As Far As I Know by Roger McGough

McGough made his name as one of the “Liverpool poets”, having played in the band Scaffold with Paul McCartney’s brother. His poetry performances have always been sell-out successes, but his treatment by the English literary establishment obviously still smarts. It is the subject of one of the funniest poems in this collection, Scorpio, in which the names of 11 supposedly spiteful critics are inscribed underneath a glass paperweight containing a scorpion: “Some may even regret. . . their mistrust of popular culture and the working class,” he writes After helping to change the face of English poetry for ever, at 74 he appears to have been accepted into the Canon, being studied by exam students, president of the Poetry Society and presenter of Radio 4 radio programme Poetry Please.

One of the most interesting poems, reproduced here, is a reprise of his confidently youthful Let Me Die a Youngman’s Death written 40 years ago. It is moving to read this clever reworking and his other wise reflections on a ground-breaking career.

He will be performing at the opening event of the Blenheim Palace Literary Festival at Woodstock on September 13. The full programme is available at www. blenheimpalaceliteraryfestival.com, box office 01865 305305.