Only Poets Piss in Sinks: The Uncorrected Billy Childish

The Uncorrected Billy Childish was first published in 2009 as a ‘Penguin Art Edition’ by L-13 Light Industrial Workshop, in tandem with handbound, limited editions by the Tangerine Press. Penguin’s lawyers intervened, insisting that all paper-backs be destroyed, resulting in an infamous book burning event in central London. A new edition was forthcoming in 2018 from the Tangerine Press, with edits and additions. This latest iteration is fully updated, expanded, and revised, with a new pre-title. Selections have been made from various volumes published during the 1980s right up to the present time. A significant change is the addition of two extra sections: Madrigals and Poeming & Paintry, a decision deemed necessary due to Mr Childish’s vast and wideranging poetic output. Each section begins with a woodcut illustration by Bill Hamper. Finally, it should be noted by the reader that Mr Childish is dyslexic and the poems appear as written by himself.