Staring Directly at the Eclipse

by Henry Normal

Henry Normal's first poetry collection in over twenty years, combining both new and selected poems from his previous performance work. This collection encompasses the subjects of love, death, loneliness, loss, human frailty and other classic conversation stoppers. First published by Five Leaves, Staring Directly at the Eclipse is revised and re-issued in paperback and eBook by Flapjack Press in 2018. "Succinct, heartrending and peppered with gentle punchlines" - The Guardian "The Alan Bennett of poetry" - The Scotsman Henry Normal is a writer, poet, TV and film producer, founder of the Manchester Poetry Festival (now the Manchester Literature Festival) and co-founder of the Nottingham Poetry Festival. In June 2017 he was honoured with a special BAFTA for services to television. Henry co-wrote and script edited the multi-award-winning Mrs Merton Show and the spin-off series Mrs Merton and Malcolm. He also co-created and co-wrote the first series of The Royle Family. With Steve Coogan, he co-wrote the BAFTA-winning Paul and Pauline Calf Video Diaries, Coogan's Run, Tony Ferrino, Doctor Terrible, all of Steve's live tours, and the film The Parole Officer. Setting up Baby Cow Productions Ltd in 1999, Henry Executive Produced all, and script edited many, of the shows of its seventeen-and-a-half-year output during his tenure as MD. Highlights of the Baby Cow output during this time include Oscar-nominated Philomena, Gavin and Stacey, I Believe in Miracles, Moone Boy, The Mighty Boosh, Marion and Geoff, Red Dwarf, Uncle, Nighty Night, Camping, Hunderby and Alan Partridge. Since retiring in April 2016, Henry has written and performed four BBC Radio 4 shows, A Normal Family, A Normal Life, A Normal Love and A Normal Imagination, combining comedy, poetry and stories about bringing up his autistic son.

Genres: Poetry

89 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 1, 2018

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Afraid there is only 2 I like, ‘The house is not the same since you left’ and Then Dream Ticket’.

[Jonny Brick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine blank verse, especially those about his son's autism. A lack of punctuation can make it hard on the page, so go and hear Henry perform them live or on radio.