YOU THINK IT STRANGE

This is the first part in an intended trilogy that tells the shockingly intimate story of how the grandson of a Jewish gangster came from being a ship's mate, a butcher boy to a lawyer, leading public figure, an art collector, and a published poet.

YOU THINK IT STRANGE is a punchy yet lyrical memoir, magically rendered: as Tom puts it ‘Knausgaard by way of Philadelphia.' From his sprawling extended family to every day faces he sees on the streets, Dan Burt deftly brings each character to life with empathy, a dark humour and stark honesty. Please find attached the manuscript for your consideration now.

Dan Burt was born in South Philadelphia, the son of a butcher who left school at thirteen when the Depression began and a mother, a high school graduate, whose family controlled the Tenderloin area of central Philadelphia. In 1994 Burt moved to London, where he lives today. His poetry first appeared in journals and periodicals in 2007, including: Poetry Review; PN Review; the TLS; the Financial Times; the New Statesman and other periodicals. He lives and writes in London, Maine, and St John's College, Cambridge, of which he is an Honourary Fellow.

Previously published in the UK by Notting Hill Editions (2013), Overlook/Duckworth will publish his memoir YOU THINK IT STRANGE in 2015. Granta excerpted a portion of this memoir in their November on-line edition.