{"title":"John Burnside","description":"\u003cp\u003eJohn Burnside’s writing spans a captivating blend of \u003cem\u003ebiography, memoir, and cultural reflection\u003c\/em\u003e, offering profound insights into personal and collective histories. His works evoke a deep sense of place and memory, often weaving lyrical narratives that explore both the intimate and the expansive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect evocative storytelling grounded in rich historical contexts, with a nuanced exploration of identity, art, and the passage of time. Burnside’s prose invites thoughtful engagement, making each book a quietly powerful experience.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"a-lie-about-my-father-by-john-burnside-9781529962888","title":"A Lie About My Father","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJohn Burnside recalls the failed relationship with his father, in the first of his trilogy of exquisite memoirs - with a new introduction by Megan Nolan.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Lie About My Father\u003c\/em\u003e is a beautifully written evocation of a lost and damaged world of childhood and the constants of his father's world — men defined by the drink they could take and the pain they could stand, men shaped by their guilt and machismo.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'A master of language' — Hilary Mantel\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe had his final heart attack in the Silver Band Club in Corby, somewhere between the bar and the cigarette machine. A foundling; a fantasist; a morose, threatening drinker who was quick with his hands, he hadn't seen his son for years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJohn Burnside's extraordinary story of this failed relationship is about forgiving but not forgetting, about examining the way men are made and how they fall apart, and about understanding that in order to have a good son you must have a good father.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Memoir this good illuminates something larger than itself. It is an exercise in understanding, compassion and forgiveness' — Sunday Telegraph\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Lie About My Father\u003c\/em\u003e was awarded the Saltire Scottish Book of the Year and the Scottish Arts Council Non-Fiction Book of the Year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46545115447532,"sku":"9781529962888","price":30.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781529962888.jpg?v=1750040483"},{"product_id":"i-put-a-spell-on-you-by-john-burnside-9781529962864","title":"I Put a Spell on You","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eI Put a Spell on You\u003c\/em\u003e is the last of John Burnside's three memoirs, an enthralling ode to love and wonder in all its forms, featuring a new introduction by Sean Hewitt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJohn Burnside first heard the song 'I Put a Spell on You' and was immediately captivated. The song's enchantment and fascination soon turned to obsession, offering intrigue through its themes of love, possession, and danger.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this exquisite and haunting book, Burnside evokes his coming of age, journeying from the industrial landscapes of Cowdenbeath and Corby to the new horizons of Cambridge. He drifts through thoughts and memories that encompass uncanny encounters with 'lost girls', digressions on voodoo, acid, and insomnia, and interactions with a diverse cast including Kafka, Narcissus, Diane Arbus, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eI Put a Spell on You\u003c\/em\u003e stands as a memoir of romance—of lost love and the act of being lost, a narrative darkened by threat yet illuminated by glamour.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'A master of language' - Hilary Mantel\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Astonishing... Not just brilliant, but essential reading' - Independent\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e'Exact and enthralling' - Tessa Hadley\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46546478072044,"sku":"9781529962864","price":30.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781529962864.jpg?v=1750034459"},{"product_id":"the-empire-of-forgetting-by-john-burnside-9781787334557","title":"The Empire of Forgetting","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJohn Burnside's last collection of new poems gathers around a single theme—mortality—to create a powerfully moving exploration of memory, forgetting, and the seven ages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'A master of language'\u003c\/em\u003e HILARY MANTEL\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJohn Burnside's last collection of new poems gathers around a single theme—mortality—and draws on his faltering health and earlier glances with death, creating a powerfully moving exploration of memory, forgetting, and the seven ages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHere, as always, there is a clear-eyed curiosity; a sense of wonder at the beleaguered natural world and its endless mutability—its hidden beauty, often suddenly disclosed—and a deep faith in its old gods. Burnside was always as much a spirit-guide as a poet, and here, in \u003cem\u003eThe Empire of Forgetting\u003c\/em\u003e, we are never far from a fresh alertness to the world, to epiphany—a sudden, spiritual manifestation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere is a sense, too, in these last poems, of a man having found a 'dwelling place'—a sense of rest and peace and settlement with the world. A state of grace.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Among the best writers of his generation, fully voiced and perfectly pitched... He now leaves behind a body of work that will only grow stronger as new generations discover it'\u003c\/em\u003e ANDREW O’HAGAN\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'A titan of literature... His passing leaves a gap not only in our literature, but in our ability to exist in the world. He increased the possible ways of our being'\u003c\/em\u003e KATHLEEN JAMIE\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46549138800876,"sku":"9781787334557","price":38.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781787334557.jpg?v=1750032164"},{"product_id":"waking-up-in-toytown-by-john-burnside-9781529962871","title":"Waking Up in Toytown","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith wit, precision and grace, John Burnside's second memoir traces the aftershocks of a troubled childhood into troubled adulthood. With a new introduction by Sarah Perry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Among the best writers of his generation, fully voiced and perfectly pitched' – Andrew O'Hagan\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn the early 80s, after a decade of drug abuse and borderline mental illness, John Burnside resolved to escape his addictive personality and find calm in a 'Surbiton of the mind.' But the suburbs are not quite as normal as he had imagined, and he relapses into chaos.