Roger McGough Biography | Poet

Roger McGough was and still is one of the most well-known English poets. He was born on November 9, 1937 in Litherland, Lancashire. In addition to poetry, McGough is also a broadcaster, playwright and children's author. The most famous work for McGough is The Mersey Sound, which was published in 1967. That work is an anthology of poetry and has sold over a half million copies and is considered to be one of the one of the best poetry anthologies of all-time. It has been revised twice since its original publication and remains in publication. McGough co-authored the work with Brian Patten and Adrian Henry.

Education

McGough began his education at St. Mary's College in Crosby and eventually studied at the University of Hull to study French and Geography. His education wasn't extremely significant or newsworthy. He did, however, correspond with poet Phillip Larkin, who was the University's librarian at the time. McGough never had the courage to approach Larkin directly about some of his own works, but he did send him some of his poetry to review. Larkin was thankful for the opportunity to read them, but wasn't overly impressed with the work.

McGough: A Simple Figure

McGough isn't a very controversial figure in the poetry world and lives a pretty simple life. He uses that simplicity in his works as well. He is able to reach a wide range of audiences, which has its positives and negatives. It is positive because he is easily able to become a well-known author due to the amount of people that enjoy reading his pieces. However, since he doesn't write many prestigious and specific pieces, he doesn't get a lot of respect when it comes to notoriety as an author.

McGough's attitude toward writing is that nothing should be too serious. In fact, if he finds himself writing a serious piece, he finds a way to make it funny. As far as poetry goes, there are certain audiences that like this style and some that don't. He avoids anger and bitterness at all costs and covers it up with humor the best he can. This is one of the main reasons why he can connect with so many people because everyone has different views on life in general.

The Works of McGough

When reading some of McGough's poems, it's easy to see why he doesn't get the prestigious awards that he believe he deserves. He has a fun-loving personality that makes his poems easy to read, but they can be difficult to take seriously at times. His writing style is very down-to-earth, witty and humorous, which all keep the reader engaged throughout the poem. Other poets sometimes find McGough's works to be somewhat dry. He tends to avoid serious issues with his dry humor and satire. This can be appealing to some readers, but it is not well-respected amongst his other colleagues.

As far as awards go, McGough won the Cholmondeley Award back in 1998, he was made an Officer (OBE) of the Order of the British Empire in 1997, and also a Commander (CBE) of the Order of the British Empire in 2004. Although he was never awarded the prestigious Poet Laureate award, he has still received plenty of accolades and recognition throughout his successful career.

McGough has published more than 50 poetry books throughout his career, which ranges from adults to children to plays as well. Another reason why he is so well-known is because he is very active in performance poetry. He has made his name known by getting out amongst the community and performing. He also broadcasts Poetry Please for BBC Radio 4, which is another way to get his name out into the public.

Some of the most recent works by McGough include Reasons for Winning, which was written about the 2006 World Cup. He also published Everyday Eclipses in 2002, which highlights his childhood, his own experiences about parenting and even nostalgia about the past. It's safe to say that McGough's style of writing has matured over the years and he has become more serious in his writing. However, he has also remained true to what he truly believes, which is being a down-to-earth poet. He prides himself on being in touch with the world and being able to see it in a different light and portray that light to his audiences. 

McGough's attitude toward writing is that nothing should be too serious. In fact, if he finds himself writing a serious piece, he finds a way to make it funny. As far as poetry goes, there are certain audiences that like this style and some that don't. He avoids anger and bitterness at all costs and covers it up with humor the best he can. This is one of the main reasons why he can connect with so many people because everyone has different views on life in general.