Brian Bilston | cult poetry phenomenon in the South West

When we posted about Brian Bilston being in the South West on the Twitter, there was a mini hurricane of engagement and enquiry. It was all good-natured and fun. The ‘Banksy of poetry’ himself even joined in. It was a swoonful reminder of a real power of words, and underlined another of Brian’s street-bestowed monikers – Twitter’s unofficial Poet Laureate. With over 200,000 followers on social media, he has become truly beloved by his online community.

His first collection of poetry, You Took the Last Bus Home was published by Unbound and his 2019 book Diary of a Somebody (Picador) was shortlisted for both the Costa First Novel Award and the McKitterick Prize.

Brian’s 2021 collection, Alexa, What Is There To Know About Love? was described as “the funniest collection of humorous verse […] in a long time” and his poem Refugees was set to music by Mark-Anthony Turnage for his song cycle of the same name.

In 2021, Brian also published a collection of poems about football for children, Fifty Ways to Score a Goal. Brian has also recently been touring with acclaimed fellow poet and TV producer Henry Normal (The Royle Family / Gavin & Stacey).

His latest book Days Like These: An Alternative Guide to the Year in 366 Poems is a brilliant collection of poems that serves to take the blues out of Monday, flatten the Wednesday hump and amplify the Friday feeling from January through to December.

Now, this May, Brian Bilston will be delivering his latest works live to audiences in Falmouth, Totnes, and Launceston. Brian will also be signing books following the performance, with his work available to purchase at the event.

It’s a rare opportunity to catch this cult poetry phenomenon in the flesh, tickets for all shows are available now.