Tom Sutcliffe talks to the Indian writer Vikram Seth about his latest collection of poetry, Summer Requiem, which traces the dying days of summer and is haunted by loss and decay. The cuckoo's song may celebrate the arrival of spring, but as Nick Davies explains the cuckoo is also a signal of doom, as he explores how cheating evolves and thrives in the natural world. The writer Olivia Laing finds inspiration in a murmuration of birds to ask questions about the beauty of patterns and freedom of movement, and Nick Groom celebrates and regrets the passing of the English seasons and folklore.