Tom Pickard
Encyclopedia
Tom Pickard is a poet
, radio
and film
maker who was an important initiator of the movement known as the British Poetry Revival
.
Pickard grew up in the workingclass suburbs of Cowgate and Blakelaw and left school at the age of fourteen. Three years later he met Basil Bunting
and was instrumental in the older poet's return to writing in the early 1960s, leading to the latter's most acclaimed poem, the long, autobiographical "Brigflatts", published in 1965. The association also produced Bunting's scathing "What the Chairman told Tom" ("I want to wash when I meet a poet.... my twelve-year-old can do it - AND rhyme!")
In 1963, with is first wife Connie, Pickard founded and ran the Morden Tower
Book Room, where he organised a series of readings by British
and American
modernist
tradition poets, including Bunting. He was also involved with the Ultima Thule Bookshop - specialising in poetry, music and alternative titles - between 1969 and 1973. During this period he also travelled in the United States
to renew friendships with some of the American Morden Tower readers, including Allen Ginsberg
, Robert Creeley
and Ed Dorn
.
In 1973, Pickard moved to London
and started writing radio and documentary film
scripts. His film credits include We Make Ships (1988), Birmingham is What I Think With--about the poet Roy Fisher(1991) and The Shadow and the Substance (1994). He directed the last three of these films. In 1974, his television play
Squire was broadcast by the BBC
and starred his friend, the singer songwriter Alan Hull--who wrote music for the play. The two friends also worked together on Pickard's BBC radio documentary, The Jarrow March (1976). He was series editor and director of film inserts on Word Of Mouth, a series of ten 30 minute tv programs for Border TV/ACGB. It won a gold medal in 1990, at the New York International Film And TV Festival, for the best performing arts series, and was a runner-up in the Royal Television Awards.
In London he collaborated with Moira Kelly of Air Gallery to run an international poetry series (which later transferred to The Riverside Studio under David Gotthard) as well as running a book-stall in Camden Lock market.
Pickard's poetry owes much to his reading of Bunting and of the Black Mountain poets
, but is also rooted in his own urban working class
Northumbria
n background. His publications include High on the Walls (1968), The Order of Chance (1971), Hero Dust: New and Selected Poems (1979), Tiepin Eros: New and Selected Poems (1994), fuckwind (1999)
Hole in the Wall: New and Selected Poems (2002), The Dark Months of May (2004) and Ballad of Jamie Allan (2007); the last three published by Flood Editions. Ballad of Jamie Allan was a finalist for the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award. His part autobiographical More Pricks Than Prizes was published in Boston by Pressed Wafer in 2010.
In 2004 he was commissioned by Sage Gateshead and Folkworks to write a libretto, Ballad of Jamie Allan, for the composer John Harle
. The opera was premiered in 2005. A CD of Ballad of Jamie Allan (with Omar Ebrahim, Sarah Jane Morris, Kathryn Tickell, Bill Paterson, the Northern Sinfonia with Steve Lodder
and Neil MacColl).
He collaborated with John Harle again in 2009 writing the words for 'A Song for London Bridge', a piece for saxophone and choir and organ. It had its premiere on the 22nd of June at Southwark Cathedral with Harle on saxophone, the Kings College Choir, Cambridge conducted by Stephen Cleobury and the organ played by David Goode.
Pickard has worked throughout his career with many musicians including Alan Hull (of Lindisfarne), Peter Kirtley and Liane Carroll, Ben Murray and Rosie Doonan, Tarras, Paul McCartney amongst others.
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...
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
maker who was an important initiator of the movement known as the British Poetry Revival
British Poetry Revival
The British Poetry Revival is the general name given to a loose poetry movement in Britain that took place in the 1960s and 1970s. The revival was a modernist-inspired reaction to the Movement's more conservative approach to British poetry.-Beginnings:...
.
Pickard grew up in the workingclass suburbs of Cowgate and Blakelaw and left school at the age of fourteen. Three years later he met Basil Bunting
Basil Bunting
Basil Cheesman Bunting was a significant British modernist poet whose reputation was established with the publication of Briggflatts in 1966. He had a lifelong interest in music that led him to emphasise the sonic qualities of poetry, particularly the importance of reading poetry aloud...
and was instrumental in the older poet's return to writing in the early 1960s, leading to the latter's most acclaimed poem, the long, autobiographical "Brigflatts", published in 1965. The association also produced Bunting's scathing "What the Chairman told Tom" ("I want to wash when I meet a poet.... my twelve-year-old can do it - AND rhyme!")
