Adrian Mitchell FRSL (24 October 1932 – 20 December 2008) was an English poet, novelist and playwright. A former journalist, he became a noted figure on the British Left. For almost half a century he was the foremost poet of the country's

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuc ...

movement. The critic

Kenneth Tynan Kenneth Peacock Tynan (2 April 1927 – 26 July 1980) was an English theatre critic and writer. Making his initial impact as a critic at ''The Observer'', he praised Osborne's ''Look Back in Anger'' (1956), and encouraged the emerging wave of ...

called him "the British

Mayakovsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (, ; rus, Влади́мир Влади́мирович Маяко́вский, , vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ məjɪˈkofskʲɪj, Ru-Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky.ogg, links=y; – 14 Apr ...

". Mitchell sought in his work to counteract the implications of his own assertion that, "Most people ignore most poetry because most poetry ignores most people." In a

National Poetry Day National Poetry Day is a British campaign to promote poetry, including public performances. National Poetry Day was founded in 1994 by William Sieghart. It takes place annually in the UK on the first Thursday in October. Since its inception, it ...

poll in 2005 his poem "Human Beings" was voted the one most people would like to see launched into space. In 2002 he was nominated, semi-seriously, Britain's "Shadow

Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch ...

". Mitchell was for some years poetry editor of the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...

'', and was the first to publish an interview with

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

. His work for the Royal Shakespeare Company included

Peter Brook Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Sha ...

's '' US'' and the English version of

Peter Weiss Peter Ulrich Weiss (8 November 1916 – 10 May 1982) was a German writer, painter, graphic artist, and experimental filmmaker of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays ''Marat/Sade'' and ''The Investigation'' and hi ...

's ''

Marat/Sade ''The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade'' (german: Die Verfolgung und Ermordung Jean Paul Marats dargestellt durch die Schauspielgrupp ...

''. Ever inspired by the example of his own favourite poet and precursor

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

, about whom he wrote the acclaimed ''Tyger'' for the National Theatre, his often angry output swirled from anarchistic anti-war satire, through love poetry to, increasingly, stories and poems for children. He also wrote librettos. The Poetry Archive identified his creative yield as hugely prolific. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' said that Mitchell's had been a "forthright voice often laced with tenderness." His poems on such topics as nuclear war,

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, prisons and racism had become "part of the folklore of the Left. His work was often read and sung at demonstrations and rallies."

Biography

Early life and career

Adrian Mitchell was born near Hampstead Heath, north London. His mother, Kathleen Fabian, was a Fröbel-trained nursery school teacher and his father, Jock Mitchell, a research chemist from

Cupar Cupar ( ; gd, Cùbar) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fi ...

in Fife. He was educated at Monkton Combe School in Bath. He then went to

Greenways School Greenways School, also known as Greenways Preparatory School, was an English prep school, founded at Bognor Regis, Sussex, before the Second World War. In 1940 it moved to Ashton Gifford House, Codford, Wiltshire, where it remained until it w ...

, at

Ashton Gifford House Ashton Gifford House is a Grade II listed country house in the hamlet of Ashton Gifford, part of the civil parish of Codford in the English county of Wiltshire. The house was built during the early 19th century, following the precepts of Georgian ...

in Wiltshire, run at the time by a friend of his mother. This, said Mitchell, was "a school in Heaven, where my first play, ''The Animals' Brains Trust'', was staged when I was nine to my great satisfaction." His schooling was completed as a boarder at

Dauntsey's School Dauntsey's School is a public school (independent boarding and day school) for pupils aged 11–18 in the village of West Lavington, Wiltshire, England. The school was founded in 1542, in accordance with the will of William Dauntesey, a mast ...

