Viva Loch Lomond: Poems 2003-2017 - Tapa blanda

'Brilliantly anarchic, verbally agile, always a treat' JOAN BAKEWELL 'Righteous ire, directed at very deserving targets McGonagall's verses are shot through with a moral umbrage and rhetorical power' BRIAN LOGAN, THE GUARDIAN 'Funny, angry and tightly written, McGonagall combines anger, polish and carefully crafted verse in a way which recalls John Cooper ClarkE. If the word 'poetry' is putting you off, get over it' SUSAN MANSFIELD, THE SCOTSMAN

"Viva Loch Lomond!" is the first full length collection of poems published by the stand-up poet, comedian and broadcaster Elvis McGonagall. It features pieces from his hit Edinburgh Fringe Festival shows "One Man and His Doggerel" and "Countrybile" together with a number of greatest hits, B-sides and previously unpublished gems. Deftly witty, satirical but not afraid to be plain daft, Elvis McGonagall's work takes aim at our septic isle of zero-hours contracts, food banks and Kirsty Allsopp cup-cakery and beyond. From Scottish independence to the "war on terror" via turbo-capitalist greed, from Blair and Bush to Dave and Boris via the death of Thatcher, from William Wallace's taste for cheese to the Queen's love of gangsta rap, Elvis kicks against the pricks and the injustices inherent in austerity Britain but still finds time to wax lyrical about the joys of whisky, Greek islands and the godforsaken rural idyll where he currently abides.His tightly written quick-fire verse, shot through with his customary moral umbrage and rhetorical power, is here annotated with his own irreverent explanatory notes highlighting the workings of his befuddled mind as he scribbled these poems from the dubious comfort of his revolting armchair at the Graceland Caravan Park. The book also features fabulous illustrations from the acclaimed artist Tony Kerins. And a poem about Vincent Van Gogh's left ear.