A collection of poetry for everyone in particular.

The Beauty Within Shadow was written between August 2019 and June 2020.These poems are concerned with the balancing of darkness and light in our everyday lives, the search for an understanding of pain and sorrow, and the processing of other thoughts we’d usually avoid by filling our days with mindless distractions."Shove up National Treasures. We need to make room for Henry Normal." - Radio Times"The Alan Bennett of poetry" - The Scotsman"Distinctly funny" -...

Henry Normal uses poetry, storytelling and comedy to tackle big subjects with his trademark humour. This collection includes five of his funny and moving BBC Radio 4 shows:A Normal Family is centred around Henry's son, Johnny, who was diagnosed with autism. Through stand-up and poetry, Henry explores what this means for Johnny, for himself, and for his wife, Angela.A Normal Life continues to draw on Henry's experiences of bringing up a chil...

'A wonderful self-portrait of a family with autism at its heart. Uplifting and grounded, frank and encouraging, serious and funny, A Normal Family affirms that there is life after an ASD diagnosis - an atypical life, yes, but an abundant and nourishing life just the same' David Mitchell, author of THE REASON I JUMPJohnny is nineteen. He likes music, art and going to the beach. He is also autistic - in his case tha...

Henry Normal's first poetry book in over twenty years, combining both new and selected poems from his previous performance work. This collection encompasses the subjects of love, death, loneliness, loss, human frailty and other classic conversation stoppers. Narrated by the author."Succinct, heartrending and peppered with gentle punchlines" - The Guardian"The Alan Bennett of poetry" - The ScotsmanHenry Normal is a writer, poet, TV and film producer, founder of the M...

The Beauty Within Shadow is narrated by Henry Normal.Written between August 2019 and June 2020, these poems are concerned with the balancing of darkness and light in our everyday lives, the search for an understanding of pain and sorrow, and the processing of other thoughts we’d usually avoid by filling our days with mindless distractions."Shove up National Treasures. We need to make room for Henry Normal." - Radio Times"The Alan Bennett of poetry" - The Scotsman

This Phantom Breath was written between August 2016 and August 2017.The poems in this collection are concerned with love, death, truth and other inconvenient distractions."Witty and uncannily accurate with his observations" - The StageHenry Normal is a writer, poet, TV and film producer, founder of the Manchester Poetry Festival (now the Manchester Literature Festival) and co-founder of the Nottingham Poetry Festival. In June 2017 he was honoured with a spe...

A Moonless Night was written between December 2022 and December 2023.“Poetry about embracing darkness, finding light, and exploring the depths of my lack of substance.” Henry NormalBorn in St Ann’s, Nottingham, in 1956, Henry Normal now lives in East Sussex with screenwriter Angela Pell and their son, Johnny.Henry performs poetry at Literature Festivals and theatres around the UK and regularly posts on the internet. He has been awarded honorary degrees by both Notti...

'A wonderful self-portrait of a family with autism at its heart. Uplifting and grounded, frank and encouraging, serious and funny, A Normal Family affirms that there is life after an ASD diagnosis - an atypical life, yes, but an abundant and nourishing life just the same' David Mitchell, author of THE REASON I JUMPJohnny is nineteen. He likes music, art and going to the beach. He is also autistic - in his case tha...

Henry Normal's first poetry collection in over twenty years, combining both new and selected poems from his previous performance work. This collection encompasses the subjects of love, death, loneliness, loss, human frailty and other classic conversation stoppers.First published by Five Leaves in 2016, Staring Directly at the Eclipse is revised and reissued by Flapjack Press in 2018."Succinct, heartrending and peppered with gentle punchlines" - The Guardian"The Alan...

An all-new collection written between June 2020 and March 2021."Finally, a collection of poetry about joy, positivity and optimism, before I die unloved and forgotten." - Henry Normal.Henry Normal is a writer, poet, TV and film producer, founder of the Manchester Poetry Festival (now the Manchester Literature Festival) and co-founder of the Nottingham Poetry Festival. In June 2017 he was honoured with a special BAFTA for services to television.Henry co-wrote and scr...

An all-new poetry collection from the creator, writer and performer of the award-winning BBC Radio 4 series, A Normal…Written between October 2018 and July 2019, these poems are concerned with the nature of change, identity, worth, and other abstract notions that get in the way of lunch.Henry Normal is a writer, poet, TV and film producer, founder of the Manchester Poetry Festival (now the Manchester Literature Festival) and co-founder of the Nottingham Poetry Fest...