We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Adrian Mitchell, one of Britain's best loved poets, from a heart attack. Many of us at Write Out Loud enjoyed his "evening with" at the Octagon recently.
You can read an obit on http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoet.do?poetId=40
You can leave messages here and/or on the Social Unity website.
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Yes,tears and love,hearing Adrian speak about his mother and father always brought these.But also pride, to have such a lovely soul amongst us.Even his anger and political fire came from compassion.
He gave me William Blake to read and discover because as a child I watched his play about Blake called 'Tyger'. I wanted to know the poet that had moved Adrian, so I read everything about and by William.He gave me two great gifts, Blake and Adrian Mitchell,the poet & socialist.
If you go to the Bloodaxe facebook group you can watch Adrian reading his beautiful poems about his working class roots and his beloved parents.Very moving pieces.And thats what poets should do, move us to feel compassion and love, but also move us to change the world to one based on the politics of those human feelings that are the better parts of us after all.
One of Albion's most beautiful poets has stopped writing.But has left us richer human beings by his poetry, can any poet do more?
JGHx
He was an inspiration, an example of how a poet should conduct himself/herself. I always liked his poems; and he was from what I say of him, a true gentleman.
I was shocked when I heard he'd died.
I've just posted this on my myspace blog.
I though I'd put it here too.
This morning (21st December) around 1am, I got back from a 600 mile round trip to Prenton Park, Tranmere, where I’d just seen Brighton lose 1-0 to a goal scored in the second minute of injury time, havng seconds before been denied a penalty so mind-numbingly self-evident a lobotomised, blindfolded, myopic terrapin could have given it with its eyes NAILED shut. As a result, we’d just sunk into the relegation zone for the first time this season. I was knackered, rather pissed, and even more rather pissed off.
Much to my surprise, when I got upstairs my wife Robina was still awake. ‘I’m afraid I’ve got some sad news’ she said. ‘Adrian Mitchell died last night’.
It was one of those moments when everything else fell away, including - especially - the temporal inadequacies of my football team. Three days short of the sixth anniversary of Joe Strummer’s death, another lifelong inspiration gone.
Immediately I thought of the last time we’d seen Adrian, his eyes glistening with emotion as he received a standing ovation from a packed tent at last summer’s Latitude Festival. It was a fitting memory, a moment we will never forget. What a life, and what a hero of poetry.
When I was in my teens, Adrian Mitchell showed a rather cynical John Baine that a contemporary poet could be relevant - could talk about the things that mattered and inspire those who listened. When, in 1980, I took up the gauntlet as Attila the Stockbroker, his immortal slogan ‘‘Most people ignore most poetry because most poetry ignores most people’ became my universal rallying call, and is to this day. It’s in the front of my new book, on my myspace site, and was recently turned into a T shirt by the Philosophy Football people. Mark told be that made Adrian very happy.
Poems like ‘’Victor Jara of Chile’ ‘On the Beach at Cambridge’ and ‘Tell me lies about Vietnam’ - to name three of many - roared (in Adrian’s modest, quiet, understated way) against unspeakable evil. Other poems, like ‘Human Beings’ and ‘Song in Space’ celebrated our common humanity in a simple, moving way. And that, really, was what he was about: celebrating humanity, and raging, in a puzzled, hurt way, about the unspeakable things human beings do to each other. Adrian reached out to people. He cared about people. He was pacifist, and a really good bloke. I was privileged to do quite a few gigs with him over the years, and when I started the poetry/music series I ran for ten years here in my home village of Southwick, he was the first person I booked.
At the end of the Latitude gig I shook his hand as, surrounded by well wishers and overcome by the moment, he disappeared towards the book signing tent. Afterwards I emailed to congratulate him and promised him a spot at our Glastonwick Festival next year. He emailed back to say thanks, and that Latitude had been one of his best gigs for years.
A fitting goodbye. I shall read some of his poems at our festival, and shall be organising a memorial gig in his honour here in Sussex.
Goodbye Adrian.
Not Fleeing but Flying!!
Attila
Pete Crompton
Sun 21st Dec 2008 13:48
In 1983, at secondary school, third year, we were given a poetry anthology to study called 'contemporary verse' . Within it was contained four of Adrian Mitchell's poems, two of which were called 'open day at porton and 'old age report'
when revisiting them I was surprised to read my old pencil notes written in the book which I stole from the school, the poems both frightened me and fascinated me. Adrian Mitchell was one of the first poets we studied in class, im sorry to hear of his passing. He wrote in a way that I understood, or at least wanted to understand. I found that the way he wrote gave me a gateway into poems, many of us at school had resisted the idea of poetry, but contemporary poets such as Adrian Mitchell opened doors.
sorry he's gone
An evening with Adrian Mitchell at Bolton's Octagon last year left me inspired and in awe, not least of his humanity and humility. thanks for quoting that brilliant line, Cayn; sums him up.
An absolute inspiration.
A hero of poetry.
And a good friend.
RIP Adrian.
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Dwornik
Sat 27th Dec 2008 23:55
That's a lovely send off keith.