Share this page :
Brian Patten (7 February 1946 / Liverpool / England)
|
 |
|
Born near Liverpool's docks, he attended Sefton Park School in the Smithdown Road area of Liverpool, where he was noted for his essays and greatly encouraged in his work by Harry Sutcliffe his form teacher. He left school at fifteen and began work for The Bootle Times writing a column on popular music. One of his first articles was on Roger McGough and Adrian Henri, two pop-oriented Liverpool Poets who later joined Patten in a best-selling poetry anthology called The Mersey Sound, drawing popular attention to his own contemporary collections Little Johnny's Confession (1967) and Notes to the Hurrying Man (1969). Patten received early encouragement from Philip Larkin.
The ... more »
Click here to add this poet to your My Favorite Poets.
Popular Poems
- And Nothing Is Ever As You Want It To Be
- Doubt shall not make an end of you
- Gust Becos I Cud Not Spel
- I have changed the numbers on my watch
- In Tintagel Graveyard
- Minister for Exams
- Nor the Sun its Selling Power
- One Another’s Light
- Party Piece
- Simple lyric
- Sometimes it happens
- The Day I Got My Finger Stuck Up My Nose
- The innocence of any flesh sleeping
- The Newcomer
Quotations
more quotations »-
''When in public poetry should take off its clothes and wave to the nearest person in sight; it should be seen in the company of thieves and lovers rather than that of journalists and publishers.''
Brian Patten (b. 1946), British poet. "Prosepoem Towards a Definition of Itself."
Comments about Brian Patten
more comments »PoemHunter.com Updates
-
Beautiful Paintings On Books
by Ekaterina Panikanova
-
You Too Can Learn to Write Surrealist Poetry
Spudnik Press is offering a workshop in surrealist poetry
-
Distasteful Fashion Shoot Featuring Author Suicides is Pulled
The spread is called 'Last Words.'
-
Autistic Pride Day
June 18
Dear Brian,
How very nice to write to you and I remember that I was intyroduced to your poems when I was in Cambridge and I bought the little book which has great poems. I feel when read your poems, I feel the depth of feeling that I cannot fathom. I read YOU POEM Room which says:
Room you're toneless now,
Room you do'nt belong to me
I want another room I want one
without your tattymemories.
Loads of Great wishes
Shatha Alsaadi
I believe we all have shared an emotion that Sir Patten has told. If we just admit it!
I read poems by Brian Patten in serbian. They were brilliantly translated into serbian by writer David Albahari. My favorite poem is No taxi available. Can anybody post that poem here or give me a link to it. I would love to have that poem as original in english.
There should be a law that states every human being should have to read at least one Brian Patten poem in their lifetime. Each piece is a gem all of its own. His writing is direct, funny, sad, beautiful and heartwarming, sometimes all at the same time. Never pretentious, always readable - to me, this is poetry at its best.
Hugs
Anna xxx