric string instrument with a choir in the background.

Theatre and performance

film

The barbarians are at the gates in this electric Laurie Anderson performance

Video by All Arts

Black and white photo of a man with a ball on a littered street, graffiti and a fire escape visible on a brick building.

Transcendent experience

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Our days are both rough and slippery. Hope brings traction

I want to defend and buoy hope – it’s a fragile, quirky thing, but it has the power to help us act in the face of finitude

by John Lysaker

Photo of a man in a plaid shirt enthusiastically gesturing in an art-filled room with a seated woman in the background.

Poetry

idea

Why spoken word poetry is so much more than a poetry reading

As poetry returns to its roots as a performance art, it’s providing many with a powerful source of healing and community

by Erica Fletcher

Cubist painting of fragmented books and a glass on a table with geometric shapes in blue, brown and grey tones.

Stories and literature

guide

How to gain more from your reading

There’s more to words than meets the eye. Deepen your appreciation of literature through the art of slow, attentive reading

by Robert DiYanni

A painting of a pregnant woman with wide, dark eyes and scared face, holding a lit match. She wears a red dress with white polka dots.

Poetry

film

The unseen lives of others take centre stage in this surreal poetry adaptation

Directed by Michelle Kranot and Uri Kranot

Photo of a bookshop exterior with green columns and a window displaying books. A person reads inside.

Stories and literature

idea

Reading books is not just a pleasure: it helps our minds to heal

Through my own struggles and in teaching bibliotherapy to students, I know that books can help to heal minds and hearts

by Peter Leyland

Photo of a large spider sculpture silhouetted against a city skyline with cranes and a historic building in the background.

Poetry

idea

A conversation with my spider Maman and Louise Bourgeois

Woman made of braided steel, monster I call Maman: why am I so scared of you? An imagined conversation with Louise Bourgeois

by Pascale Petit

Abstract illustration of a person with eyes closed, wearing glasses, surrounded by cosmic elements on a blue and black background.

Poetry

film

Enter a dreamy French surrealist poem, where love and reality never quite touch

Directed by Emma Vakarelova