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RODDY LUMSDEN is one of the liveliest and most inventive poets writing in Britain today. His first collection was shortlisted for the Forward and Saltire prizes, and his second for the T.S. Eliot Prize. This collection brings together the best work from his three previous collections, as well as a whole new collection. "The Drowning Man.
About the author
Roddy Lumsden (1966-2020) was born in St Andrews, and lived in Edinburgh for many years before moving to London in 1998. His first book Yeah Yeah Yeah (1997) was shortlisted for Forward and Saltire prizes. His second collection The Book of Love (2000), a Poetry Book Society Choice, was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize. Mischief Night: New & Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2004) was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. His later collections were Third Wish Wasted (2009), Terrific Melancholy (2011), Not All Honey (2014), which was shortlisted for the Saltire Society's Scottish Poetry Book of the Year Award, and So Glad I'm Me (2017), shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize 2017 and the Saltire Society Scottish Poetry Book of the Year Award 2018. His anthology Identity Parade: New British and Irish Poets was published by Bloodaxe Books in 2010. He was a freelance writer and editor, also specialising in quizzes and word puzzles, and represented Scotland twice on BBC Radio 4's Round Britain Quiz. He also held several residencies, including ones with the City of Aberdeen, St Andrews Bay Hotel, and as "poet-in-residence" to the music industry when he co-wrote The Message, a book on poetry and pop music (Poetry Society, 1999). His other books include Vitamin Q: a temple of trivia, lists and curious words (Chambers Harrap, 2004).
Summary
Roddy Lumsden is one of the liveliest and most inventive poets writing in Britain today. From the formal, frenetic debut 'Yeah Yeah Yeah', through the playful wit and cynicism of 'The Book of Love', to the 'magnificent song to himself' of 'Roddy Lumsden is Dead', his poetic journey has already been eventful.
