336:, which was a Poetry Book Society recommendation. He won a Paul Hamlyn award in 1997. S. J. Litherland, MacSweeney's partner for much of the 1990s, has written extensively about her life with him in the north-east. In the last nine months of his life he acted as mentor and editor to the West Cumbrian poet Emma McGordon, and relaunched the Blacksuede Boot Press to publish her first pamphlet collection
257:. These often violent and obscene works remain divisive. For Peter Riley, they are "the central disaster in Barry's career". Other critics, including John Wilkinson, Marianne Morris, William Rowe, and Luke Roberts, have argued for the political significance of this writing, as an attack on Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government and a response to the
118:
of 1965, around two-dozen poets gathered at cottages belonging to MacSweeney's family in a remote area of the North of
England, near Allendale. Though MacSweeney later claimed the festival was marked by class tensions and hostilities between rival factions, the meeting was an important moment for the
130:
poets in
Wivenhoe and Cambridge. In September his sequence 'The Boy From the Green Cabaret Tells of His Mother' was circulated to the magazine mailing-list. MacSweeney's poems were picked up by Michael Dempsey, editor of Hutchinson New Authors Ltd, who was keen to capitalise on the success of the
149:, and was satirised in the broadsheet press. The book went on to sell 11,000 copies and appear in an American edition in 1969. According to Nicholas Johnson, it took "half a lifetime for his reputation to recover".
343:
MacSweeney died from alcohol-related ill health on 9 May 2000 at his home in Denton Burn, Newcastle. His papers and library were donated posthumously to the
Special Collections Library at Newcastle University.
328:
was incorporated into HarperCollins, the list was pulped. His struggles with alcoholism became more acute, leading to frequent hospitalisation and medical treatment. In 1995, Equipage published
227:, supporting the Mottram-led experimental poetry faction. MacSweeney was briefly Chairman of the Society in 1977, leading the final walk-out over Arts Council Policy and the funding of
157:
After the
Hutchinson controversy, MacSweeney started his own press, the Blacksuede Boot. His work became increasingly experimental. It was published in widely available volumes by
189:
recalls that working conditions were poor and MacSweeney worried about his eyesight, so that he returned to journalism in 1973. Luke
Roberts has argued that MacSweeney's sequence
114:, and others associated with the "Cambridge School". With Prynne, MacSweeney organised the Sparty Lea Poetry Festival in Easter 1967. Influenced in part by the
204:
MacSweeney married the poet Elaine
Randell in 1973. Together they continued to edit Blacksuede Boot, publishing work by Prynne, Crozier, Ian Patterson, and
288:, Maggie O'Sullivan noted it "places him right in the dynamic of English poetry, right in there up to his head, in the real and vital bloodstream of
618:
269:. MacSweeney married for a second time in 1983, but was divorced soon after. He moved to Bradford in 1983, and was present as a reporter at the
563:
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MacSweeney and
Randell separated in 1979. Inspired by punk, MacSweeney began work on a series of "State of the Nation" Bulletins, including
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anthology and the growing youth audience for poetry. His work appeared in the widely-available commercial edition in 1968, also titled
332:, collecting poems set in the Sparty Lea of MacSweeney's youth, where he taught a mute girl to read and write. This was followed by
857:
404:
Just 22 and I Don't Mind Dyin': The
Official Poetical Biography of Jim Morrison, Rock Idol (Curiously Strong, 1971; Turpin, 1973)
300:, and Bunting." Although MacSweeney published very little for the rest of the decade, he continued to work on a long poem titled
882:
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In the summer of 1967 MacSweeney was enrolled for a journalism degree course in Harlow, Essex, making regular visits to the
73:, and took an active part in the thriving arts scene in mid-1960s Newcastle. Visitors to the Tower included American poets
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304:, which he was unable to complete to his satisfaction. A recording of him reading the poem in 1988 is available online.
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141:. As a publicity stunt, Hutchinson arranged to have the twenty-year-old poet nominated for the prestigious
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372:, which collects the material left out of the earlier volume alongside previously unpublished sequences.
