Learning to Sleep

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Lucid, lyrical, and intellectually profound, this poetry collection resonates with themes of life, death, and the charmed darkness in between. Several ghosts haunt the work, including the author's mother, honored in a powerful pastoral elegy, and the poet Arthur Rimbaud, who searches for belonging in an improbable Lincolnshire landscape. The echoes of a lost pagan ancestry emerge unexpectedly, revealing a profound presence amid contemporary life. Central to the collection is Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep, symbolizing the author's struggle with a severe sleep disorder that culminated in a near-death experience, influencing the latter part of the book. Additionally, the poems offer provocative reflections on the harm caused by institutions, such as organized religion and marriage, as well as the societal constructs of gender and romantic love that shape our lives. This collection showcases Burnside at his most elegiac, while also celebrating a radical sense of cultural independence. The work has been praised for its concision and beauty, solidifying Burnside's status as one of the finest British poets of our time.