It Never Rains by Roger McGough - an expanded edition of comic verse and free line drawings, from the nation's favourite poetWhile up at MagdalenSpent the time dagdalen.Moved on to CaiusBecame the baius knaius.'Oxford Blues' is one of the many new poems in this expanded and revised edition of The State of Poetry, Roger McGough's book of short humorous verse which was published in 2005 as part of Penguin's 70s series celebrating its 70th anniversary. From a poem commissioned to commemorate Dylan Thomas in just 140 characters, which unfortunately comes to an end mid-word, to a pre-emptive erratum notice, these poems show McGough at his inventive, hilarious best - and there are also new line drawings by the author offered at no extra cost.'The patron saint of poetry' Carol Ann DuffyRoger McGough was a member of the group Scaffold in the 1960s when he contributed poems to the Penguin title The Mersey Sound, which has since sold...

There are eighty of Roger McGough's favourite poems in this hugely enjoyable collection, gathered together into a new volume to celebrate Roger's 80th birthday! Sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always inventive, the enormous variety of poems from this hugely popular poet will never cease to amaze and delight children of all ages.

Roger McGough is one of Britain's best loved poets and this collection 'charts [his] passage from youthful exuberance to the wry reflection of his later years. What remains the same throughout the 40 years is the poet's winning wit, accessibility and abiding readability' Independent ---------------------------------- 'Time has confirmed ... that McGough's talent was much more substantial than many of his long-forgotten detractors suspected. If he was a pop poet it was not in any ephemeral sense. A shy extrovert ... he has given voice to poetry and found a voice of his own which is humourful, introspective, irreverent, easy on the ear, conversational. It is also memorable and enduring and fresh. Age has not withered [his lines] nor diminished their potency. Of how much modern poetry can you say that?' Sunday Herald ** About the Author Roger McGough was a member of the group Scaffold in the 1960s when he contributed poems to the Penguin title The Mersey Sound, which has since sold over a million copies and is now available as a Penguin Classic. He has published many books of poems for children and adults, and both his Collected Poems (2004) and Selected Poems (2006) are also available in Penguin. He presents Poetry Please on Radio 4 and is President of the Poetry Society. He was honoured with the Freedom of the City of Liverpool in 2001 and with a CBE in 2005 for services to literature.

Roger McGough's eagerly-awaited new collection is a powerful testament to the miraculous in the everyday. Here he builds us his world: one of chance encounters and embarrassing moments, of big questions and small wonders. 'At that awkward age now between birth and death,' he addresses Alzheimers and wrestles with mortality. He resolves (and fails) to live every day as if it were his last, joins the Foreign Legion, jives in Macca's trousers, shares the pain of Mr Sappho and Lord Godiva and plans a prison break.With his inimitable warmth, wit and wordplay, Roger McGough affirms his position as the pre-eminent poet of the magic moment – the happy collision of life, language and the imagination.