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212:, participating in strikes in 1974 and 1975. This trade union work was reflected in the long poem
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Horses in
Boiling Blood: MacSweeney, Apollinaire: a collaboration, a celebration (Equipage, 2003)
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in
Greenwich as a conservator of paintings. He was particularly enthusiastic about the work of
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170:
58:
793:
133:
19:
636:
Roberts, Luke (Summer 2015). "Know Your Sudden Book Well: A Post-Script to Toad Church".
364:, was issued by Equipage. In 2013, Paul Batchelor edited a selection of critical essays,
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was much influenced by the Maritime Museum setting and by the work of French poets like
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165:, and in limited editions by Ted Kavanagh, Turret Books, and others. His sequence
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Barry MacSweeney and the Politics of Post-War British Poetry: Seditious Things
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Barry MacSweeney and the Politics of Post-War British Poetry: Seditious Things
524:, ed. by Neil Pattison, Reitha Pattison, and Luke Roberts (Mountain, 2012/2014
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146:
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85:, as well as poets from across Britain. At a reading in 1965, MacSweeney met
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216:, an ambitious narrative, dialect work about miners' strikes, published by
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82:
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Poetry Wars: British Poetry of the 1970s and the Battle of Earls Court
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The Boy from the Green Cabaret Tells of his Mother (Hutchinson, 1968)
360:. The following year his "collaboration" with Guillaume Apollinaire,
312:
After years of relative silence, MacSweeney re-emerged in 1993 with
57:. He left school aged 16, and began working as a journalist at the
579:
Mottram, Eric (Autumn 1978). "Interview with Barry MacSweeney".
284:, was published by Slow Dancer Press in 1985. In a review for
503:
Elegy for January: A Life of Thomas Chatterton (Menard, 1970)
493:
Desire Lines: Unselected Poems, 1966-2000 (Shearsman, 2018)
352:
At the time of his death, MacSweeney was working on a new
208:. During this period, MacSweeney was much involved in the
680:"Review: Reading Barry MacSweeney. ed. by Paul Batchelor"
22:, the Chief Science Advisor to the Government of Ireland.
778:
Barry, Peter (2013). "Mapping the Geographies of Hurt".
456:
The Tempers of Hazard (Paladin, 1993; pulped same year)
395:
Flames on the Beach at Viarregio (Blacksuede Boot, 1970)
487:
Wolf Tongue: Selected Poems 1965-2000 (Bloodaxe, 2003)
478:
Pearl in the Silver Morning (Poetical Histories, 1999)
223:
He was also involved in the "Poetry Wars" around the
139:The Boy from the Green Cabaret Tells of His Mother
401:12 Poems and a Letter (Curiously Strong, 1971)
89:, who would include him in the first issue of
356:, which was published in 2003 by Bloodaxe as
181:, whom he commemorated in poems collected in
8:
398:Our Mutual Scarlet Boulevard (Fulcrum, 1971)
522:Certain Prose of the English Intelligencer
61:, where he shared an office with the poet
413:Five Odes (Transgravity Advertiser, 1972)
370:Desire Lines: Unselected Poems, 1966–2000
36:. His organizing work contributed to the
520:Letters and other writings collected in
484:False Lapwing (Poetical Histories, 2002)
261:and forms of state violence such as the
697:. Palgrave MacMillan. pp. 111–137.
546:
368:. In 2018, Shearsman Books brought out
848:Audio recordings at Archive of the Now
358:Wolf tongue: Selected Poems, 1965-2000
220:'s New London Pride Editions in 1978.
761:"A Great Love, Tainted by the Bottle"
441:Starry Messenger (Secret Books, 1980)
392:Joint Effort (Blacksuede Boot, 1970)
280:, based loosely on the ancient Irish
65:. He began attending readings at the
7:
558:. Palgrave MacMillan. pp. 4–6.
