John O'Loughlin's first real collection of poems, written on and off during 1973-75, reflects the lyricism and formal simplicity of youth, showing the influence of poets like Rimbaud, Ezra Pound, Adrian Henri, and even Doors lead singer Jim Morrison on his formative years as a writer. All in all, a modest but by no means insignificant start to his literary vocation, which began rurally enough in Merstham, Surrey, before progressing, in 1974, first to Finsbury Park and then to Crouch End in north London, where the majority of these poems were written. 'Dosshouse Blues' will intrigue those who have personal experience of the horrors of solitary life in cheap urban lodgings.