The title of , and banish all the world comes from a quote of Falstaff’s in Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part 1. I first read it half a century ago and because the preceding words of the quote are banish Plump Jack, we shared names and I had every intention of someday using this line. The comic tone of the quote is also relevant to my book. The contents are prose poems in the surreal and irreverent style of Russell Edson and to a lesser degree of Marcel Cohen. I would recommend to any reader of the book to allow their simmering emotions to come to the surface during and after reading each piece. The focus of these prose pieces is to reveal what affect language has on us, as writers and readers alike. The stories were written without deliberation. I allowed an idea to arise and then wrote down what came out of me. I was as surprised as you might be by the subtle emotional responses released.