Denis Boyles is a journalist, editor, university lecturer and the author/editor of several books of poetry, travel/history, criticism, humor, practical advice and essays, including Design Poetics (1975), The Modern Man's Guide to Life (1986), African Lives (1989), Man Eaters Motel (1991), A Man's Life: The Complete Instructions (1996), The Pocket Professor series (2001) and Vile France (2005), a satirical examination of French elites.