Gerard Benson
Gerard Benson has published ten collections of poems and has appeared in over a hundred anthologies and many magazines.
As a member of The Barrow Poets he has given literally thousands of readings, both live and in the media. He was the first poet-in-residence at The Wordsworth Trust, has been a frequent tutor on residential courses, and has had a number of British Council appointments. He is one of the trio who run the public arts scheme, Poems on the Underground.
He has received the Signal Poetry Award and been nominated for the Carnegie medal. He is currently Bradford’s poet laureate.
BOATHOUSES
Then sometimes you’ll think of boat-houses,
shacks built over a cut in the river bank,
and of sculls and skiffs – and you’ll think
of paddles and fenders and boathooks—
of short shorts and long legs, and the vee,
the wake spreading back over the water;
and about Doctor Moore who shopped for ten years
by rowing a tough mile upstream with all his bags.
But more than these, you’ll think just
of the boathouses and their rugged
impermanence, and the men who built them,
and the peculiar idea of building a wooden
shack over the water, to house a shell
in the slop-slopping darkness and padlock the gate.
Smith/Doorstop titles
A Good Time (due for publication in August 2010)
Reviews
'A refreshingly original collection. The poems enchant, astonish, linger in the memory. The collection should be in the classrooms and libraries of primary and secondary schools. The accomplished black and white illustrations are witty and eyecatching.' — School Library Association
'His lines pulsate with the rhythms of real voices.' — Gowri Ramnarayan
'Funny and sad, witty and sinister, all of it good.' — Books for Keeps
'A rare and wonderful selection. Gerard Benson can make you giggle helplessly one moment, catch your breath the next and then cry the next.' — Carousel
Publicity
Complimentary copies of Smith/Doorstop titles are available for publicity or review, and a 40% discount is provided for trade sales. (Contact us using the form here.)
To book a Smith/Doorstop poet for a reading, talk or interview, contact The Poetry Business on marketing@poetrybusiness.co.uk or phone 0114 346 3037.
