Roger McGough is an English poet, performance poet, broadcaster, children’s author and playwright. He presents the BBC Radio 4 programme Poetre Please, as well as performing his own poetry. McGough was one of leading members of the Liverpool poets, a group of young poets influenced by Beat poetre and 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 Poetry Society.

As a poet, McGough came national prominence through the publication of The Mersey Sound in 1967. The Mersey Sound is an anthology of poetry by three Liverpool poets: McGough, Brian Patten and Adrian Henri. It went on to sell over 500,000 copies, becoming one of the bestselling poetry anthologies of all time.

Awards

McGough won a Cholmondeley Award in 1998, and was appointed an Officer in 1997, and later, in 2004, Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He holds an honorary Doctor of Letters degrees from the University of Hull, Roehampton University and University of Liverpool. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2004.

The sound collector

By reger Mr Gough

A stranger called this morning

Dressed all in black and grey,

Put every sound into a bag

And carried it away.

The whistling of the kettle

The turning of the lock.

The purring of the kitten

The ticking of the clock.

The popping of the toasting

The crunching of the flakes,

When you spread the marmalade,

The scrapping noise it makes.

The hissing of frying pan,

The ticking of the grill.

The bubbling of the bath tub

As it starts to fill.

The drumming of the baby,

The squeaking of the chair.

The swishing of the curtain,

The creaking of the stair.

A stranger called this morning

He didn’t leave his name.

Left us only silence

Life will never be the same.

Prepared by: DILNAVOZ