Classic collection pays homage to Mersey poet

Oct 20 2007 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

A NEW collection of classic and unpublished work by the late Mersey Sound poet Adrian Henri has been compiled by his partner.

Catherine Marcangeli, who spent 15 years with Henri until his death in 2000, invited some of his closest friends to contribute to the anthology.

Featuring anecdotes from Roger McGough and Willy Russell among others, and a foreword from author Carol Ann Duffy, Adrian Henri Selected and Unpublished aims to be inspiring for old and new readers alike.

“I came to it as an academic, not a widow. There is no therapy in this – it just needed doing,” said Ms Marcangeli, a lecturer at the University of Paris.

“Early on, it was suggested that I publish letters, but I decided poems were more appropriate.

“The idea was to put some golden oldies alongside more recent poems, including some that had never been published. I didn’t want to just take a few from each of his collections, so I hit on three main themes which seemed to me to represent his work – love, home and away, and city representations.

“The three Liverpool poets (Henri, McGough and Patten) are largely known for their work in the ’60s – but that was when their careers started rather than ended. “I hope it gives new insight into the poems, a new way of reading them.

“The idea to get his friends to write little introductions to each section just made it a real family affair.”

Roger McGough and Brian Patten appeared at the Everyman last night and will again tonight for their sell-out performance 40 Love, which celebrates The Mersey Sound that made the trios’ names famous in 1967.

They still leave a third chair on stage for their late friend when performing together.

Patten said: “Adrian was my friend since I was 15.

“It’s lovely to see so many of his poems all in the same place.

“We do some of his poems in our show because we like to keep him with us in spirit.”

McGough said: “Adrian was a wonderful person and I was delighted to have the chance to get involved with this book and celebrate his life.”

On his contribution, Willy Russell said: “I was thrilled and touched to be asked, because Adrian was such a good friend of mine and I’m proud to be involved in a tiny little way.”

vickyanderson