Merseyside has had many poets and still has,Liverpool will
continue to breed these men and women of words for many years to come, of that
I have no doubt. In this article I intend to tell you a little about three of
the great poets who have been a part of
'the Liverpool scene'. The Liverpool Scene was the title of a poetry
book in 1967, published in London and bringing to the public the works of Roger
McGough, Brian Patten and Adrian Henry. These three poets had gathered a
growing following in the early 60's by often reading their poems in places like
Steates Coffee Bar, O'Connors' Tavern and the Everyman Theatre.
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| McGough, Henri and Patten |
'The Liverpool Poets' - Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and
Brian Patten - met in Liverpool in 1961, and published their collection of
poems The Mersey Sound in 1967.
Adrian Henri, a well known character in Liverpool, was born
in Tranmere, Birkenhead in 1932, he was raised and educated in Wales. In 1957,
he graduated in Art from the University of Durham and two years later moved to
Liverpool where he lived and worked until his death. He became interested in
poetry and jazz after meeting Roger McGough and Brian Patten in 1961, with whom
he published his first collection of poems The Mersey Sound (1967). Between
1967 and 1970, Henri was the singer/poet with Liverpool Scene, a rock/poetry
group. He was later President of the Liverpool Academy of Arts. A major
retrospective of Henri's work was exhibited at the Walker Art Gallery,
Liverpool in 2000.
Love is By Adrian Henri
Roger McGough was born in Litherland in Liverpool, and attended
the University of Hull where he read Geography, French and Education he worked
as a teacher in Liverpool, before joining the music/poetry group the Scaffold
(1963-1973). Rogers poetry was first published, with work by Adrian Henri and
Brian Patten in The Mersey Sound (1967). He went on to publish many poetry
collections and books for children, amongst which are; Selected Poems 1967–1987
(1989), You at the Back: Selected Poems (1991), The Kite and Caitlin (1996),
The Bee's Knees (2003) and his autobiography Said and Done. Roger McGough was
awarded an OBE in 1997 and a CBE in 2004 for services to literature. In 2001 he
was honoured with the Freedom of the City of Liverpool, along with Adrian Henri
and Brian Patten.
Mafia Cats By Roger McGough
Brian Patten was born in Liverpool and attended Sefton Park
Secondary Modern School. Brian performed poetry at various Liverpool venues,
during which time he met Roger McGough and Adrian Henri. In 1962 Patten began
to publish his poetry magazine Underdog, in 1967, along with Henri and McGough
he published The Mersey Sound, followed by his first major solo poetry
collection Little Johnny's Confession. In 1970 published his first book for
children The Elephant and the Flower. Amongst his many published works since
are various anthologies, including Love Poems (1981) and Storm Damage (1995),
and works for children including Thawing Frozen Frogs (1990) and The Magical
Bicycle (1993). He has also written extensively for the stage, television and
radio. He has won several awards, including an award from the Mystery Writers
of America Guild for Mr Moon's Last Case (1975). In 2001 he was honoured with
the Freedom of the City of Liverpool, along with Henri and McGough. Brian
achieved Fellowship of the Royal Society of Literature and of Liverpool
University and John Moores University, Liverpool.
Angel Wings By Brian Patten
Links
Sources
Liverpool Univerity
Central Libray
You Tube
