Plaster cast head of Brian Patten

Poet and performer Brian Patten was famous in the 1960s as one of the Liverpool Poets, along with Adrian Henri and Roger McGough. Their aim was to make poetry accessible and to bring it to new audiences. Their popular anthology ‘The Mersey Sound’, published in 1967, has sold thousands of copies worldwide. Brian was born in Liverpool in 1946. He began writing poetry at Sefton Park Secondary School and at 15 worked as a cub-reporter on ‘The Bootle Times’. He then went on to produce and edit his own poetry magazine ‘Underdog’, which showcased Liverpool's underground poets. In 2002 Brian was awarded The Cholmondeley Award for services to poetry. Together with Roger McGough and the late Adrian Henri, he was awarded The Freedom of the City of Liverpool. This sculpture, made by Jilly Sutton, was half carved and half cast from Brian's face; a process he did not enjoy! His poem, 'Burning Genius' forms his hair. Jilly chose this poem "as it had long lines - so the writing went the length of the curl." It represents the role Brian played in Liverpool's cultural explosion of the 1960s. Jilly kindly donated this plaster cast head of Brian Patten to the Museum in 2002.