William Letford has worked as a roofer, on and off, since he was fifteen years old. When his poetry appeared in Carcanet’s New Poetries V anthology last year, he won widespread acclaim. His charismatic performances have earned him a large following and the moniker ‘the future of Scottish poetry’, making this one of the most eagerly awaited debuts of recent years.
In Bevel, Letford makes poems from the rhythms of speech and the stuff of daily life: work and love, seasons and cities, and his writing is alive with the wonder and comedy of the mundane. Letford’s trade gives him a particular perspective on life at ground level. ‘Be prepared,’ he writes: pay attention to the moment, know which way to fall. His poems are sure and strong, the words dance.
William Letford lives in Stirling. He has received a New Writer’s Award from the Scottish Book Trust and an Edwin Morgan Travel Bursary. He has an M.Litt in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow.
William Letford is launching Bevel at the Edinburgh International Book Festival today before embarking on a UK reading tour.
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