Spike Hawkins (1943-2017) was a British poet, best known for his "Three Pig Poems", included in his one book, the

Fulcrum Press Fulcrum Press (1965 – 1974)
quoting Rathna Ramanathan, "English little presses, book desig ...

collection ''The Lost Fire-Brigade'' (1968). He was part of the poetry scene in Liverpool during the 1960s and much of his output upholds the values of that group; short, modernistic, humorous pieces of free verse. He was published in ''Encounter'', ''International Times'', ''The Guardian'' and in the 1972 anthology ''The Old Pals' Act'', edited by

Pete Brown Peter Ronald Brown (25 December 1940 – 19 May 2023) was an English performance poet, lyricist, and singer best known for his collaborations with Cream and Jack Bruce.Colin Larkin, ''Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music'' (Muze UK Ltd, 1997) ...

. He was a friend of Johnny Byrne; together, they formed the surreal act "Poisoned Bellows". He was a friend of Syd Barrett, a founder of Pink Floyd. Hawkins continued to be active, for example performing in the 2005 Poetry Olympics at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, having originally performed there in the

International Poetry Incarnation The International Poetry Incarnation was an event at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 11 June 1965. Background In May 1965, Allen Ginsberg arrived at Better Books, an independent bookstore in London's Charing Cross Road, and offered to read a ...

in 1965. Also a mimic, he could imitate

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

very well.''The Guardian'', 16 November 2000, p. 17.

References

* Lucie-Smith, Edward (1970), '' British Poetry since 1945''. 1943 births British poets 2017 deaths British male poets {{UK-poet-stub

See also

References