The Sheer Hell of Living

Poetry by Michael Glover—His first major collection for a decade.

“Sad, wry and humourous poems assembled from fragments of seeing, thinking and reading. The first book-length collection of poetry in more than a decade from one of arts and literature reviewers” The Economist.

“Michael Glover’s lines unspool gravely and efficiently with few commas, like waves that know they are on the way to some place but without making much fuss about it. They can be piercingly sad and hilariously wry, sometimes at the same time, as: ‘Someone loses the midge swat. / Many glasses are raised.’ – this from a poem called ‘Few things happen’. Few things happen here, true, but those that do are tremendously important even when tiny. Michael Glover is a major find.”

—JOHN ASHBERY