This selection of poems, made by the author, brings together work from his four individual collections published thus far: A Violent Country (1969), After Dark (1973), Dreams of the Dead (1977) and Mister Punch (1984). The new poems The Windhound, The Analysand and Playback are also included. David Harsent has been the recipient of a number of awards including an Eric Gregory Award, a Cheltenham Festival Prize, a Camden Prize, an Arts Council Poetry Bursary and a Geoffrey Faber Memorial Award.