As Far as I Know is a wonderful new book of poems by Roger Mc Gough 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 Mc Gough's new book of poems shows him writing as fluently & inventively as ever. There may be a stronger strain of melancholy than before (the death of a regular in the local pub; the news that a daughter might be moving abroad) as well as a distinct sense of menace small but insistent which inhabits many of the poems. But there is plenty of Mc Gough's characteristic wit & wordplay too including a scintillating series of haiku inspired by a London tube strike & a striking reworking of his famous 1960s poem ' Let Me Die a Youngman's Death' this time entitled ' Not For Me a Youngman's Death'. Who but Mc Gough would characterize the butcher's window as 'the friendly face of the abattoir' or imagine the almost limitless ways in which we might go to bed? A new book of poems by Roger Mc Gough is always an event. Published just ahead of his 75th birthday As Far As I Know is truly cause for celebration. The patron saint of poetry". (Carol Ann Duffy). Roger Mc Gough was born in Liverpool. During the 1960s he was a member of the group Scaffold which had an international hit with ' Lily the Pink'. He has won two BAFTAs & a Royal Television Award for his broadcasting work & presents the popular Radio 4 programme Poetry Please. He has published many books of poems for adults & children & both his Collected Poems (2003) & Selected Poems (2006) are bestselling poetry titles on the Penguin list. He was made a Freeman of the City of Liverpool in 2001 & received a CBE in 2004 for his services to literature."