The Erection Specialist is poetry-by-adventure, a throwback to literature that put the reader at the heart of the story. Niall Bourke's poetry centres the transformation of the characters within its labyrinthian structure, and ensures the reader is an active participant within that transformation. At the core of the narrative is a task to put up a tent, though this is more than that, this is a fight for poetic survival. The Erection Specialist stands to redefine the way we understand what poetry can offer in the 21st century and beyond.