Simon Rae’s love of the Oxfordshire countryside is illuminated by a wry and poetic perception of the facts of rural life. He has written a poem for every month of the year, each with a pen and ink drawing by one of two talented illustrators, Sue Cave and Brian Partridge.

Simon Rae is well-known as a poet, biographer and anthologist and as a presenter of ‘Poetry Please’ on BBC Radio 4. He won the National Poetry Prize in 2000.