Nick Drake's From the Word Go explores the different meanings and implications which are tightly packed into that small word ñ from departures on journeys in this world and beyond it, through expulsions from homes, places and relationships, to the possibilities of adventure and new discovery.

At the heart of the book is a sequence describing the dying, death and afterlife of his father, an account of the struggles, fears, comedies, losses and revelations of that final process of going out of this world.

From the Word Go builds upon the considerable achievement of Nick Drake's award-winning first collection, The Man in the White Suit.

"Subtle, funny and tremendously moving. He has an eye for the small detail as well as the big picture. These poems brilliantly evoke time and place."
Jackie Kay

"Nick Drake shows a talent for capturing the suffering and loneliness of people, and the instantaneousness of eventsÖ His Czech roots and friendships with AIDS victims add particularity and worldliness to his elegies and love poems."
Sarah Wardle, Poetry Review

"Culturally eclectic and socially engaged, The Man in the White Suit is exciting stuffÖ a highly effective wit with a serious agenda."
Peter Lawson, Times Literary Supplement