The First Little Bastard to Call Me Gramps: Poems of the Late Middle Ages [Hardcover]

Bill Richardson, winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour and former CBC Radio personality, delivers a “fresh and frisky” poetic take on transitioning into life as a retiree and living through the golden years.

In their frank and witty delivery, Richardson's illustrated retirement rhymes for the hoary-headed do not just playfully reveal the inevitable weakening that afflicts the mind and body as the years wear on, they also cast light on the ageless, exuberant spirit that too often remains hidden inside. From retirement homes, cruises, and grandchildren to liver spots, memory problems, and geriatric sex, Richardson's candid reflections on the trials, tribulations, and humiliations of growing old are funny, sharp, and irreverent.

Illustrated by award-winning artist Roxanna Bikadoroff,The First Little Bastard to Call Me Grampsis an essential companion to the graces, and disgraces, of ageing.

Bill Richardsonis a writer and broadcaster. His books includeBachelor Brothers’ Bed & Breakfast, which won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, andAfter Hamelin, a novel for children, which won the Silver Birch Award. For CBC Radio, he hostedRichardson’s RoundupandBunny Watson. He lives in Vancouver, B.C., and Holmfield, Manitoba.

Roxanna Bikadoroffis an award-winning Canadian artist whose illustrations have been published internationally for more than 25 years. Her work has been published (and shown) in Canada, the United States, Japan, England, Ireland, Europe, Romania, Brazil, Israel, and China. Her illustrations have appeared in hundreds of magazines and newspapers, includingThe New YorkerandThe Walrusmagazine and on numerous book covers. She works in a variety of mediums, has won numerous awards, and has served twice as a judge for the National Magazine Awards. She was born in Montreal and currently lives in Vancouver.

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