"For anyone in Wales with the slightest interest in who we are and how we manage our rain-driven lives this is essential reading."
Peter Finch

"In Wrestling in Mud we encounter Herb Williams at the peak of his powers, a wise, reflective, mature poet who at the same time delights in being as scurrilous and acerbic as a thwarted teenager. Williams tackles the big themes – love, death, illness and trauma with a clarity and understanding that can make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, tears well up in your eyes and then, with a magician’s dexterity he changes the mood, yanks the rug of predictability and the next poem will turn those tears to laughter. There’s long lasting monogamous love sitting next to cider-sweet temptation; tragic illness juxtaposed with tragi-comedy. His technical skill as a poet is wide ranging, embracing rap and traditional forms will equal facility. In reading this book you will get to know Herb Williams very well. In the power of his art, however, you will get to know yourself even better."
Ifor Thomas