Surveyors' Riddles out now from Sidekick

It is hard to disrespect any book that has Lego on its cover. Word of Surveyors’ Riddles just came through the p&g post box and keen-ness to read it is high. More once we have it.

Sidekick Books say:

Here are the famously gnomic and prophetic Surveyors' Riddles, newly translated for a modern audience to puzzle on, dabble with and divine from. Giles Goodland and Alistair Noon have taken the rules of genetic poem-sequencing to a geological extreme, and in so doing, they have bored from the rock of literary hardcore a sequence of gneissic quality – sparkling with allusions to the contemporary, the historical and the alt-historical. Just remember to let someone know where you're going before you enter.

For now the puddingstone details. It is by the very wonderful Giles Goodland and Alistair Noon and is £5+postage from Sidekick Books. You can purchase it here
http://www.sidekickbooks.com/surveyorsriddles.php.

And Alistair has another book out The Kerosene Singing from Nine Arches Press of which more later...

A p&g magazine plug

Why not treat yourself to a holiday glance at our www.poetandgeek.com magazine?

Featuring the work of poets including Elizabeth Rimmer, Andrew MacCallum, Richie McCaffery, Rafael Ayala Paez, Giles Goodland, Alistair Noon, Vivien Jones, Maeve Henry, Yann Rousselot, Peter Hughes, Michael Pedersen, Tom Murray, Tsead Bruinja, Fiona Sinclair, Daniel de Cullá, Stella Pye, Zion Lights, Shaun Belcher, Natascha Scrivener, Natalie Moores, Susheel Kumar Sharma, Jennifer Sizeland, Bianca Sarafian, B.Z. Niditch, Mary S. McLuskey, Sarah Flint, Jennifer Martin, Allan-Alexander Lawson, Sy Roth, Frank C. Praeger, John Quinn, Phil Isherwood, Felino A. Soriano, Anne Pia, Austin McCarron, Amado Storni, Rehan Qayoom, Joan McNerney, Paul Tristram, Daniel Roy Connelly, Fanni Suto, Marc Carver, Thomas Clark, Sheree Mack, Roger Hickin, Jane Aldous, Michael Lee Johnson, Sara Clark, Sye Sanders, Amy Ekins, B.Z. Niditch, Walter Ruhlmann, Stella Pye, Michelle D'costa, and Ed Waverley.

(And yes of course the qr code works! What do you take us for?)

Giles Goodland and Back Room Poets, Oxford, England 13th December 2013

An old haunt of p&g's and I wish I could go! This is a great way to get into holiday spirit...

Readings by 6 b ack room poetsand a guest reading by Giles Goodland.  BRP members reading include Rip Bulkeley, David Olsen, Gentian Rahtz and Paul Surman. MC Louise Larchbourne.

At the Albion Beatnik Bookstore (34 Walton Street, OX2 6AU) at 7:30 pm. Entry: £4 (non-members), £2 (members) Refreshments available.

More information here http://backroompoets.blogspot.co.uk/

Dumb messages

The dumb messengers is the new book of poems from Giles Goodland. A poet who oddly does not even have a wiki page yet - although you can discover that he is a lexicographer at the OED and was in the Eric Gregory Award class of 1994 - which also included  Julia Copus, Alice Oswald, Steven Blyth, and Kate Clanchy.

(poetandgeek can also confirm that he tried to swim over a reservoir but failed, has been chased by a bulldozer when demonstrating against the Newbury by-pass, and has lost his glasses in a tidal pool at least once; the last recovered by p&g in spite of some loss of skin.)

The fine-looking book collects shorter and lyrical poems Goodland has written over the last ten years alongside his language-driven output of books including Capital (Salt) and the impressive What the things sang (Shearsman). Poems themselves can be considered dumb messengers but Goodland's take on children and language adds a twist to this interpretation.

You can find out more at the Salt Publishing page here http://www.saltpublishing.com/shop/proddetail.php?prod=9781844715046. Or read one of the poems that featured in poetandgeek.com magazine here http://www.poetandgeek.com/issue3/03goodland.html.