471:Postcards from Hitler (Writers Forum
425:Black Torch (New London Pride, 1978)
389:The Last Bud (Blacksuede Boot, 1969)
619:"Barry MacSweeney: An Appreciation"
468:The Book of Demons (Bloodaxe, 1997)
340:, just two weeks before his death.
28:(17 July 1948 – 9 May 2000) was an
534:Your Father's Plastic Poppy (1969)
459:Hellhound Memos (Many Press, 1993)
410:Fools Gold (Blacksuede Boot, 1972)
14:
513:'The British Poetry Revival', in
465:Zero Hero (etruscan books, 1996)
843:MacSweeney Catalogue Finding Aid
416:Dance Steps (Joe DiMaggio, 1972)
838:The Barry MacSweeney Collection
506:Interviewed by Eric Mottram in
481:Sweet Advocate (Equipage, 1999)
169:in 1972 focused on the life of
709:"Barry MacSweeney Author Page"
320:, joining Thomas A. Clark and
1:
728:quoted in Conductors of Chaos
444:Colonel B (Colin Simms, 1980)
419:Six Odes (Ted Kavanagh, 1973)
210:National Union of Journalists
185:. However, an interview with
53:Barry MacSweeney was born in
600:"Barry MacSweeney: Obituary"
422:Fog Eye (Ted Kavanagh, 1973)
726:O'Sullivan, Maggie (1996).
438:Blackbird (Pig Press, 1980)
407:Brother Wolf (Turret, 1972)
338:The Hangman & the Stars
59:Newcastle Evening Chronicle
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888:20th-century English poets
853:Obituary by Andrew Crozier
453:Ranter (Slow Dancer, 1985)
271:Bradford City stadium fire
143:Oxford Professor of Poetry
116:Berkeley Poetry Conference
69:series, run by Connie and
17:
102:, MacSweeney got to know
92:The English Intelligencer
741:MacSweeney, MacSweeney.
366:Reading Barry MacSweeney
175:National Maritime Museum
18:Not to be confused with
730:. Picador. p. 223.
362:Horses in Boiling Blood
348:Posthumous publications
225:National Poetry Society
883:British Poetry Revival
693:Roberts, Luke (2017).
554:Roberts, Luke (2017).
515:South East Arts Review
462:Pearl (Equipage, 1995)
316:and selected poems in
121:British Poetry Revival
38:British Poetry Revival
663:Barry, Peter (2006).
326:Paladin Poetry Series
780:Poetry and Geography
542:Notes and references
435:Odes (Trigram, 1978)
617:Johnson, Nicholas.
428:Far Cliff Babylon (
55:Newcastle upon Tyne
747:Archive of the Now
743:"'No Mercy' audio"
713:Archive of the Now
581:Poetry Information
537:Ode to Coal (1978)
529:Poetry and artwork
508:Poetry Information
450:(Bath Place, 1981)
334:The Book of Demons
822:"Shearsman Books"
765:The Northern Echo
598:Crozier, Andrew.
565:978-3-319-45957-8
318:Tempers of Hazard
171:Thomas Chatterton
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98:Through the
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30:English poet
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878:2000 deaths
873:1948 births
214:Black Torch
191:Toad Church
112:Peter Riley
104:J.H. Prynne
83:Edward Dorn
71:Tom Pickard
867:Categories
808:"Equipage"
147:Roy Fuller
108:John James
34:journalist
273:in 1985.
259:ABC Trial
243:Colonel B
782:: 33–48.
650:24770616
302:No Mercy
267:Troubles
265:and the
251:Liz Hard
247:Jury Vet
131:Penguin
767:. 2006.
667:. Salt.
432:, 1978)
294:Shelley
163:Trigram
159:Fulcrum
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517:(1979)
381:Poetry
278:Ranter
253:, and
81:, and
646:JSTOR
623:Pores
498:Prose
475:1998)
330:Pearl
308:1990s
298:Clare
290:Blake
237:1980s
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49:1960s
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560:ISBN
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183:Odes
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