In the Land of the Giants

George Szirtes was born in Budapest in 1948, and came to England with his family after the 1956 Hungarian Uprising. He was educated in England, training as a painter, and has always written in English. In recent years he has worked as a translator of Hungarian literature, producing editions of such writers as Ottó Orbán, Zsuzsa Rakovszky and Ágnes Nemes Nagy. He co-edited Bloodaxe’s Hungarian anthology The Colonnade of Teeth. His Bloodaxe poetry books are The Budapest File (2000); An English Apocalypse (2001); Reel (2004), winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize; New & Collected Poems (2008) and The Burning of the Books and other poems (2009), shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize 2009. Bloodaxe has also published John Sears’ critical study Reading George Szirtes (2008). Szirtes lives in Norfolk and teaches at the University of East Anglia.

• AcknowledgementsFour Superstitions1. The Sneezing Week2. Watch who you are winking at3. Bad signs4. Runs till it dropsThree Fires and a FloodFlameThe Great Fire of LondonThe Fire’s HeartThe FloodThe Bee’s KneesThe Bee’s KneesThe Wasp’s WaistThe Serpent’s TailThe Fish’s FingersThe Bicycle’s WristsThe Clouds’ HairThe Wind’s FaceThe Sea’s HandsThe Sun’s ToesThe Cold’s TeethThe Refrigerator’s BellyThe Wall’s EarsThe Bedroom ChestThe Clothes-hanger’s CollarboneThe Book’s SpineThe Window’s EyesThe Butcher’s CalvesThe Bottle’s NeckThe Cup’s LipThe Ice Cream’s TongueThe Cave’s MouthThe Lake’s BottomThree Mysteries1. The Lost Sock Mystery2. The Mystery of the Ant3. The Rainbow MysteryIn the Land of the GiantsRock A ByeBeware Of The Bear!In The Land Of GiantsAt Gran’sFancy DressHenryBravePianistSoulfulFlautistPlumbing ServiceEgg MagicThe Great DrongoPoetNo, LoveVisitorMiss StringMiss StringAhemOld CouplesWhoopsaMoonlifeMoon QuestionsSpace Comes Out at NightApple TreeMouse DreamingGoldfishAnimal LoreThe Wreck of The HopeFrom the HungarianBirdThe SpringThe EarthAntA Poem about Two SealsWinter TreesStorksSnailThe Bear’s DilemmaThree Short Verses About the WindSleighbellsDeep in the Wood the Violets DrowseMy Dog AceHappy New Year

'No primary-school teacher who reads poetry to children should be without George Szirtes’s The Red-All-Over Riddle Book.