"After doing my research, soliciting and collecting all the articles, I started to think of a way to put together a book on the Earl. I had several ideas: one was doing a kind of 'rock star' presentation of the Earl as the best way to bring out his unique personality and qualities as an artist, writer, performer and bookshop proprietor as well as highlighting the wide range of interests throughout his life. Secondly, there was a desire to put together a type of 'literary companion' to ESAW. Many of the pieces chosen on his novels for instance will help to treat the work more seriously and provide scholars and researchers starting points for further discussion of his work. The final idea was doing a book in celebration of the Earl and his life (on the 25th Anniversary of his publishing company). The 'rock star' A to Z approach also seemed to be the best way to maintain a focus on the texts at hand as well as inclusiveness (a hallmark of Michael's publishing approach). Unfortunately, not every book published by ESAW could be included and in some instances the 'rock' theme behind the book helped shape the selection with a majority of the books and poems discussed here having some cross over between literary culture and pop culture" - Mark Pirie (editor of The Earl is in ... 25 Years of the Earl of Seacliff Art Workshop)
Some of those featured in the book include: David Eggleton, Elizabeth Smither, Nigel Brown, Gregory O'Brien, Roger Steele, Iain Sharp, John Quilter and many others from the New Zealand literary and artistic community.
This book is destined to become a valuable resource for anyone interested in NZ literature over the past quarter of a century, it is also an entertaining look at the bohemian culture of the time, full of rich anecdotes as well as factual information
