Jim Bennett (poet)
Encyclopedia
Jim Bennett is a poet
. He performed alongside Roger McGough
and Adrian Henri
in the late 1960s.
in the 1960s and was performing his poetry in O'Connor's Tavern in Liverpool long before he was of age to go in legally. He had several jobs after leaving university but in 1976 gave up working in the conventional sense to pursue a life of writing, lecturing and performing his poetry. Bennett has written freelance journalism, short stories and poetry for the years since.
. After a period performing as Richard Dripping, which included appearances at punk venues in Liverpool and Manchester
. After returning to Liverpool he worked at the University of Liverpool
. He used to perform regularly with the Dead Good Poets in the Everyman Bistro.
His lecturing has included creating courses in Transport and Safety Studies, Creative Writing, Media, Journalism, Speculative Writing, Travel Writing and various Poetry Courses, for Universities and other educational organisations. He has written 64 (as of 2011) books ranging from Transport Studies, Children's and Poetry, and in addition has written many songs and had a CD of his poetry and songs released, and many booklets and brochures of his poetry have been produced to tie in with various performances.
Bennett's career as a performance poet has earned him many awards amongst which are three DADAFest awards, and a Silver Stake from the Manchester Slam. He has also won awards for his poetry including the 2006 Frost Award, and the Fante Award in 2002. In 2005 his book The Man Who Tried to Hug Clouds was voted Best Poetry Book in English at the Berlin Book Festival. He has been nominated five times for a Pushcart Award and has twice won the performance award the San Francisco Beat Festival and was Poetry Superhighway Favourite Poet of the Year 2000.
His poetry has been published widely and Bennett has grasped the internet as a tool for poets and helped create the most visited independent website in the world for poets and writers, Poetry Kit. Poetry Kit was created in 1998 by Ted Slade and Bennett worked with him on developing and editing on-line Poetry magazines until Ted's death in 2004 when he took over as the sole owner and principle editor of the site and its spin off magazines.
In August 2010 Bennett contributed to an eBook collection of political poems entitled Emergency Verse - Poetry in Defence of the Welfare State edited by Alan Morrison
He continues to write, tour and lecture regularly and in recent years has produced a series of internet based poetry courses which receive wide acclaim.
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. He performed alongside Roger McGough
Roger McGough
Roger Joseph McGough CBE is a well-known English performance poet. He presents the BBC Radio 4 programme Poetry Please and records voice-overs for commercials, as well as performing his own poetry regularly...
and Adrian Henri
Adrian Henri
Adrian Henri was a British poet and painter best remembered as the founder of poetry-rock group The Liverpool Scene and as one of three poets in the best-selling anthology The Mersey Sound, along with Brian Patten and Roger McGough. The trio of Liverpool poets came to prominence in that city's...
in the late 1960s.
Early life
He was adopted into the Bennett family at 2 years of age. He began writing poetry and short storiesShort story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
in the 1960s and was performing his poetry in O'Connor's Tavern in Liverpool long before he was of age to go in legally. He had several jobs after leaving university but in 1976 gave up working in the conventional sense to pursue a life of writing, lecturing and performing his poetry. Bennett has written freelance journalism, short stories and poetry for the years since.
Career
Bennett left Liverpool in the early 1970s and went on to perform his poetry in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. After a period performing as Richard Dripping, which included appearances at punk venues in Liverpool and Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. After returning to Liverpool he worked at the University of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
. He used to perform regularly with the Dead Good Poets in the Everyman Bistro.
His lecturing has included creating courses in Transport and Safety Studies, Creative Writing, Media, Journalism, Speculative Writing, Travel Writing and various Poetry Courses, for Universities and other educational organisations. He has written 64 (as of 2011) books ranging from Transport Studies, Children's and Poetry, and in addition has written many songs and had a CD of his poetry and songs released, and many booklets and brochures of his poetry have been produced to tie in with various performances.
Bennett's career as a performance poet has earned him many awards amongst which are three DADAFest awards, and a Silver Stake from the Manchester Slam. He has also won awards for his poetry including the 2006 Frost Award, and the Fante Award in 2002. In 2005 his book The Man Who Tried to Hug Clouds was voted Best Poetry Book in English at the Berlin Book Festival. He has been nominated five times for a Pushcart Award and has twice won the performance award the San Francisco Beat Festival and was Poetry Superhighway Favourite Poet of the Year 2000.
His poetry has been published widely and Bennett has grasped the internet as a tool for poets and helped create the most visited independent website in the world for poets and writers, Poetry Kit. Poetry Kit was created in 1998 by Ted Slade and Bennett worked with him on developing and editing on-line Poetry magazines until Ted's death in 2004 when he took over as the sole owner and principle editor of the site and its spin off magazines.
In August 2010 Bennett contributed to an eBook collection of political poems entitled Emergency Verse - Poetry in Defence of the Welfare State edited by Alan Morrison
Alan Morrison (poet)
-Overview of works:Morrison's work belongs to no particular school, but owes some debt to fairly unconventional influences such as John Davidson and Harold Monro, as well as Welsh poets Alun Lewis and Dylan Thomas....
He continues to write, tour and lecture regularly and in recent years has produced a series of internet based poetry courses which receive wide acclaim.
Biographies
- Wade, Stephen (ed.); Gladsongs and Gatherings - Poetry in Liverpool.
- Jaki Florek and Paul Whelan; Liverpool Eric's 2009 Feeedback (sic)