Roger McGough
Roger McGough
Roger McGough CBE FRSLis an English poet, performance poet, broadcaster, children's author and playwright. He presents the BBC Radio 4 programme Poetry Please, as well as performing his own poetry. McGough was one of the leading members of the Liverpool poets, a group of young poets influenced by Beat poetry and the popular music and culture of 1960s Liverpool. He is an honorary fellow of Liverpool John Moores University, fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and President of the...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth9 November 1937
I'm terrified of switching the computer on because there are so many poems
Better is a big ambition. Some people don't want that ambition as a writer. Some people seem to want to unsettle the reader. I don't know.
I was put off by people at school - my cabbage wasn't as good as other people's, you know, so that put me off.
I wish the word whimsical wasn't used now.
We shouldn't have got married, really. Shouldn't have got married. Too young. Not ready for it.
Whereas with poetry no one has to show anybody really, and you don't have to tell anyone you're doing it.
The general at the radar screenRubbed his hands with glee,And grinning pressed the buttonAnd started world war three.
People can put their best poems straight onto the web.
If I decide to be indecisive, that's my decision
I could never begin a poem: 'When I am dead' In case it tempted Fate, and Fate gave way.
Yes, you can feel very alone as a poet and you sometimes think, is it worth it? Is it worth carrying on? But because there were other poets, you became part of a scene. Even though they were very different writers, it made it easier because you were together
Everyday I think about dying About disease, starvation, violence, terrorism, war, the end of the world. It helps keep my mind off things.
If the heart bleeds love, bare it, If the martyr's crown fits, wear it.
If I do a poetry reading I want people to walk out and say they feel better for having been there - not because you've done a comedy performance but because you're talking about your father dying or having young children, things that touch your soul