Roger McGough
Roger McGough CBE 2004; Cholmondeley Award 1998 |
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Roger Joseph McGough
Early life
McGough was born in
The Scaffold and Grimms
Returning to Merseyside in the early 1960s, McGough worked as a French teacher and, with
In 1971
Poetry
As a poet, McGough came to national prominence through the publication of
Let me die a youngman's death
not a free from sin tiptoe in
candlewax & waning death
not a curtains drawn by angels borne
'what a nice way to go' death
from "Let Me Die a Youngman's Death" (1967),
One of McGough's early poems, Let Me Die a Youngman's Death (but not, as the poem states, before the poet reaches 73, 91 or 104 years of age), was included in a
Philip Larkin included McGough's poetry in The Oxford Book of Twentieth Century English Verse, which he edited in 1973. Writing to McGough in 1980, Larkin congratulated him on the well-thumbed state of the copies of his books in Hull University's library, when compared to Larkin's own.[14]
Possibly his shortest, most memorable and overtly political poem, was entitled "Conservative Government Unemployment Figures". The text of poem repeats the words of the title, with layout and punctuation resulting in an arch critique.[15] The poem was referenced in a parliamentary debate in the House of Commons in 2004.[16]
The poetry of McGough has been the subject of academic study. It has been characterised, at least from its early examples, as being reliant on play with words and their meanings. It has also been noted to exhibit a stylised wit, and, at times, a sadness based on themes of lost youth, unfulfilled relationships, and the downside of city life. The form of some of his verse, it has been claimed, has been influenced by his experience of writing song lyrics.[17] A major critical examination of McGough's poetry, by American academic Ben Wright, was published in 2006. The author's stated aim was "to examine and evaluate the accessibility of Roger McGough's message to a wide, general readership, as well as appraising it by the most rigorous literary standards". McGough's popularity, commercial success, use of humour, and the lack of pretension of his verse has tended to restrict appreciation of his work as "serious poetry". Wright's study challenges this under-appreciation.[18]
Other activities
McGough was responsible for much of the humorous dialogue in the Beatles' animated film Yellow Submarine, although he did not receive an on-screen credit.[19]
On 2 March 1978, McGough appeared in
One of McGough's more unusual compositions was created in 1981, when he co-wrote an "electronic poem" called Now Press Return with the programmer Richard Warner for inclusion with the Welcome Tape of the BBC Micro home computer.[21] Now Press Return incorporated several novel themes, including user-defined elements to the poem, lines which changed their order (and meaning) every few seconds, and text which wrote itself in a spiral around the screen.[22] He contributed poetry to and narrated a programme in 1991 for Channel 4 called Equinox: The Elements about the elements.[23] He made a guest appearance on quiz panel show QI in 2006.
Three plays written by the 17th-century French playwright
McGough has also done some
He is a patron of Barnes Literary Society.[29] In 2019 he became the President of Arts Richmond for one year.[30][31]
Awards
McGough won a Cholmondeley Award in 1998, and was appointed an Officer (OBE) in 1997, and later, in 2004, Commander (CBE) of the Order of the British Empire.[32]
He holds an honorary
Academic posts
McGough was Fellow of Poetry at
Personal life
In 1970, McGough married Thelma Monaghan, and they had two children; they divorced in 1980. He married Hilary Clough in December 1986, with whom he has two children.[3] He lives in Barnes, south west London; he and Clough previously lived on Portobello Road in Notting Hill Gate.[38][29]
Books
Poetry collections
- Young Commonwealth Poets '65, Heinemann, 1965
- The Mersey Sound(with Adrian Henri and Brian Patten), Penguin, 1967
- Frinck, A Life in the Day of, and Summer with Monika: Poems, Joseph, 1967
- Watchwords, Cape, 1969
- After the Merrymaking, Cape, 1971
- Out of Sequence, Turret Books, 1972
- Gig, Cape, 1973
- Sporting Relations, Eyre Methuen, 1974
- In the Glassroom, Cape, 1976
- Mr Noselighter, André Deutsch, 1976
- Holiday on Death Row, Cape, 1979
- Unlucky for Some, Bernard Stone, 1980
- Waving at Trains, Cape, 1982
- Crocodile Puddles, New Pyramid Press, 1984
- Sky in the Pie, Puffin, 1985 (children's)
- Melting into the Foreground, Viking, 1986
- Noah's Ark, Dinosaur, 1986
- Worry, Toni Savage, 1987
- Nailing the Shadow, Viking Kestrel, 1987
- Counting by Numbers, Viking Kestrel, 1989
- Selected Poems, 1967–1987, Cape, 1989
- You at the Back: Selected Poems, 1967–87, Cape, 1991
- Defying Gravity, Viking, 1992
- Pen Pals: A New Poem, Prospero Poets, 1994
- Ferens, the Gallery Cat, Ferens Art Gallery, 1997
- Todays Yodal, Over years ago, 1999
- Until I Met Dudley, Frances Lincoln, 1997
- The Way Things Are, Viking, 1999
- Dotty Inventions, Francis Lincoln, 2002
- Everyday Eclipses, Viking, 2002
- Collected Poems, Viking, 2003
- That Awkward Age, Penguin, 2009
- As Far As I Know, Penguin, 2012
- Joinedupwriting, Viking, 2019
- Safety In Numbers, Viking, 2021
Plays
- Tartuffe (English adaptation of Molière's play)[39]
- The Hypochondriac (English adaption of Molière's play)[25]
- The Misanthrope (English adaptation of Molière's play)
Autobiography
- Said And Done, Random House, 2005
See also
References
- ^ The Poetry Society Archived 4 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine – accessed 24 July 2009
- ^ "Roger McGough -". poetryarchive.org.[dead link]
- ^ a b "McGough, Roger 1937– | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ McGough, Said and Done, pp. 12, 23
- ^ a b Emma Brockes interview: Roger McGough The Guardian 14 November 2005
- ^ McGough, Said and Done pp. 78–81.
