“Finch is so good because of his constant need to create and recreate, and his refusal to accept barriers.” – Ian McMillan
“intelligent, irreverent and often genuinely funny” – Vernon Scannell, Ambit
“Finch deserves a Welsh knighthood.” – Richard Kostelanetz, Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes
“Ideas so good you can't think why you didn’t think of them first” – Jane Routh
"I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. If you’re remotely interested in Wales’ literature and how it developed – “it” being the nuts, the bolts, the print, the shelves, the cash till, the stock control, the Sellotape – you’ll love it. If not, it’s simply a rollicking account of social and cultural Wales this last half a century. Finch deploys the right amount of irreverence and respect to tell his stories." – Desmond Clifford, Nation.Cymru
A personal ramble around the book world from the man who has experienced all sides of it.
A handbook, a demystification and an intimate history of the wide literary world. Written with Peter Finch’s characteristic good humour, The Literary Business relates through bitingly well-observed vignettes how it is and how it was over the past six decades.
This book has something for everyone: writers, academics, critics and other enthusiasts in search of a no-holds-barred personal history; administrators wishing to navigate the obstacle course that is funding writers and writing; fans hunting data on the Poetry wars of the 70s, and fellow litterateurs who will want to check whether they have received a mention in these pages. If you’re new to the game and seeking publication, or just someone who enjoys the cut and thrust of the literary world, then this book is for you.
Few others in Wales know the business and how we got here like Finch does. And few others will have been capable of reporting back in such an entertaining fashion.
