As Far as I Know

Roger McGough is a poet of many voices. He can delight us with his puns, sadden us with his stories and occasionally tell us a few unwelcome truths. In this new collection he becomes in turn the Scottish hard man, the smug husband on his deathbed, the odious self-deceiver of the title-poem. He is equally 'At Home with the Surrealists' as he is on an underground station waiting for the train that never will never come. And throughout there is his characteristic wit as he faces the uncertainties and fears of aging - one of the most striking poems is a reworking of his famous 1960s poem, 'Let Me Die a Youngman's Death', this time entitled 'Not For Me a Youngman's Death'. Always inventive, the warmth and honesty of his voice reaffirms McGough as a true original.