- ^ McGough, Said and Done p. 85.
- ^ Bowen, Phil. (2008) A Gallery to Play to: The Story of the Mersey Poets. Liverpool University Press. pp.104–106.
- ^ "XIV Modern Literature, section 5", John Brannigan Accessed 9 April 2006
- ^ "Liverpool Echo: Latest Liverpool and Merseyside news, sports and what's on". Liverpool Echo.
- ^ "Liverpool Echo: Latest Liverpool and Merseyside news, sports and what's on". www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk.
- ^ Bowen, Phil., (2008) A Gallery to Play to: The Story of the Mersey Poets. Liverpool University Press. p. 67
- Independent.co.uk. 18 August 2012.
- ^ McGough, Said and Done, p. 97
- ^ McGough,Collected Poems, p. 182
- ^ House of Commons Hansard Debates for 1 Dec 2004 (pt 35)
- ^ Booth, Martin (1985) British Poetry 1964–1984: Driving Through the Barricades. Routledge, pp. 138–139
- ^ Wright, Ben, Allan (2006) The Poetry of Roger McGough: The Liverpool Renaissance. Edwin Mellen Press.
- ^ Cohen, Karl (July 1998). "The Beatles' Yellow Submarine Turns 30: John Coates and Norman Kauffman Look Back". Animation World Magazine. 3 (4). Animation World Network. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
Edelmann is given credit for inventing the Blue Meanies to serve that role. In an interview, Edelmann added yet another to those who contributed to the film's script. He said, "There was never one script. We had about 20. Roger McGough was responsible for much of it." McGough was a Liverpool poet who was brought in to add a Liverpool flavour to the soundtrack. He was paid £500 for his work, but was not given screen credit.
- ^ "morgan fisher miniatures". Morgan Fisher. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- ^ "R.T.Russell: Happy Birthday BBC BASIC!". www.bbcbasic.co.uk.
- ^ BBC [pdf] bbc.nvg.org
- ^ "Equinox: The Elements – Windfall Films". Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ Philip Key, Tartuffe, Roger McGough, Liverpool Playhouse, Liverpool Daily Post (15 May 2008)
- ^ a b Hickling, Alfred (30 June 2009). "The Hypochondriac". The Guardian.
- ^ "The World of Eric Carle (TV Series 1993– ) – IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
- ^ "Waitrose shifts focus with price-led ads," Marketing Magazine, UK, 2 June 2009
- ^ "Roger McGough". United Voices.
- ^ a b "Barnes Literary Society – Roger McGough". barnesliterarysociety.org.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ "Officers, Executive and Patrons for 2017–18". Arts Richmond. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- ^ "What's on at the 50th Richmond May Fair 2019". Be Richmond. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
- ^ CBE for Liverpool poet McGough BBC News 12 June 2004
- ^ "Honorands 1995–1999". The University of Northampton, Honorary & notable alumni. The University of Northampton. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- ^ "Debretts online Roger McGough, Esq, CBE, FRSL". Debretts. Archived from the original on 2 May 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
- ^ "Roger McGough CBE FRSL". Roehampton University, London, Honorary Degrees 2006. Roehampton University. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- ^ "Founding stars of Everyman Theatre honoured by University". University of Liverpool, Press Release. University of Liverpool. 30 June 2006. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
- ^ a b "McGOUGH, Roger". Who's Who 2010, A & C Black: 2010; online edn. Oxford University Press, December 2009; online October 2010. November 2009.
- ^ "There can be a smugness in suburbia'". Richmond and Twickenham Times. 31 December 2003. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- ^ "REVIEW: Tartuffe at the Liverpool Playhouse". Liverpool Echo. 14 September 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
External links
- Roger McGough at IMDb
- Profile and poems written and audio at Poetry Archive
- Roger McGough at British Council: Literature
- Interview with Roger McGough about 40 years of the Mersey Poets
- BBC Radio 4 archive 4 October 1981 (Audio, 12 minutes). BBC profile.
- James Campbell, "A life in poetry: Roger McGough", The Guardian, 22 August 2009
- National Portrait gallery
- Shahesta Shaitly, Roger McGough: This much I know, The Observer, 4 November 2012
- Scaffold and the Grimms history