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  • Published: 24 October 2012
  • ISBN: 9780241962282
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 96

As Far As I Know



A brand-new collection from the nation's favourite poet

Take comfort from this
You have a book in your hand
not a loaded gun or a parking fine
or an invitation card to the wedding
of the one you should have married

Roger McGough's new book of poems shows him writing as fluently and inventively as ever. There may be a stronger melancholy strain than before (the death of a regular in the local pub; the news that a daughter might be moving abroad), and a distinct sense of menace, small but insistent, inhabits many of the poems. But there is plenty of McGough's characteristic wit and wordplay too, including a series of haiku on a London tube strike and a striking reworking of his famous 60s poem 'Let Me Die a Youngman's Death' - this time entitled 'Not For Me a Youngman's Death'. Who but McGough would characterize the butcher's window as 'the friendly face of the abbatoir'; or imagine the almost limitless ways in which we may go to bed?

A new book of poems by Roger McGough is always an event. Published just ahead of his 75th birthday, As Far as I Know is truly cause for celebration.

  • Published: 24 October 2012
  • ISBN: 9780241962282
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 96

About the author

Roger McGough

Date: 2004-03-15
Roger McGough was born in Liverpool in 1937. He has written over 50 books for both. He has won the Signal Award for Poetry twice, and the Cholmondeley Award. He has also won a BAFTA for his film work and a Royal Television Society Award for his TV series. He was awarded the freedom of the City of Liverpool in 2001 and his OBE in 1997. He presents Poetry Please and guest hosts Home Truths on Radio 4.

Roger McGough was born in Liverpool and educated at St Mary's College and the University of Hull. He has been a writer for many years, and his numerous collections have established him as one of the most distinctive and powerful voices in contemporary poetry. Among his most popular titles are Summer with Monika, Blazing Fruit and Defying Gravity, all published by Penguin, and for children An Imaginary Menagerie, Pillow Talk and Bad, Bad Cats. He is an international ambassador for poetry and in 1997 was awarded an OBE, and in 2004 he was awarded a CBE. His most recent books include All the Best and Slapstick and for adults,  Collected Poems and Selected Poems.

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