Peter Finch (poet)

Peter Finch
File:Peter finch.jpg
Born	Peter Finch 6 March 1947 Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales
Occupation	Poet, Author
Nationality	Welsh
Website
www.peterfinch.co.uk

Peter Finch (born 1947) is a Welsh poet and author living in Cardiff, Wales. He was Chief Executive of Academi, the Welsh National Literature Promotion Agency and Society of Writers. As a writer he works in both traditional and experimental forms. He is best known for his poetry readings, his creative work based on his native city of Cardiff and his knowledge of the UK poetry publishing scene.

Career

Peter Finch was born in 1947, in Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales.

In the 1960s and 1970s he edited the literary magazine, Second Aeon, exhibited visual poetry internationally and toured with sound poet Bob Cobbing.

In the 1980s and 1990s he concerned himself with performance poetry, was a founder member of Cardiff's Cabaret 246 and of the trio Horse's Mouth. This was work with props, owing as much to theatre as it did to literature. In the new Millennium he was worked on psychogeographies and alternative guides to his native city of Cardiff.

Finch lectures throughout the UK, often on the subject of Cardiff and urban living. In addition to the readings Finch also delivers a number of presentations on the poetry publishing scene (how to get yourself published – a demystification of the arcane world of books, magazines and the internet), on the history of sound poetry (which features histrionic performances of dada texts and the playing of numerous historical recordings), on the writing of short fiction and on the history of the small press. He works with schools and has led young people's writing squads in co-operation with local authorities.

From the early seventies until the late nineties he was treasurer of ALP, the Association of Little Presses. Between 1975 and 1998 he ran the Arts Council of Wales's specialist Oriel Bookshop in Cardiff. From 1998 he was Chief Executive of Yr Academi Gymreig/ The Welsh Academy – the Welsh National Literature Promotion Agency and Society for Writers.

Bibliography

N°	Name	Published	Publisher	Notes
1	Wanted For Writing Poetry	1968	Second Aeon	with Stephen Morris
2	An Alteration in the Way I Breathe	1969	Quickest Way Out
3	Pieces of the Universe	1969	Second Aeon
4	Beyond The Silence	1970	Vertigo
5	Circle of the Suns	1970	Art Living
6	The Edge of Tomorrow	1971	BB Books	with Jeanne Rushton
7	The End of the Vision	1971	John Jones Ltd
8	Blats	1972	Second Aeon
9	Typewriter Poems	1972	Something Else Press	editor
10	Whitesung	1972	Aquila
11	Antarktika	1973	Writers Forum
12	Getting Your Poetry Published	1973	Association of Little Presses
13	Trowch Eich Radio 'Mlaen	1977	Writers Forum
14	Green Horse	1978	Christopher Davies	co-edited with Meic Stephens
15	How to Learn Welsh	1978	Christopher Davies	editor
16	Connecting Tubes	1980	Writers Forum
17	Blues and Heartbreakers	1981	Galloping Dogs
18	The O Poems	1981	Writers Forum
19	Visual Texts 1970–1980	1981	Pyrofiche	microfiche edition
20	Between 35 and 42	1982	Alun Books
21	On Criticism	1984	Writers Forum
22	Some Music and a Little War	1984	Rivelin Grapheme
23	How to Publish Your Poetry	1985	Allison & Busby	re-issued 1998
24	Reds in the Bed	1985	Galloping Dog
25	How To Publish Yourself	1987	Allison & Busby	re-issued 1997
26	Selected Poems	1987	Poetry Wales Press
27	Cheng Man Ch'ing Variations	1990	Writers Forum
28	Make	1990	Galloping Dog
29	Publishing Yourself, Not Too Difficult After All	1990	Association of Little Presses
30	Poems for Ghosts	1991	Seren
31	Five Hundred Cobbings	1994	Writers Forum
32	The Poetry Business	1994	Seren
33	The Spe ell	1995	Writers Forum
34	Small Presses & Little Magazines of the UK and Ireland, An Address List	1996	Oriel Bookshop	compiler
35	Antibodies	1997	Stride
36	Dauber	1997	Writers Forum
37	Useful	1997	Seren
38	Food	2001	Seren
39	Real Cardiff	2002	Seren
40	Vizet – Water	2003	Konkret Konyvek
41	Real Cardiff 2	2004	Seren
42	The Big Book Of Cardiff	2005	Seren	co-edited with Grahame Davies
43	Welsh Poems	2006	Shearsman
44	Selected Later Poems'	2007	Seren
45	Real Wales'	2008	Seren
46	Real Cardiff 3'	2009	Seren