Peter Finch

Peter Finch has long been a significant figure in Welsh-poetry-in-English and a busy editor and publisher. The Welsh Poems, a title which pays homage to poet John James, is a survey of his more experimental work from the past two decades, including visual work, sound poems, and a number of playful texts that riff on language, grammar and typography. The Welsh language seeps into Finch's work at all levels, sometimes penetrating the poems to the core, and at other times held at arm's length.

This sequel offers another unorthodox travel guide to Cardiff, Wales. Part history, part topographical writing, and part traditional guidebook, this work explores Cardiff's best off-the-beaten-path destinations such as Ninian Park, Howell's Girls School, Cae'r Castell, and Steep Holm.

Peter Finch's hugely popular alternative guide to the capital of Wales. "One of the best books I have ever read about a city." Jan MorrisPeter Finch discovers the real Cardiff - lost rivers, itinerant poets, the old race courses, the revitalised city centre, the redeveloped Cardiff Bay - as he travels the city from east to west and north to south. This is offbeat topographical writing, guaranteed to enthrall the native, the visitor and the armchair traveller alike."Real Cardiff and Real Cardiff Two - Utterly compelling ambles around the Welsh capital, full of oddball nuggets and with a terrific sense of context and place." The Rough Guide To Wales"A wealth of information on the significance of familiar sites for those who live in Cardiff and an interesting insight into Wales' capital for those who don't, Real Cardiff is far more indicative of life in the city than the average tourist guide." The Big IssuePeter Finch is a poet, author and critic who lives in Cardiff. He is author of the hugely popular Seren titles Real Cardiff and Real Cardiff Two. His numerous poetry titles include Useful, Poems for Ghosts and Food from Seren. A former publisher and bookseller, he is now Chief Executive of the Welsh Academy, the Welsh Literature Promotion Agency and Society of Writers.

Peter Finch's collection, Useful, is marked by all the restless energy, humour and angst that is so characteristic of this compulsively entertaining poet.Among the varied subjects to come under the poet's subversive scrutiny are Modern Art, the Blues, computers, automobiles, ex-wives, recalcitrant children, aged parents, bleak Welsh landscapes, factory workers, writing classes, old shirts and beach stones. His continuing fascination with technique is highlighted in the second half of the collection which includes a short section of visual pieces as well as the elaborate code of 'One of Our Presidents: Six Variations for Tony Conran'.Also here are poems written for particular performances or directly inspired by works of art. A tireless innovator, an astute and frequently very funny observer of culture and society, Peter Finch will win yet more readers over with Useful."Just this side of chaos"Jon Gower"A defiant individualist, restlessly pushing words beyond their given forms and meanings to say new things in new ways about our complicated knife-edge times"Western Mail"... deserves a Welsh Knighthood"Dictionary of the Avant-GardesPeter Finch is a poet, author and critic who lives in Cardiff. He is author of the hugely popular Seren titles Real Cardiff and Real Cardiff Two. His numerous poetry titles include Useful, Poems for Ghosts and Food from Seren, Antibodies from Stride, and Vizet, a selected poems in Hungarian from Kronkét Könyvek. A former publisher and bookseller, he is now Chief Executive of the Welsh Academy, the Welsh Literature Promotion Agency and Society of Writers.