That there is a link between psychiatric illness and creativity seems widely accepted, although not completely understood. The 'black dog' of clinical depression has kept me intermittent company since my early teens, and I have often written prolifically while recovering from periods of depressive illness. Once read, these poems will always be your companions. By turns they move and delight with their beauty, wit and depth of fellow-feeling. These are the real thing. Dr Iain McGilchrist Consultant Psychiatrist, The Priory Hospital Former Fellow in English Literature, Oxford University