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe encounters a homicidal office worker who is obsessed with Alfred Hitchcock and Petula Clark, an old lover, with whom he reprises a troubled, masochistic relationship and, finally, the seemingly flesh-and-blood embodiments of all his private phantoms, as he drifts further into unreality.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe second of John Burnside's extraordinary trilogy of memoirs, \u003cem\u003eWaking Up in Toytown\u003c\/em\u003e is the story of one man's search for sanity - but also the story of love that outgrows its restraints and a scorching enquiry into the soul, from one of our greatest contemporary writers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Burnside's memoir deserves to become a classic. Has anyone written about the direct experience of mental illness with such scrupulous observation and wit?' – Daily Express\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46549557018860,"sku":"9781529962871","price":30.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781529962871.jpg?v=1750028316"},{"product_id":"the-music-of-time-by-john-burnside-9781781255629","title":"The Music of Time","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e Book of the Year\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThough we might not realise it, our collective memory of the twentieth century was defined by the poets who lived and wrote in it. At every significant turning point, we find them, pen in hand, fingers poised at the typewriter, ready to distil the essence of the moment, from the muddy wastes of the Western front to the vast reckoning that came with the end of empire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is the first and only history of twentieth-century poetry by the acclaimed poet, author, and academic John Burnside. Bringing together poets from times and places as diverse as Tsarist Russia, 1960s America, and Ireland at the height of the Troubles, \u003ci\u003eThe Music of Time\u003c\/i\u003e reveals how poets engaged with and shaped the most important issues of their times—and were in their turn affected by their context and dialogue with each other. This is a major work of scholarship that on every page bears witness to the transformative beauty and power of poetry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46850339537132,"sku":"9781781255629","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/5256913482822.jpg?v=1759082758"},{"product_id":"ruin-blossom-by-john-burnside-9781529909258","title":"Ruin, Blossom","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA remarkable new collection exploring ageing, mortality and environmental destruction from our finest Scottish lyric poet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWINNER OF THE DAVID COHEN PRIZE FOR LITERATURE 2023\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'By far the best British poet alive' SPECTATOR\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'A master of language' HILARY MANTEL\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this powerful, moving book, John Burnside takes his cue from Schiller, who recognised that, as one thing fades, so another flourishes—everywhere and always, in matters great and small, new life blossoms amongst the ruins.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eRuin, Blossom\u003c\/em\u003e, Burnside explores ageing, mortality, environmental destruction, and mental illness. He not only mourns what is lost in passing but also celebrates the new, and sometimes unexpected, forms that emerge from such losses. An elegy for a dead lover ends with a quiet recognition of everyday beauty—first sun streaming through the trees, a skylark in the near field, flush with song—as the speaker emerges from lockdown after a long illness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout, the poet attends to the quality of grace—numinous, exquisite, fleeting as an angel's wing—and the broken tryst between humankind and its spiritual and animal elements, even with itself—the gaunt deer on the roads like refugees. He acknowledges the inevitability of the fading towards death but still finds chimes of light in the darkness, insisting that here and now, even in decline, the world, when given its due attention, is all Annunciation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47362976514284,"sku":"9781529909258","price":38.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/19514303482732.jpg?v=1772908505"},{"product_id":"driftwork-by-john-burnside-9781787336667","title":"Driftwork","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDriftwork\u003c\/em\u003e is the definitive selection of John Burnside's extraordinary and vibrant poems, from one of our greatest contemporary writers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis collection brings together John Burnside's extraordinary and vibrant poems, taken from across decades. His work is always stirring, curious, and alert to the natural world and the people in it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'It's impossible not to love the world more when reading Burnside'\u003c\/em\u003e – \u003cstrong\u003eGUARDIAN\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOver thirty-five years and seventeen collections, John Burnside has built a body of poetry that is consistently luminous, original, and profound. His poems are always in thrall to the glamourie – a magical, fleeting enchantment – and constantly in search of settlement, harmony, and grace.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHis work is both intimately personal and universal, often moving through stages of vulnerability, turbulence, terror, and desire, arriving at sensitive and highly alert artistic positions. He risked much for his art and its integrity, seeking a new and unique understanding of beauty and truth, offering a fresh angle from which to view the world through nature, myth, and magic. For him, every poem was an alchemical transformation, a metamorphosis, an epiphany.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Among the best writers of his generation, fully voiced and perfectly pitched'\u003c\/em\u003e – Andrew O'Hagan\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'A master of language'\u003c\/em\u003e – Hilary Mantel\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e'Burnside's sharp, suturing language allows us to know the world as it is: ragged and broken, yet full of impossibly fragile beauty'\u003c\/em\u003e – Rebecca Tamas\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233118105836,"sku":"9781787336667","price":45.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781787336667-driftwork-1.jpg?v=1787726237"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/john-burnside.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}