Michael Symmons Roberts & Hannah Westland on John Burnside

The Empire of Forgetting (Cape) is the final collection of the Scottish poet, novelist and essayist John Burnside, who died in May last year. Fellow poet Kathleen Jamie describes him as ‘a titan of literature…. His passing leaves a gap not only in our literature, but in our ability to exist in the world. He increased the possible ways of our being.’ To coincide with this publication, Cape are reissuing Burnside’s three volumes of memoir, A Lie About My Father, Waking Up in Toytown and I Put a Spell on You with new introductions.

Poet and essayist Michael Symmons Roberts and editor Hannah Westland paid tribute to Burnside and celebrated his life and work.