In 1963, with is first wife Connie, Pickard founded and ran the Morden Tower
Morden Tower
The Morden Tower in Back Stowell Street on the West Walls of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and a Grade 1 listed building. For the last 45 years Connie Pickard has been custodian of Morden Tower, and has made it a key fixture of Newcastle's alternative cultural life...
Book Room, where he organised a series of readings by British
British literature
British Literature refers to literature associated with the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel Islands. By far the largest part of British literature is written in the English language, but there are bodies of written works in Latin, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Cornish, Manx, Jèrriais,...
and American
Poetry of the United States
American poetry, the poetry of the United States, arose first as efforts by colonists to add their voices to English poetry in the 17th century, well before the constitutional unification of the thirteen colonies...
modernist
Modernist poetry
Modernist poetry refers to poetry written between 1890 and 1950 in the tradition of modernist literature in the English language, but the dates of the term depend upon a number of factors, including the nation of origin, the particular school in question, and the biases of the critic setting the...
tradition poets, including Bunting. He was also involved with the Ultima Thule Bookshop - specialising in poetry, music and alternative titles - between 1969 and 1973. During this period he also travelled in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to renew friendships with some of the American Morden Tower readers, including Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
, Robert Creeley
Robert Creeley
Robert Creeley was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school's. He was close with Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Allen Ginsberg, John Wieners and Ed Dorn. He served as the Samuel P...
and Ed Dorn
Ed Dorn
Edward Merton Dorn was an American poet and teacher often associated with the Black Mountain poets. His most famous work is Gunslinger.-Overview:...
.
In 1973, Pickard moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and started writing radio and documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
scripts. His film credits include We Make Ships (1988), Birmingham is What I Think With--about the poet Roy Fisher(1991) and The Shadow and the Substance (1994). He directed the last three of these films. In 1974, his television play
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
Squire was broadcast by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and starred his friend, the singer songwriter Alan Hull--who wrote music for the play. The two friends also worked together on Pickard's BBC radio documentary, The Jarrow March (1976). He was series editor and director of film inserts on Word Of Mouth, a series of ten 30 minute tv programs for Border TV/ACGB. It won a gold medal in 1990, at the New York International Film And TV Festival, for the best performing arts series, and was a runner-up in the Royal Television Awards.
In London he collaborated with Moira Kelly of Air Gallery to run an international poetry series (which later transferred to The Riverside Studio under David Gotthard) as well as running a book-stall in Camden Lock market.
Pickard's poetry owes much to his reading of Bunting and of the Black Mountain poets
Black Mountain poets
The Black Mountain poets, sometimes called projectivist poets, were a group of mid 20th century American avant-garde or postmodern poets centered on Black Mountain College.-Background:...
, but is also rooted in his own urban working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
n background. His publications include High on the Walls (1968), The Order of Chance (1971), Hero Dust: New and Selected Poems (1979), Tiepin Eros: New and Selected Poems (1994), fuckwind (1999)
Hole in the Wall: New and Selected Poems (2002), The Dark Months of May (2004) and Ballad of Jamie Allan (2007); the last three published by Flood Editions. Ballad of Jamie Allan was a finalist for the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award. His part autobiographical More Pricks Than Prizes was published in Boston by Pressed Wafer in 2010.
In 2004 he was commissioned by Sage Gateshead and Folkworks to write a libretto, Ballad of Jamie Allan, for the composer John Harle
John Harle
John Harle is an English saxophonist and composer.-Biography:John Harle - SaxophonistJohn Harle is one of the world’s leading saxophonists, and the most significant performer of the saxophone in the concert hall today...
. The opera was premiered in 2005. A CD of Ballad of Jamie Allan (with Omar Ebrahim, Sarah Jane Morris, Kathryn Tickell, Bill Paterson, the Northern Sinfonia with Steve Lodder
Steve Lodder
Steve Lodder, born Stephen John Lodder, , is a British keyboardist, composer, and organist. He played piano as a child and took up organ at age 14...
and Neil MacColl).
He collaborated with John Harle again in 2009 writing the words for 'A Song for London Bridge', a piece for saxophone and choir and organ. It had its premiere on the 22nd of June at Southwark Cathedral with Harle on saxophone, the Kings College Choir, Cambridge conducted by Stephen Cleobury and the organ played by David Goode.
Pickard has worked throughout his career with many musicians including Alan Hull (of Lindisfarne), Peter Kirtley and Liane Carroll, Ben Murray and Rosie Doonan, Tarras, Paul McCartney amongst others.