Also by Lemn Sissay
Perceptions of the Pen
Tender Fingers in a Clenched Fist
Rebel Without Applause
Morning Breaks in the Elevator
The Fire People (ed.)
The Emperor’s Watchmaker
Listener
Refugee Boy (play adaptation)
Published in Great Britain in 2016 by Canongate Books Ltd,
14 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1TE
This digital edition first published in 2016 by Canongate Books
Copyright © Lemn Sissay, 1985, 1988, 1992, 1999, 2008, 2016
The moral right of the author has been asserted
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available on request from the British Library
ISBN: 978 1 78211 909 8
eISBN: 978 1 78211 910 4
Typeset in Sabon 9.25/12.25 pt by
Palimpsest Book Production Limited, Falkirk, Stirlingshire
To Dawn. Thanks for being there.
‘How do you do it?’ said night.
‘How do you wake and shine?’
‘I keep it simple,’ said light.
‘One day at a time.’
Contents
From PERCEPTIONS OF THE PEN (1985)
From TENDER FINGERS IN A CLENCHED FIST (1988)
Some Quotes from Neatherton Man found in Deepest England Somewhere between 1974 and 1980
The Invasion of the Mancunoids
The Red Death of Edgar Allan Poe
Burn My Book (Burn In Illusion)
