ISBN: 9781835435526 CAT: POETRY PRICE: £8.99 / $11.99 IMPRINT: OLYMPIA PUBLISHERS ARTWORK: JEREMY CUNNINGHAM   Available from a range of booksellers including Amazon, Foyles, Waterstones and from www.olympiapublishers.com www.levellers.co.uk

In Undercover Work, Nick Burbridge masterfully intertwines the shadowy world of espionage with poignant explorations of humanity’s fragility. This collection exposes the lives of those operating in the margins undercover officers surrounded by ethical dilemmas, poets suffering from psychosis, families and lovers whose relationships are blighted by the dereliction of society. Essential to its understanding is a unique insight into the Irish Troubles and their resolution, military ‘dirty tricks’, and the effects on ordinary people. The book deliberately evokes comparisons with other forms of conflict and every poem speaks the harsh, raw essence of the complex interplay of identities, loyalties and histories.

Burbridge’s work is an intense reflection on sustaining oneself and the cost of living with concealed truths. The book appeals to readers looking for narrative poetry characterised by wry but impassioned observation.

For all its unflinching focus, this is a rare, kaleidoscopic collection, shot through with black humour, empathy, and a real sense of poetic justice.

Burbridge’s poetry is well-sculpted, richly descriptive, and accessible, but there is in it a straddling angst and a dark edginess that marks it out as distinct amidst the mainstream.

ALAN MORRISON, Morning Star