Arcimboldo's Bulldog: New and Selected Poems [Paperback]

In Arcimboldo’s famous seventeenth-century Mannerist portraits, the sitter’s face is composed of organic matter. In subordinating a mixture of elements into an unrelated whole, imagination can transform the medium of expression itself. Tim Liardet’sArcimboldo’s Bulldog: New and Selected Poemsspans nine of his ten award-winning collections and adds new poems, fresh produce, reconfiguring his life’s work to date.

The book draws on his two T. S. Eliot Prize-shortlisted collectionsThe Blood Choir(2006) andThe World Before Snow(2015). Vivid images, large abstractions, symbols, allegory, elegy, provocation, confession and lyric find a necessary place in his work.Arcimboldo’s Bulldogrecords achievement and includes a promissory note towards his next collection.

‘Painfully direct and powerful poems.’ - The Sunday Times on The World Before Snow 'Tim Liardet makes the human macabre dazzle in the dark.' Gwyneth Lewis 'It is rare for a book of poems to bring an original and deeply poetic talent to a human story as Tim Liardet does in this collection. There is horror in the story he tells, but Liardet takes the horror to its storm-lit root. The Storm House is a book of poems like no other. It is true poetry, sensationally assembled.' Peter Porter

Twice shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot prize,Tim Liardetis the recipient of many literary awards andArcimboldo’s Bulldog: New and Selected Poemsis his eleventh book of poems. Liardet was born in London, educated at the University of York, and worked variously and travelled widely before moving into higher education. He has reviewed contemporary poetry for an extensive number of journals and newspapers, including theGuardian, Poetry ReviewandPN Review, and his poetry has been translated into Farsi, Macedonian and German. He has judged many competitions, not least for the Poetry Sol³)