In memoriam: Brian Patten

The LJMU community is deeply saddened by the death of Liverpool poet, and Honorary Fellow, Brian Patten at the age of 79.

Brian came to prominence in the 1960s with the publication of The Mersey Sound, thought to be one of the best-selling poetry anthologies of all time, and authored with fellow Liverpool poets Roger McGough and Adrian Henri. He remained one of the most popular performing poets, mixing serious and humorous work in a way that made him hard to equal in performance.

In his lifetime he made a major contribution to the genuine resurgence in the popularity of poetry and poetry performance in Britain and Europe.

He was awarded the Freedom of the City of Liverpool in 2001 and was made a fellow of the university in July 2002 for his outstanding contribution to poetry and its performance.

The following quote is taken from the oration given at Patten’s Honorary Fellowship conferment in 2002, read by Professor Frank Sanderson:

As a performance poet, Brian is more interested in pleasing his audience than in pleasing the critics, who themselves have not always appreciated his work. He is wary of them, and suspicious of intellectual analysis.

Nevertheless, there are many messages in his poetry, and many of them applicable to newly graduating students. In one poem, he advocates getting drunk, an appealing idea to students one would think, but what he meant was that everyone should get drunk on exciting and productive activities, putting their dreams into action rather than approaching life in a carefully measured and sober way.”