Spike Hawkins

British poet (born 1943)

Spike Hawkins (1943-2017) was a British poet, best known for his "Three Pig Poems",^[1] included in his one book, the Fulcrum Press 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,^[2] The Guardian and in the 1972 anthology The Old Pals' Act, edited by Pete Brown.^[3]

He was a friend of Johnny Byrne; together, they formed the surreal act "Poisoned Bellows".^[4]^[5] He was a friend of Syd Barrett, a founder of Pink Floyd.^[6]^[7] Hawkins continued to be active, for example performing in the 2005 Poetry Olympics at the Royal Albert Hall,^[8]^[9] having originally performed there in the International Poetry Incarnation in 1965.^[10]

Also a mimic, he could imitate Harold Wilson very well.^[11]

References

^ "Hawkins, Spike", Porkopolis.
^ International Times Archive 1966-2005.
^ "The Old Pals' Act", http://www.books-by-isbn.com/
^ Gavin Gaughan, Johnny Byrne obituary, The Guardian, 25 April 2008. Accessed 5 August 2008.
^ Anthony Hayward, "Johnny Byrne: Writer of feelgood TV dramas", The Independent, 12 May 2008.
^ Rob Chapman on Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head (starting about 3:26 on the video) on YouTube
^ Toby Litt, "Syd Barrett: A Very Irregular Head by Rob Chapman", The Guardian, 8 May 2010.
^ Independent article Accessed 5 August 2008.
^ "Poetry Olympics Twenty05 Celebrates Three Birthdays with a Jamboree of Stellar Performances at the Royal Albert Hall", edwinmorgan.com
^ Sophie Parkin, "Walking to the beat of a new waste land: an interview with Michael Horovitz", 3:AM Magazine, 27 October 2007.
^ The Guardian, 16 November 2000, p. 17.