Welcome to a very exciting episode of "The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!" Podcast!
The adventure continues with Liverpool Poet Roger McGough, who's enigmatic dulcet Scouse tones and wonderful words of Poetry have been ringing around my head as long as I can remember!
Outright winner of a Bonny Baby Award, Roger McGough was told early on that critics would not always like his poetry and to carry on writing, ignoring all criticism. Thankfully he did and has published umpteen different poetry collections and other books, songs and plays, over the last 60+ years.
At the time of this recording, Roger McGough‘s latest book ‘Safety in Numbers’ was awaiting an HGV driver somewhere between the UK and China. Or so he claimed!
The son of a Liverpool dock worker who died aged only 53, war-baby Roger was constantly encouraged to be grateful just to be alive. Constantly shown by his Catholic family that money was definitely not the best way to keep score. Money was so short, his mother read to him from an HP sauce bottle instead of a children’s book. Despite or perhaps because of all this, with his band the Scaffold, he went on to have a number one hit record with ‘Lily the Pink’.
Today this veteran Barnes-based Mersey beatnik enjoys a jog around the green, a glass or two in the pub and a quiet game of bowls. He continues to write poems and run poetry workshops on a regular basis.
He is an extraordinarily prolific writer who carries on polishing his work - even after it’s been published!
This is a quiet giant who really is the "People’s Poet.”
Reg Starkey
Editor, Health Triangle Magazine.
“The Good Listening To: Your Life & Times With Me Chris Grimes!” is the Show & Podcast series that features “The Clearing”:
Where all good Questions come to be asked - and all good Stories come to be told…
Think 'Desert Island Discs' but in a Clearing - and with Stories rather than Music!
With some lovely juicy Storytelling metaphors to also enjoy along the way:
The Clearing itself - a Tree - a lovely juicy Storytelling exercise called “5-4-3-2-1” - some Alchemy - some Gold - a cheeky bit of Shakespeare - and a CAKE!
So it’s all to play for!
Hurrah!
(…and indeed Huzzah!)
Enjoy!
Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.
Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :)
Thanks for listening!