At Heart A Romantic in Bloomington, MN

At Heart A Romantic
combines the poems of the 2004 pamphlet
An Essentially English Voice
, the 2005 full collection
The History of Civilisation
and the 2006 pamphlet
by Exeter poet and novelist
Andy Botterill in one volume. The poems are in a confessional style and in the vein of the American
Beat
tradition. They explore themes of reflection, relationships, emotional and spiritual stagnation, lost love, breakup, lifestyle, parenthood, nostalgia, current affairs and social realism. Many appeared in their original format in the small press magazines of both the UK and America at the time of writing, including in
Awen
,
Bard Hair Day
The Black Rose
Carillon
Cauldron
Connections
Dandelion Arts Magazine
Decanto
Feather Books
First Time
Fluvius
Linkway
Never Bury Poetry
Phoenix New Life Poetry
Poetry Cornwall
Poetry Now
Purple Patch
Quantum Leap
, and
Rubies In the Darkness
. All the poems have been updated with revisions and additions for this new collection, which continues the gradual reissue of all Andy Botterill's published poetry. He considers his work to be from the perspective of the outsider, loner or casual observer.