Jeremy Reed's output has been prodigious. Since 1975 he has published more than forty books of poems, besides countless pamphlets and fugitive pieces, and many novels, biographies and books on cultural history. The full range of his poetry will never be truly known, for he often writes in public places, and if someone expresses interest may give them the poem. By the time this selection appears his tally will have grown further, because he writes continuously. His poems are his diary, his autobiography, his therapy, his addiction. Reed has moved from publisher to publisher, often writing for several at the same time, and his style has evolved continuously over more than four decades. Formalist, symbolist, language poet, nature-poet, modernist, post-modernist, performance poet: Reed has been all these and more.

So who is Jeremy Reed, and why is his work important? He was born in 1951 in Jersey, and educated there and at Essex University. Since finishing postgraduate work at Essex, he has lived mainly as a freelance writer, with all the determination and insecurity that implies. His origins may have some bearing on his work. Jersey is much closer to France than to England; it's probably no accident that Reed's early affinities were with the European Symbolists: he completely bypassed the drab 'Movement' poetry which dominated (and still influences) British writing. Possibly the same factor contributed to Reed's permanent sense of being an outsider in British society.