The city of dreadful night

Thomson’s epic poem first appeared in 1874 and describes the poet’s journey through one night of a great city – London. A dark, pessimistic and deeply questioning work, this poem is a precursor of today’s ‘London writers’ – such as Peter Ackroyd and Iain Sinclair – and deserves a new audience. This work gives no easy answers and will force the reader to face up to some uncomfortable questions. a poem for our times. Clifford Harper’s drawings, done ten years ago,closely echo Thomson’s own vision of urban existence. With an essay on the poet by Philip Tew.