Brian Patten, one of the most prominent Liverpool poets who rose to fame in the 1960s, has died at the age of 79, his agent has confirmed.
Patten's poetry often explored love and relationships with lyrical depth, and he also wrote books for children, including the poetry collection Gargling With Jelly. He was best known for co-authoring The Mersey Sound in 1967 with fellow Liverpool poets Roger McGough and Adrian Henri. The anthology has sold over a million copies, is credited with bringing poetry to a new audience, and is now a Penguin Classic.
Born in 1946 in Bootle, a working-class area of Liverpool, Patten left school at 15 and worked as a cub reporter for the Bootle Times. At 16, he edited the magazine underdog, which first published many poems later included in The Mersey Sound. After leaving Liverpool at 18, he lived in Paris, writing poems on pavements in coloured chalk to earn money.
His first solo collection, Little Johnny's Confession, was published in 1967. Later works included Armada, a reflection on grief after his mother's death, and Love Poems. Patten was awarded the freedom of the city of Liverpool alongside McGough and Henri, and in 2003 became a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
He is survived by his wife, Linda Cookson. Reflecting on his legacy in 2023, Patten said: 'Every generation rebels against the one before. It is necessary. One only hopes our best poems survive.'
