Dai George is a poet, novelist, critic and academic. His first poetry collection, The Claims Office, was an Evening Standard book of the year. He is the former reviews editor of Poetry London and is currently Lecturer in Creative Arts and Humanities at UCL. His poetry has appeared widely in magazines and anthologies. His criticism and non-fiction features in popular and academic forums including the Guardian, The White Review, and Cambridge Quarterly.
An entertaining guide to the rhyme and reason of poetry… capacious and curious. George has an admirable ability to get to the heart of things in just a few lines. Dai George distils a lifetime’s poetic thinking and reading into this warm, accessible book. -- Clare Pollard * The Idler * This is a wonderfully lucid and compelling account of how poetry works and why it matters. In 24 exhilarating chapters, George guides us from Homer’s Iliad to the Instapoetry of today. A triumph in both concept and execution, How to Think Like a Poet fizzes almost audibly with intellectual energy and excitement. * Mark Ford, Professor of English Literature, University College London * With an infectious delight in his material, Dai George is a sure and skilful guide through some of poetry’s most significant waters, opening our eyes to its everyday wonders. Thanks to its consciously global canvas, How to Think Like a Poet does something rather different to your usual poetic history or handbook, opening up fresh connections and avenues of thought across its chapters. George's agile, luminous, refreshing readings of individual poets down the centuries reveal just how much they have to offer us today. * Sarah Howe, British poet and lecturer in poetry at King’s College, London * Poetry haters will fall in love with poetry and the poetry lover will walk away refreshed after reading just a few pages of this authoritative, wide-ranging and witty book that is persistently fascinating and always an easy read! * Daljit Nagra, British poet and author of Indiom *