The Liverpool Scene

The Liverpool Poets are a number of influential 1960s poets from Liverpool, England, influenced by 1950s Beat poetry. They were involved in the 1960s Liverpool scene that gave rise to The Beatles.

Their work is characterised by its directness of expression, simplicity of language, suitability for live performance and concern for contemporary subjects and references. There is often humour, but the full range of human experience and emotion is addressed.

The poets most commonly associated with this label are Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten. They were featured in a 1967 book The Liverpool Scene edited by Edward Lucie-Smith, with a blurb by Ginsberg and published by Donald Carroll.

Although he was born in Sussex, Adrian Mitchell shared many of the concerns of the Liverpool poets and is often linked with them in critical discussion.

Other related poets include the Londoner Pete Brown (who wrote lyrics for Cream), Pete Morgan and Alan Jackson (both associated with the 1960s Edinburgh poetry scene), Tom Pickard and Barry MacSweeney (both from Newcastle), Spike Hawkins, Jim Bennett, Heather Holden, Mike Evans, Pete Roche and Henry Graham.

The poets generally came from a working-class background and went to art college rather than university. There was a strong allegiance with pop music, and the values and effectiveness of that in reaching out to a wide audience informed the poetry. Readings took place in a pub or club environment.

The anthology The Mersey Sound was published by Penguin in 1967, containing the poems of Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten, and has remained in print ever since, selling in excess of 500,000 copies. It brought the three poets to "considerable acclaim and critical fame", and has been widely influential. In 2002 they were given the Freedom of the City of Liverpool.

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