Poems of love and hate; poems of religion and death, loss and grief; poems to touch your soul... John Eliot's poems cover an expanse, from thoughts inspired by an old family photograph taken before the First World War claimed two brothers on the Somme, to remembering the birth of his son when he stood as proud father. Another poem in the collection was begun in 1970 and finished in 2014. The feeling and understanding that John brought to his role as a teacher of religion is evident when we read of St Cecelia or of the death of Jesus in The King of Thorns. The rural France where John lives is...

Dr Thomas Eliot, just arrived from Europe at the end of the Second World War, gets his first post at Leicester in the UK. As an enthusiastic young man, he is full of fresh ideas. Nevertheless, he sees the people around him coping with life while the rationing is still in force causing a lack of good food. The Good Doctor feels, after being the victors of a long hard conflict in Europe, these people deserve better. Food poisoning strikes the council estate, and turns leads to the cause; tins of poor-quality food being sold by the local factory owner, Sir Roger Folville. Events unravel, which...

In his third collection of poetry, John Eliot examines thoughts, fears, hopes and feelings surrounding the conclusion of life. His own fear of death finds poignancy in the mundane sufficient to elevate it to the spiritual. Eliot says this poetry is a therapy, "certainly for me, and perhaps also for you, the reader. I hope so."