, where he collaborated in plays with friend Gordon Snell. He did his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. He commented that this "confirmed (his) natural pacificism". He went on to study English at Christ Church, Oxford, where he was taught by

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

's son. He became chairman of the university's poetry society and the literary editor of ''Isis'' magazine. On graduating Mitchell got a job as a reporter on the ''

Oxford Mail ''Oxford Mail'' is a daily tabloid newspaper in Oxford, England, owned by Newsquest. It is published six days a week. It is a sister paper to the weekly tabloid '' The Oxford Times''. History The ''Oxford Mail'' was founded in 1928 as a succe ...

'' and, later, at the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' in London. He later wrote of this period:

Career

Mitchell gave frequent public readings, particularly for left-wing causes. Satire was his speciality. Commissioned to write a poem about Prince Charles and his special relationship (as

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

) with the people of Wales, his measured response was short and to the point: " Royalty is a

neurosis Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving chronic distress, but neither delusions nor hallucinations. The term is no longer used by the professional psychiatric community in the United States, having been eliminated from th ...

. Get well soon." In "Loose Leaf Poem", from ''Ride the Nightmare'', he wrote: :''My brain socialist'' :''My heart anarchist'' :''My eyes pacifist'' :''My blood revolutionary'' Mitchell was in the habit of stipulating in any preface to his collections: "None of the work in this book is to be used in connection with any examination whatsoever." His best-known poem, "To Whom It May Concern", was his bitterly sarcastic reaction to the televised horrors of the Vietnam War. The poem begins: :''I was run over by the truth one day.'' :''Ever since the accident I’ve walked this way'' :''So stick my legs in plaster'' :''Tell me lies about Vietnam'' He first read it to thousands of

nuclear disarmament Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics * Nuclear space * Nuclea ...

protesters who, having marched through central London on CND's first new format one-day Easter March, finally crammed into

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

on the afternoon of Easter Day 1964. As Mitchell delivered his lines from the pavement in front of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director ...

, angry demonstrators in the square below scuffled with police. Over the years he updated the poem to take into account recent events. In 1972 he confronted then-prime minister

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

about

germ warfare Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war. Bi ...

and the war in Northern Ireland. His poem "Victor Jara" was set to music by

Arlo Guthrie Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his father, Woody Guthrie. Gu ...

and included on his 1976 album ''

Amigo Amigo(s) (Portuguese and Spanish for ''male friend'') may refer to: People * Carlos Amigo Vallejo (born 1934), Spanish Roman Catholic archbishop emeritus of Seville Places Facilities * Amigos School, a bilingual primary school in Cambridge, Ma ...

''. He was later responsible for the well-respected stage adaptation of '' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', a production of the Royal Shakespeare Company that premiered in November 1998. According to writer Jan Woolf, "He never let up. Most calls—'Can you do this one, Adrian?'—were answered, 'Sure, I'll be there.' His reading of 'Tell Me Lies' at a City Hall benefit just before the 2003

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

was electrifying. Of course, he couldn't stop that war, but he performed as if he could." One

Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...

he laid the

Peace Pledge Union The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) is a non-governmental organisation that promotes pacifism, based in the United Kingdom. Its members are signatories to the following pledge: "War is a crime against humanity. I renounce war, and am therefore determin ...

's White Poppy wreath on the

Cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

. On one International

Conscientious Objectors A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to objecti ...

' Day he read a poem at the ceremony at the

Conscientious Objectors Commemorative Stone The Conscientious Objectors' Commemorative Stone is on the north side of Tavistock Square, Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. In 1994 a stone commemorating "men and women conscientious objectors all over the world and in every age" ...

Tavistock Square Tavistock Square is a public square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. History Tavistock Square was built shortly after 1806 by the property developer James Burton and the master builder Thomas Cubitt for Francis Russell, 5th Duke ...

in London. Fellow writers could be effusive in their tributes.

John Berger John Peter Berger (; 5 November 1926 – 2 January 2017) was an English art critic, novelist, painter and poet. His novel '' G.'' won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism '' Ways of Seeing'', written as an accompaniment to the ...

said that, "Against the present British state he opposes a kind of revolutionary populism, bawdiness, wit and the tenderness sometimes to be found between animals."

Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...

once wrote that he was "a joyous, acrid and demotic tumbling lyricist Pied Piper, determinedly singing us away from catastrophe."

Ted Hughes Edward James "Ted" Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest wri ...

: "In the world of verse for children, nobody has produced more surprising verse or more genuinely inspired fun than Adrian Mitchell." Mitchell died at the age of 76 in a North London hospital from a suspected heart attack. For two months he had been suffering from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

. Two days earlier he had completed what turned out to be his last poem, "My Literary Career So Far". He intended it as a Christmas gift to "all the friends, family and animals he loved". "Adrian", said fellow poet

Michael Rosen Michael Wayne Rosen (born 7 May 1946) is a British children's author, poet, presenter, political columnist, broadcaster and activist who has written 140 books. He served as Children's Laureate from 2007 to 2009. Early life Michael Wayne Ro ...

, "was a socialist and a pacifist who believed, like William Blake, that everything human was ''

holy Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

''. That's to say he celebrated a love of life with the same fervour that he attacked those who crushed life. He did this through his poetry, his plays, his song lyrics and his own performances. Through this huge body of work, he was able to raise the spirits of his audiences, in turn exciting, inspiring, saddening and enthusing them.... He has sung, chanted, whispered and shouted his poems in every kind of place imaginable, urging us to love our lives, love our minds and bodies and to fight against

tyranny A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to ...

oppression Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment or exercise of power, often under the guise of governmental authority or cultural opprobrium. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. Oppression refers to discrimination ...

and exploitation." In 2009, Frances Lincoln Children's Books published an adaptation of

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

: ''Shapeshifters: tales from Ovid's Metamorphoses'', written by Mitchell and illustrated by Alan Lee.

Family

Mitchell is survived by his wife, the actress Celia Hewitt, whose bookshop, Ripping Yarns, was in

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisat ...

, and their two daughters Sasha and Beattie. He also has two sons and a daughter from his previous marriage to Maureen Bush: Briony, Alistair and Danny, with nine grandchildren. Mitchell and his wife had adopted Boty Goodwin (1966-1995), daughter of the artist

Pauline Boty Pauline Boty (6 March 1938 – 1 July 1966) was a British painter and co-founder of the 1960s' British Pop art movement of which she was the only acknowledged female member. Boty's paintings and collages often demonstrate a joy in self-assured ...

, following the death of her father, literary agent Clive Goodwin, in 1978. Following Boty Goodwin's death from a heroin overdose, Mitchell wrote the poem 'Especially when it snows' in her memory.Poem for the Day Two, Nicholas Albery, Chatto & Windus, 2005, p. 325

Selected bibliography

* ''If You See Me Comin, novel ( Jonathan Cape, 1962) * ''Poems'' (Jonathan Cape, 1964; 978-0224608732) * ''Out Loud'' (Cape Goliard, 1968) * ''Ride the Nightmare'' (Cape, 1971; ) * ''Tyger: A Celebration Based on the Life and Works of William Blake'' (Cape, 1971; ) * ''The Apeman Cometh'' (Cape, 1975; ) * ''Man Friday'', novel (Futura, 1975; ) * ''For Beauty Douglas: Collected Poems 1953–79'', illus.

Ralph Steadman Ralph Idris Steadman (born 15 May 1936) is a British illustrator best known for his collaboration and friendship with the American writer Hunter S. Thompson. Steadman is renowned for his political and social caricatures, cartoons and picture ...

(

Allison & Busby Allison & Busby (A & B) is a publishing house based in London established by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby in 1967. The company has built up a reputation as a leading independent publisher. Background Launching as a publishing company in Ma ...

, 1981; ) * ''On the Beach at Cambridge: New Poems'' (Allison and Busby, 1984; ) * ''Nothingmas Day'', illus. John Lawrence (Allison & Busby, 1984; ) * ''Love Songs of World War Three: Collected Stage Lyrics'' (Allison and Busby, 1988; ) * ''All My Own Stuff'', illus. Frances Lloyd (

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pu ...

