Get to Know Berghahn is a recurring interview feature that introduces the hardworking people behind the scenes at Berghahn. This week’s subject is Publicity and Marketing Executive Ben Parker.

1. How long have you been at Berghahn? What did you do before that?
I have been at Berghahn for almost 2 years, it will be my second anniversary here at the end of August. Before that I was at The History Press, based in Stroud.

2. What do you read when you aren’t reading Berghahn books?
Almost exclusively poetry. Mainly contemporary poets, but also people like Yeats and Eliot. I have also started to read my own work in public, at various Oxford venues, as can be seen in the photo.

3. What’s a skill or talent you have that no one at the office knows about?
In my spare time I write poetry, and have published in a number of UK magazines, but people in the office know about that because I drag them along to the readings I do! No one in the office has seen me climb though, and that is my hobby of choice after poetry.

4. Where would you want to live if you could move the Berghahn offices anywhere? Why?
I currently live on the same road as the Berghahn office, so if the office moved my commute would be significantly longer. That said, I’d be happy somewhere warmer and with some decent rocks to climb. The middle of England is not very good for either of those things.

5. What’s your favorite thing about working at Berghahn?
Because the office is quite small I feel that I know everyone here far more than I would at a larger company, which makes the atmosphere an enjoyable one to work in, and I have a real sense of involvement with the books we publish.