In Just Think of It, his first collection for over twenty years, Gavin Bantock proves that he has not grown tame. His many years in Japan have enriched his perspective when writing about life in Britain; he is also an acute observer of Japanese life from an Englishman's point of view. In his verse the clarity and simplicity of Japanese art combine with vivid (and often provocative and outlandish) imagery, as he writes with wit and precision on such subjects as the king crab, the speed of thought, and the proper place to read poetry: the lavatory.

Born in England in 1939, Gavin Bantock wrote his long poem `Christ' while at New College, Oxford. The poem won the Richard Hillary Award for 1964 and the Poetry Society's Award for 1966. Since 1969, when he received an Eric Gregory Award, he has lived in Japan, teaching drama at Reitaku University. In 1998 he was awarded third prize in the Arvon Foundation International Poetry Competition.