For over half a century David Harsent has been one of the world’s leading poets. His libretti, essays, drama and fiction accompany a unique and fiercely original central body of poetry, from his earliest collection, A Violent Country (1969), to the T. S. Eliot Prize-winning Fire Songs (2016) and beyond.
 
This festschrift gathers together contributions in verse, prose, interview and image to celebrate Harsent’s life, his symbols and an inimitable writing career that spans six decades. Among the voices here are writers, collaborators, admirers and friends who have worked with him, read him or known him, including his editor at Faber & Faber, his biographer, composers for whom he has written libretti, booksellers, critics, mentees and poets who have been inspired by Harsent’s spectacular oeuvre.