After several years of literary silence, Brian Burland has published a new collection of poems through George Rushe's firm, Paget Productions.

"I have always felt a great reticence about publishing my poetry,'' the author confesses, "and usually sneaked them in the front and back of my novels. But, at my age, I have now decided to stop being falsely modest. I realise,'' he adds, "that life is so short, you have to share every good thing with everyone.'' Mr. Burland's poems, selected from a lifetime of writing, and published now for the first time, are dedicated to "my beloved Bermuda''. Covering a range of themes, some of which are biographical, they also include a memoriam for poet W.H. Auden, three tributes to the American poet Robert Lowell, and an elegy on the late President Kennedy.

"I've known Brian for some years now,'' says Mr. Rushe. "He told me he had a collection of poetry and I thought it would be a good idea to have it published.'' Noting that "in this day and age'', there is a very limited market for poetry -- however good -- Mr. Rushe explains that "Brian and I decided to produce this volume as a relatively low-cost venture. I think it's important that the work of a writer of his stature reaches the Bermuda public.'' Brian Burland, who has suffered ill health for some time now, is arguably Bermuda's only internationally acclaimed writer.

Born in 1931 on St. George's Day (an auspicious birthday for a writer in that April 23 is traditionally celebrated as the birth date for Shakespeare and is certainly the date on which he died), Mr. Burland spent most of his writing life in the US and England, returning to live permanently in Bermuda a few years ago. As he puts it: "I love Bermuda as Thomas Hardy loved Wessex, as William Faulkner loved Yoknapatawpha County.'' Mr. Burland received the rare distinction of being elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. As a member of the international P.E.N., he also served as a judge for the Syndicated Fiction Project. A member of the Academy of American Poets, Mr. Burland was a guest Fellow of Yale University, visiting professor at Connectict College, a member of the Arts Council of Princeton and founder of the Princeton Writers Group. In 1993, he was a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Bermuda Arts Council.

Mr. Burland, who is also an accomplished painter, was educated at Saltus Grammar School, Aldenham in the UK and at the University of Western Ontario.

For some years now, he has been a devout follower of the Bah'ai faith.

His novels, including the Bermuda trilogy, have received high praise around the world: `A Fall From Aloft' (published in 1968) was described by The Observer as `a novel of great and gripping force, and by The Irish Times as `a stunningly penetrating novel of truthful imagination'. The late Anthony Burgess, himself a towering figure of 20th Century English literature, wrote that it was "a work of art displaying great and unusual talent''.

"A Few Flowers for St. George'' similarly received rave reviews, with David Rabe describing his second volume in the trilogy as "One of the finest novels in contemporary English'' and by the Times Literary Supplement as "harrowingly effective''.

`Poems by Brian Burland' is now on sale at $20 at the Bermuda Bookstore and at the Book Mark, where a book-signing will be held this Saturday, April 18 between 12 noon and 2 p.m.