, 1991; ) * ''Adrian Mitchell's Greatest Hits – The Top Forty'', illus. Ralph Steadman ( Bloodaxe Books, 1991; ) * ''Blue Coffee: Poems 1985–1996'' (Bloodaxe, 1996; 1997 reprint, ) * ''Heart on the Left: Poems 1953–1984'' (Bloodaxe, 1997; ) * ''Balloon Lagoon and Other Magic Islands of Poetry'', illus.

Tony Ross Anthony Lee Ross (born 10 August 1938) is a British author and illustrator of children's picture books. In Britain, he is best known for writing and illustrating his Little Princess books and for illustrating the Horrid Henry series by France ...

(Orchard Books, 1997; ) * ''Nobody Rides the Unicorn'', illus. Stephen Lambert (Corgi Children's, new edn 2000; ) * ''All Shook Up: Poems 1997–2000'' (Bloodaxe, 2000; ) * ''The Shadow Knows: Poems 2001–2004'' (Bloodaxe, 2004) * ''Tell Me Lies: Poems 2005–2008'', illus. Ralph Steadman (Bloodaxe, 2009; ) * ''Umpteen Pockets'', illus. Tony Ross (

Orchard Books Grolier was one of the largest American publishers of general encyclopedias, including '' The Book of Knowledge'' (1910), ''The New Book of Knowledge'' (1966), ''The New Book of Popular Science'' (1972), ''Encyclopedia Americana'' (1945), ''Acad ...

, 2009; ) * ''Daft as a Doughnut'' (Orchard Books, 2009; ) * ''Shapeshifters: Tales from Ovid's Metamorphoses'', illus. Alan Lee ( Frances Lincoln, 2009; ) * ''Come on Everybody: Poems 1953–2008'' (Bloodaxe, 2012; ) * ''Just Adrian'' (United Kingdom: Oberon Books, 2012. )

Awards

* 1961 Eric Gregory Award * 1966

PEN Translation Prize The PEN Translation Prize (formerly known as the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize through 2008) is an annual award given by PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) to outstanding translations into the English language. It has been p ...

* 1971 Tokyo Festival Television Film Award * 2005 CLPE Poetry Award (shortlist) for ''Daft as a Doughnut''

References

External links

*
The Poetry Archive
*

* – 1978 recording of "Victor Jara" by the band Shenandoah (poem "Victor Jara" by Adrian Mitchell; music by

)

Obituaries and tributes

To the memory of Adrian Mitchell
''World Socialist'' web site *

Michael Horovitz Michael Yechiel Ha-Levi Horovitz (4 April 1935 – 7 July 2021) was a German-born British poet, editor, visual artist and translator who was a leading part of the Beat Poetry scene in the UK. In 1959, while still a student, he founded the "tr ...

"Adrian Mitchell: Poet and playwright whose work was driven by his pacifist politics"
''The Independent'', 23 December 2008. * Michael Kustow
"Poet Adrian Mitchell dies, aged 76"
''The Guardian'', 21 December 2008.

''Daily Telegraph'', 13 January 2009.
"Adrian Mitchell: protest poet and prose writer"
''The Times'', 23 December 2008. *William Grimes

''The New York Times'', 23 December 2008. *Dan Carrier

''Camden New Journal'', 23 December 2008. *

, ttp://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/law/columnists/article2048176.ece "Passionate poet unafraid of the big stuff" ''The Times'', 23 December 2008.
"Shadow on the sun"
''Red Pepper'', March 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Adrian 1932 births 2008 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford English activists English librettists English male journalists English pacifists English socialists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature People educated at Monkton Combe School People educated at Greenways School English male poets English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English poets 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights Transatlantic Records artists 20th-century English male writers