Kit Wright

“There’s no shame in beginning by imitation – in fact, everybody does.”

About Kit Wright

‘The Magic Box’ is probably Kit Wright’s best known poem. Just like the magic box, his poetry contains an extraordinary collection of contrasts.

There are plenty of jokes and things to smile about. In Kit’s books you’ll meet a cast of crazy characters, including the dreadful Dave Dirt. And like Dave, the poems are never afraid of a bit of slobber or snot.

But tucked in amongst the humour, there are some poems that face up to the sad and the serious parts of life, like ‘All of Us’. There are also poems to make us ponder, like ‘Nothing else’. And there some poems that are simply magical – like ‘The Magic Box’’

And some poems manage to be comic and sad and thought-provoking and magical all at the same time.
Whether it’s a poem of laughter or lament, Kit always reads with perfect rhythm and pace. Listen out in ‘Heads or Tails’, for his keen sense of comic timing.

Kit uses rhythm and rhyme as well as assonance and alliteration to create poems that sound pleasing to the ear. Some use repetition and refrain and sound almost like a song. Some are quite twisting for the tongue!

Kit’s poems also offer some striking imagery. In ’All of Us’, people are pictured as mussels clinging to the sea wall, pounded by the waves.

Kit Wright was born in Kent and grew up in a boarding school where his father was a teacher. His father wrote poems which were usually light-hearted or funny. And he encouraged his children to do the same. Apart from a short time teaching at a university in Canada, Kit has nearly always worked as a writer.

His house in London is also home to his cats – and his poetry certainly reveals a soft spot for cats and dogs!

Kit's recording was made on 31 March 2003 at The Audio Workshop, London and was produced by Richard Carrington.