Things To Do Before You Leave Town

by Ross Sutherland

Mono-browed cousins, clandestine paperboys, murderous action heroes and Swiss euthanasia clinics jostle for position in Ross Sutherland's intelligent and wildly entertaining debut collection of poetry. Sutherland charts the never-ending urban excursions of Pac-Man; constructs mash-ups of celebrity obits; and dons a surgical mask to conduct an 'Experiment to Determine the Existence of Love'. Things To Do Before You Leave Town is a sharp, ambitious and blackly comic exploration of the end of things, where 'all the roads that lead out are really leading back in'. REVIEW QUOTES 'In his free-wheeling lyricism, caustic wit and brilliantly surreal turn of image, Sutherland is a truly contemporary original. His poetry rejuvenates techniques as disparate as collage, memoir, sound experiment and formal appropriation in vigorous but finely wrought lines. Refreshingly fearless and bleakly funny, Things To Do Before You Leave Town collects works that shock and delight in performance but reveal their true depth on the page.' Luke Kennard 'Ross Sutherland's poetry approaches the epic; a kind of epic on a human scale. If he were a piece of furniture, he would be an elegant high stool that felt uncomfortable and stylish at the same time.' Ian McMillan, BBC Radio 3

Genres: Poetry

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Mike]

I like how playful these poems are, making the ridiculous sublime, or vice verse. Makes a good background for his podcast, too.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ross was one of my former creative writing teachers and I rediscovered this collection on my shelves. I like the casually intimate way he tells stories through the poems.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absurdism at its best, both hilarious and moving.