A master of his craft. Look out for his Collected Poems. Inspired a generation eg gorgeous Liz Lochead.

A treat. As is B.B.'s New York. See also Hogarth's collaborations with Greene, Graves and Betjeman.

Sense and style. Look out for John Carey who wrote foreword. Formidably intelligent editor and critic.

Peerless art critic. Honest and truthful right down to the end.

Ignore his sagas and illustrated golfing anecdotes. Go for a collection of his gently surreal one-offs. Like this.

Fulfills the brief on the dust jacket; and then some. Rather Robert than Clive or Germaine.

Enjoy this great man's company. Especially the timeless incident in the glovemaker's shop.

The prototypical Honest Ulsterman. Seek out his marvellous songs. Lived to see sexual liberation in Ireland catch up with him - almost.

A long and pointless journey in the hoofprints of an old Japanese bag-of-bones. Stop and unwrap a haiku - 'where there are men/ there are flies/ and buddhas' - Issa

A token Russian. And a token novel. Lolita is unforgettable. Wicked and morally dubious. Brilliant passages of black comedy.

Many are tempted to diagnose Swift's malady. He was both a one-off and an exemplar of his time. Ironist, spin doctor, 'no poet', entertainer . The magic is his language -- always newly minted, modern

Always worth listening to. Bracing to think he is an old boy now. The young crowd is so tiresome.