Travelling Light
Published on 20. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
86 pages
978-1-0682145-8-5 (ISBN)
Description
From a cheerful widow in Chicago to a Killing Fields tour guide in Cambodia, from a teacher in Cuba to a Minister of Information in India, people are invariably more interesting and multi-faceted than they at first appear - if you are prepared to give them time and listen to their stories.
Years of listening and travelling have been condensed into Nigel Planer's new poetry collection, which - as well as having an enormous cast list of people from all around the world - has poems which are personal, emotional, raw, and sometimes plain silly.
Years of listening and travelling have been condensed into Nigel Planer's new poetry collection, which - as well as having an enormous cast list of people from all around the world - has poems which are personal, emotional, raw, and sometimes plain silly.
Reviews / Votes
"Moving, funny and brilliant poetry by Nigel Planer, who makes me sick." Christopher Eccleston, actor"If life is a journey, then I'm revising my list of carry-on essentials: travel documents, toothbrush, ear pods, nourishing berry lip mask, and a copy of Nigel Planer's Travelling Light, a poetic pick-me-up should any turbulence be encountered along the way." Brian Bilston, poet
"Nigel Planer can do that rare thing - be funny and sad in the same poem. How versatile he is - from Sapphic odes to an elegy for old rockers, he reveals a brain that absorbs everything going on around him and creates even more." Harry Mount, Editor of The Oldie
"The range, style and themes are vast. Filled with beauty, yet also deep pain, silly laughter, darkness, guitars and bastards. This collection has certainly
'got a woof'. Loved it." Dreda Say Mitchell, novelist, journalist & broadcaster
"Funny, moving, and intimate. An absolute delight to look over Nigel's shoulder, as he observes a world well-travelled. Hail, Planer, a task fulfilled!" Ayub Khan Din, writer & actor
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Manchester
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 197 mm
Width: 134 mm
Thickness: 6 mm
Weight
98 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-0682145-8-5 (9781068214585)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Nigel Planer was an original member of the Comedy Store and Comic Strip venues at the centre of the "Alternative Comedy" movement of the 1980s, and was a star of The Young Ones and The Comic Strip Presents... TV series. As well as enjoying a long career as a performer, he has written three novels, a memoir, several plays, TV and radio scripts, and over 100 episodes of The Magic Roundabout for Channel 4.
This is Nigel's third collection of poetry, following Making Other Plans (Flapjack Press, 2023) and Unlike the Buddha (Jackson's Arm, 1997). His poems have also been published in numerous anthologies and journals. Since the nineties, he has toured the country as a performance poet, appearing with (among others) Henry Normal, Martin Newell, Lemn Sissay and John Cooper Clarke, including performances at Literary Festivals, Radio 4's Stanza, and the Festival Hall in London.
This is Nigel's third collection of poetry, following Making Other Plans (Flapjack Press, 2023) and Unlike the Buddha (Jackson's Arm, 1997). His poems have also been published in numerous anthologies and journals. Since the nineties, he has toured the country as a performance poet, appearing with (among others) Henry Normal, Martin Newell, Lemn Sissay and John Cooper Clarke, including performances at Literary Festivals, Radio 4's Stanza, and the Festival Hall in London.