The Merseybeat movement was a performance-based poetry movement which was active in Liverpool in the 1960s, with Adrian Henri (1931-2000), Roger McGough (born 1937), and Brian Patten (born 1946) at the centre. Whilst these three poets have distinctive writing styles, and have all had successful careers individually since the 1960s, with acclaimed collections for both adults and children, they are also sometimes referred to collectively as the “Liverpool Poets”. “Merseybeat” is so named for the river Mersey in Liverpool and the American Beat poetry movement which was an inspiration. It was a “total art” movement, encompassing not only poetry but also visual art, music, comedy, happenings, and other forms of artistic expression. The poets treated poetry as a form of public…
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Citation: Taylor, Helen. "The Merseybeat Poetry Movement". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 March 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=19357, accessed 21 November 2024.]
