Although music was the main focus Hobo covered more than than that - some community, art and poetry features. Here are short articles and ramblings therefore -
This appeared in the first issue of Hobo in June 1973, having developed useful links with the Birmingham Scene.
POETRY: POETRY: POETRY.
The Birmingham Poetry Centre hold regular Poetry and Folk gigs at the Fighting Cocks in Moseley Village. These are
usually quite zany and not the least bit boring. The next gig is on Sunday 24th June 1973. The Centre is also set up to promote local poets; compiles anthologies of work by local poets. Anyone intersted in the Centre or in having some of their own poems printed can contact the Centre at this address -
The Birmingham Poetry Centre (BMI), Margaret Street, Birmingham.
Copyright remains with the author. It is essential that your name is on every sheet. They cannot pay for the poems but you get a free copy. Incidentally we'll try, in future editions, to include a bit of local poetry in this magazine. But first we must find our feet. Amen!
And from Hobo issue 2 August 1973 had a poetry section with poems by Dave "Byron" Reed, Trev Teasdel, Lesley Jane Holmes and Big Geoff - co-edited with Umbrella Poet - Bruce Norris. Birmingham had a thriving poetry scene apart from Streetpoems (blog about) there were the Second City Poets and the Poetry Centre with plenty of exciting community based anthologies coming out and events and support. Some of the anthologies juxtaposed name poets alongside new and unknown poets. So of the energy of that influenced in part my own own thrust on the move to Teesside in 1980, where I organised poetry and music events and built an infrastructure around OUTLET magazine
And this in Hobo 1 also
POETS "A special local poetry magazine is being compiled by some of the HOBO staff. the edition is planned, tenatively, for late September. The only problem is we need some poetry so if yu're intersted, please send your poems, preferably on the short side and also typed or printed legibly. Name and address of course with SAE. If you wish MSS to be returned and send them to Bruce Norris, 215, Bagington Rd. Coventry. Thanks."
Hobo struggled for finance and cheap but decent printing facilities after that and the Poetry mag never came off.
and (visualising the future Hobo Workshop) -
WARNING - HOBO will be staging various benefits, concerts and Humpoesic Happenings in the near future. Nothing confirmed at present. Offers of venues and artists welcome.
They would be a mix of Poetry and music..
Poetry events in the 70's Coventry were mainly centred at the Umbrella club or the University of Warwick as far as I recall. In the late seventies MEP's (Middle England Poets) set up and launched an anthology called City Voices. I was in it!
Although I wrote song lyrics from the age of 15 (and more seriously at 17) influenced by the more poetic lyricists, my interst in just poetry was limited. it was listening to John Peel on Sunday afternoons from 1967 onwards that made the bridge for me. Listening to Ivor Cutler (although I was not too keen on that) and the Liverpool poets - Adrain Henri, Roger McGough and Brian
Patten. With their 'Pop Poetry' and music and poetry combinations. I found that exciting and inspirational - went out and bought the The Mersey Sound
Anthology and the The album Bread on the Night by Adrain Henri's Liverpool Scene.
This was followed by buying similar Penguin anthologies with Ginsberg, Corso etc and then others. I tramed over to Birmingham to find an anthogy of Pete Brown's poetry (the lyririst with Cream - White Room etc). I only found a few poems of his in an anthogy of 60's Love Poetry and the Jack Bruce Song Book. It was Lyndie at the Umbrella club that widen my appreciation of poetry with all the poetry anthologies on her shelf while we were organising the Music Marathon at the Umbrella. I ended up teaching Creative Writing Courses on Teesside for the Workers Educational Association and Leeds University Adult and Continuing Education on Teesside for 15 years, but rock lyrics porvided my way in rather than the poetry we did at school!
