Learning to Sleep

The absence of rest, and its physical and mental impacts, is made tangible... Burnside deftly provides some light within this gloaming.

Rishi Dastidar, Guardian

For my money, John Burnside is by far the best British poet alive... I read it over and over again, marvelling at its concision and beauty.

Cressida Connolly, Spectator, *Books of the Year*

Few writers manage distinction in even one form. John Burnside has achieved it in two [poetry and fiction]... A Burnside narrative stays in the mind like a half-broken dream; it's often hard to pin down just why it is so compelling... If you have hitherto admired John Burnside in only one genre, now is the time to take the smallest of sideways steps and read both.

Fiona Sampson, New Statesman, on ASHLAND & VINE and STILL LIFE WITH FEEDING SNAKE

A masterful storyteller... I'm in safe hands whenever I pick up a book by him.

Jen Campbell, The Times, on ASHLAND & VINE

As a poet, Burnside has peripheral vision: he is always glimpsing other worlds out of the corner of his eye... Never stops registering the ways in which beauty makes life worth living.

Kate Kellaway, Observer, on STILL LIFE WITH FEEDING SNAKE