Roger McGough
"the patron saint of poetry" - Carol Ann Duffy
About Roger McGough
Roger’s poems have a brilliant knack for taking things we recognise – places, people, situations – and giving them a spin so all of a sudden we see them in new ways, and usually have a big belly laugh along the way. A poet with great comic timing and a sharp eye for the silly, as well as a wonderful ear for word play, Roger’s also able to make us think as well as laugh, as in a poem like ‘Oxygen’. You’ll never take the air you breathe for granted again.
Roger is a brilliant reader and performer of his work, whether it’s with a bit of added music in the background or in front of adoring audiences, and as you’ll hear on these poems he can switch between storytelling- wit to spooky whisper, depending on the mood of the poem. In ‘Nine to Five’ the world of work gets a peculiar twist – listen to hear how he uses the language and images from the start of the poem to create hilarious confusion by the end.
Roger uses a mix of free verse and form, sometimes using rhyme to help the poems have more of a songlike quality and rhythm. He also loves word play and nonsense, bringing playfulness to his work.
Roger was born near Liverpool and after studying he returned to Merseyside to work as a teacher. He formed a band called The Scaffold, performing a mix of songs and his poems and even managing to land a number one single!
Together with two other poets, Adrian Henri and Brian Patten, Roger released The Mersey Sound anthology in 1967 which went on to become one of the country’s most loved and read books of poetry. Roger’s appeared in films, is a regular figure on the radio and has received lots of awards and other honours, including the Freedom of the City of Liverpool.
Roger's recording was made on 5 April 2003 at Colwall Village Hall, Herefordshire and was produced by Adrian Mealing.
Featured in the Archive
Selected Bibliography
Sky in the Pie, Penguin UK, 1983
Nailing the Shadow, Penguin UK, 1987
An Imaginary Menagerie, Penguin UK, 1988
Pillow Talk, Puffin, 1990
The Kite and Caitlin, Penguin UK, 1996
Bad Bad Cats, Penguin UK, 1997
Good Enough to Eat, Puffin, 2002
Moonthief, Kingfisher, 2002
What on Earth Can It Be?, Penguin, 2003
The Bee's Knees, Puffin, 2003
All the Best, Puffin, 2004
Dotty Inventions, Frances Lincoln , 2005
The Monsters' Guide to Choosing a Pet, Puffin, 2005
Slapstick , Puffin, 2008
Awards
2003 Freedom of the City of Liverpool
1998 Cholmondeley Award
1999 Signal Poetry Award Bad, Bad Cats
1984 Signal Poetry Award Sky in the Pie
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