The Liverpool poets were regulars at the Lanch Polytech (for non Conventrians - The Lanchester Polytech was in Coventry! - Now more appropriately called Coventry University). Both with their bands - Liverpool Scene and Sticky George, The Scaffold, Grimms and as individuals. The great thing about them was that the didn't seclude themselves in the dressing rooms but mixed in with the students or fans. On one occasion the Lanch had a fair outside the Union block and the Liverpool poets were having a whale of a time on the roundabouts with everyone else. There was always a crush on the Students Union bar - and I mean crush! One time Adrian Henri was being crushed against me which I discovered when he boomed out to the bar staff to serve him as he was back on stage in a few mins!
In the 80's I got to interview Roger McGough and Brian Patten about their approach to music and poetry and the interview in on the Outlet site here. There's another article on Henri's used of the Ad man's diction here.
The Birmingham Poetry Centre (BMI), Margaret Street, Birmingham.
Copyright remains with the author. It is essential that your name is on every sheet. They cannot pay for the poems but you get a free copy. Incidentally we'll try, in future editions, to include a bit of local poetry in this magazine. But first we must find our feet. Amen!
And from Hobo issue 2 August 1973 had a poetry section with poems by Dave "Byron" Reed, Trev Teasdel, Lesley Jane Holmes and Big Geoff - co-edited with Umbrella Poet - Bruce Norris. Birmingham had a thriving poetry scene apart from Streetpoems (blog about) there were the Second City Poets and the Poetry Centre with plenty of exciting community based anthologies coming out and events and support. Some of the anthologies juxtaposed name poets alongside new and unknown poets. So of the energy of that influenced in part my own own thrust on the move to Teesside in 1980, where I organised poetry and music events and built an infrastructure around OUTLET magazine
And this in Hobo 1 also
POETS "A special local poetry magazine is being compiled by some of the HOBO staff. the edition is planned, tenatively, for late September. The only problem is we need some poetry so if yu're intersted, please send your poems, preferably on the short side and also typed or printed legibly. Name and address of course with SAE. If you wish MSS to be returned and send them to Bruce Norris, 215, Bagington Rd. Coventry. Thanks."
Hobo struggled for finance and cheap but decent printing facilities after that and the Poetry mag never came off.
and (visualising the future Hobo Workshop) -
WARNING - HOBO will be staging various benefits, concerts and Humpoesic Happenings in the near future. Nothing confirmed at present. Offers of venues and artists welcome.
They would be a mix of Poetry and music..
Although I wrote song lyrics from the age of 15 (and more seriously at 17) influenced by the more poetic lyricists, my interst in just poetry was limited. it was listening to John Peel on Sunday afternoons from 1967 onwards that made the bridge for me. Listening to Ivor Cutler (although I was not too keen on that) and the Liverpool poets - Adrain Henri, Roger McGough and Brian
This was followed by buying similar Penguin anthologies with Ginsberg, Corso etc and then others. I tramed over to Birmingham to find an anthogy of Pete Brown's poetry (the lyririst with Cream - White Room etc). I only found a few poems of his in an anthogy of 60's Love Poetry and the Jack Bruce Song Book. It was Lyndie at the Umbrella club that widen my appreciation of poetry with all the poetry anthologies on her shelf while we were organising the Music Marathon at the Umbrella. I ended up teaching Creative Writing Courses on Teesside for the Workers Educational Association and Leeds University Adult and Continuing Education on Teesside for 15 years, but rock lyrics porvided my way in rather than the poetry we did at school!
The Liverpool poets were regulars at the Lanch Polytech (for non Conventrians - The Lanchester Polytech was in Coventry! - Now more appropriately called Coventry University). Both with their bands - Liverpool Scene and Sticky George, The Scaffold, Grimms and as individuals. The great thing about them was that the didn't seclude themselves in the dressing rooms but mixed in with the students or fans. On one occasion the Lanch had a fair outside the Union block and the Liverpool poets were having a whale of a time on the roundabouts with everyone else. There was always a crush on the Students Union bar - and I mean crush! One time Adrian Henri was being crushed against me which I discovered when he boomed out to the bar staff to serve him as he was back on stage in a few mins!
In the 80's I got to interview Roger McGough and Brian Patten about their approach to music and poetry and the interview in on the Outlet site here. There's another article on Henri's used of the Ad man's diction here.
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