Waiting for Music is the fifth collection of poetry from the acclaimed writer Simon Mundy. A great champion of the arts, his relationships with musicians, visual artists and dancers are the main driving force behind his poetry, and this book sets out a playlist that stems from music, visual art and dance – from Brahms' late piano works to a scene for soprano and dancers, written to be set by Roxanna Panufnik, that was inspired by a 16th century picture in the National Gallery. Published after a year spent waiting for music to appear on our landscape once more, Waiting for Music collects the voices of an array of composers, cultures and forms, set against backdrops ranging from Valparaiso to the Veneto, and celebrates the sounds and stages that have been missing from our lives this silent year.

'Mundy can be cheeky, he can be rueful, but he is always passionate.' (Daljit Nagra on By Fax to Alice Springs) 'A book I will take with me as my companion everywhere… Beautiful.' (Bettany Hughes on More for Helen of Troy)

Simon Mundy studied drama at university, but soon veered towards writing poetry and reviews, and at 23 he found himself a music critic and arts journalist. A champion of the arts, he has served as Director of the National Campaign for the Arts and Vice-President of PEN International's Writers for Peace Committee, and he co-founded the European Forum for the Arts and Heritage; he remains an adviser to the European Festivals Association. His writing includes biographies, novels, non-fiction, playscripts and poetry.