Re:reading the dictionary

26 poems, A-Z. It's a word-nerd's wet dream. Dictionary geek dives below the two-syllable surface to quarry in the silt of the obscure. Retrofits his findings to suit his inclinations. Dresses up his ignorance as poetry…


“Like a new Leonard Cohen throwing handfuls of water into the sun, Tim Sinclair tosses words, imagination, soul and an affectionate sense of play onto the page where they glitter and sparkle. These small gems of paragraphs perplex, amuse, intrigue and delight. I have no real idea what the book is about but I know it’s wonderful. As his narrator says, ‘No matter what it is you tell me, I have to know what happens next.’ I totally loved reading this. And not just because he knows how to use the word ‘lavish’.”


- Kate Holden, author The Romantic


“Tim Sinclair’s Re: reading the dictionary ought to be printed on a the back of a T-Shirt. Everyone from the guy at the supermarket checkout to the pack of teenagers on the train should read it. And when it fades from too many washes and sunlit days, it should be shouted from the trees. When we talk about the A-Z we usually think of ‘Oxford’, ‘Cambridge’, or ‘Dr. Seuss’, but now there is a new way of reading definitions of these twenty-six words. These poems are intelligent and always inspired. The way they surprise us and play with our perceptions is both charming and essential. If you took to the good bits with a highlighter, you’d end up with all fluorescent.”


- Bel Schenk, author Ambulances and Dreamers