Search results for ""Author Brian Bilston""

You Took the Last Bus Home is the first and long-awaited collection of ingeniously hilarious and surprisingly touching poems from Brian Bilston, the mysterious ‘Poet Laureate of Twitter’.With endless wit, imaginative wordplay and underlying heartache, he offers profound insights into modern life, exploring themes as diverse as love, death, the inestimable value of a mobile phone charger, the unbearable torment of forgetting to put the rubbish out, and the improbable nuances of the English language. Constantly experimenting with literary form, Bilston’s words have been known to float off the page, take the shape of the subjects they explore, and reflect our contemporary world in the form of Excel spreadsheets, Venn diagrams and Scrabble tiles.This irresistibly charming collection of his best-loved poems will make you laugh out loud while making you question the very essence of the human condition in the twenty-first century.

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‘Bilston is a magician with words’ - GuardianThe perfect, witty gift for Valentine’s and beyond. Alexa, what is there to know about love? is a wonderful collection of poems by Brian Bilston, Twitter’s ‘unofficial poet laureate’, in which he frets over the challenges of modern life, extols the pleasures of books, broods over politics, and ponders the curiosities of language.But at its heart, this is a collection of poems about love. From our caveman days to the internet era, from first dates to love in old age, Alexa, what is there to know about love? has a love poem for every time, place and occasion – and will stir the soul of even the most jaded romantic.‘Brian Bilston is a laureate for our fractured times.’ - Ian McMillan‘Someone who knows their way round both a joke and a bittersweet narrative.’ - The Times‘Part John Cooper Clarke, part Frank Sidebottom . . . all brilliant.’ - Esquire

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A funny collection of football poems by Brian Bilston, the unofficial Poet Laureate of Twitter. Perfect for football fans of all ages – from the young footie fanatic to a been-to-every-game-grandma, and every 'I could've been a pro' in between.Full of poems that will make you giggle about all things football, including being left out of the World Cup squad, mum's opinion on Messi vs Ronaldo, or those unmissable fixtures:I’d love nothing more than to go outsideand spend time with Mother Nature.But what can I do? It’s out of my hands:Nigeria are playing Croatia 50 Ways to Score a Goal and Other Football Poems includes witty chants, a haiku or two, and fun shape poems about the beautiful game. Laugh together through the Euros or Premier League games, and swap the half-time pundits for puns!'Bilston is a magician with words' – Guardian'Someone who knows their way round both a joke and a bittersweet narrative.' – The Times

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Brian Bilston has been described as Twitter's unofficial Poet Laureate. With over 250,000 followers on social media, including J.K. Rowling, Roger McGough and Frank Cottrell Boyce, Brian has become truly beloved by the online community. He has published two collections of poetry, You Took the Last Bus Home and Alexa, what is there to know about love?, and his novel Diary of a Somebody was shortlisted for the Costa first novel award. He has also published a collection of football poetry, 50 Ways to Score a Goal, and his acclaimed poem Refugees has been made into an illustrated book for children.

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It’s that time of year again . . .With his signature wit, Brian Bilston returns with And So This is Christmas, fifty-one poems in celebration of the festive season: from bizarre family traditions to the office Christmas party; from voting day for turkeys to the impossible art of gift-giving.So hang your stockings, grab your mistletoe and curl up with this heart-warming collection of Christmas crackers.

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Shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award 2019, Diary of a Somebody is a unique mix of poetry and diary by the unofficial Poet Laureate of Twitter, the enigmatic Brian Bilston.'If you like a) laughing or b) words which rhyme with each other, you will love Brian Bilston' - Richard Osman, author of The Thursday Murder Club‘Nobody must find out about this unique gem, because I’m giving it to EVERYONE, and I want to appear clever and discerning.’ – Dawn FrenchIt’s January 1st and Brian Bilston’s life needs to change. His ex-wife has taken up with a new man, a motivational speaker and marketing guru to boot; he seems to constantly disappoint his long-suffering son; and at work he is drowning in a sea of spreadsheets and management jargon.Brian's resolution is to write a poem every day; poetry will be his salvation. But there is an obstacle to his happiness in the form of Toby Salt, his arch nemesis in the Poetry Group and rival suitor to Liz, Brian’s new poetic inspiration. When Toby goes missing, Brian is the number one suspect.Part tender love story, part suburban murder mystery, part scathing description of a wasted life, and interspersed with some of the funniest poems about the mundane and the profound, Diary of a Somebody is a unique, original and hilarious novel.‘Glorious. I will be astonished if I read a more original, more inventive or funnier novel this year.’ – Adam Kay, author of This is Going to Hurt.

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A brilliant way to brighten each day. In this playful, innovative collection, Brian Bilston writes a poem to accompany every day of the year.Each poem is inspired by a significant – often curious – event associated with that day: from Open an Umbrella Indoors Day to the day on which New York banned public flirting; from the launch of the Rubik’s Cube to the first appearance of the phrase, ‘the best thing since sliced bread’.Perfect for reading aloud and sharing with friends, Days Like These: An alternative guide to the year in 366 poems will take the blues out of Monday, flatten the Wednesday hump, and amplify that Friday feeling.

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Refugees is a book of two voices. The first one sees the people fleeing from war and persecution and asks, Why here? Why my country? It is a feeling many people share. It is one of fear and suspicion. But when you read the text the opposite way, a new voice emerges. It says, ‘Why not make them welcome? Why not share the things we have?’ The world is undergoing a period of mass human migration. Whether this is caused by war, persecution or economics, the people we see on the news in those camps are waiting – waiting to live their lives. There are two sides to every debate. There are two sides to a wall. This story shows both sides of the issue with skill and the illustrations depict the issue in a magic realism style, powerful but never frightening, and will promote a deeper discussion on this topic with an older child.

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