Revised second edition
A Gallery to Play to
The Story of the Mersey Poets
by Phil Bowen
In the summer of 1967, Tony Richardson of Penguin Books took a chance. Then its Poetry Editor, he devoted number ten of the highly prestigious Penguin Modern Poets series to three unknown and relatively unpublished young writers from Liverpool. The book, featuring Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten, would have its own generic title, The Mersey Sound, and would be something of a leap in the dark. It would be a big break for the three writers. The print run, as large as twenty thousand, would guarantee status, and steady sales were expected over the next ten years. Within three months it had sold out. The rest, as they say ...
A Gallery to Play To is an intimate account of the lives and careers of the poets Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten and is both a critical survey and an unashamed celebration. First published in 1999, and now updated, Phil Bowen pinpoints the enormous social and cultural changes that post-war Britain has undergone. With unparalleled access to the three writers, he has written an indispensable book for anyone interested in poetry, popular culture and society over the last fifty years.
Reviews for the original edition
'A warm, well-written and unpretentious account of three good men...' Adrian Mitchell
'Highly enjoyable, accurately descriptive and very well researched...' George Melly
'Gives a real sense of real people and their and our real and recent poetic roots. Also it's a good gossipy read.' Matt Holland, Poetry Review
'Written with verve, style and great personal insight - a poet writing about poets...' D. M. Thomas
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