Strictly Private: Anthology Of Poetry

by Roger McGough

A collection of poems selected from work of living poets, many of them little known. Roger McGough also included some of his own poems. Most of the poems are funny, some are sad, but nearly all are directly relevant to today's teenagers.

Genres: Poetry

Hardcover

First published January 5, 1982

Reviews

[Robin Helweg-Larsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Subjected to Palgrave's 'Golden Treasury' in his early teens, McGough failed his O Level English Literature. This freed him up to find poetry for himself in his 20s, to write, and to have a good understanding of the need for *relatable* poetry for young people. This anthology speaks to that need. Light and dark, free verse and formal verse, leaning towards English poets, it is divided into themes beginning with "First Day at School". And school poems take the view of the new child, of the brash older boy, and of the vengeful teacher:

A millionbillionwillion miles from home
Waiting for the bell to go. (To go where?)
Why are they all so big, other children?
So noisy?
(First Day at School, Roger McGough)

Just you look at me, man,
Stompin' down the street
My crombie stuffed with biceps
My boots is filled with feet.
(Street Boy, Gareth Owen)

Chaos ruled OK in the classroom
as bravely the teacher walked in
the nooligans ignored him
his voice was lost in the din.
'The theme for today is violence
and homework will be set
I'm going to teach you a lesson
one that you'll never forget.'
He picked on a boy who was shouting
and throttled him then and there
then garotted the girl behind him
(the one with the grotty hair).
(The Lesson, Roger McGough)

On to more scary stuff in "He's Behind Yer", everything from horror stories to

you fit into me
like a hook into an eye

a fish hook
an open eye
('You fit into me', Margaret Atwood), and

everywhere children go in danger
of being accosted and having their love
bribed or harshly demanded from them; not least by
these familiar strangers that lurk in their houses
and claim them as a right.
(Strangers and Sweets, Dave Calder)

"Tide and Time" deals with age, failed relationships and death. "Watchwords" plays with words. And "Being in Love" includes

Love is feeling cold in the back of vans
Love is a fanclub with only two fans
Love is walking holding paintstained hands
Love is
(Love is . . ., Adrian Henri) and

You ask for a poem.
I offer you a blade of grass.
You say it is not good enough.
You ask for a poem.
(A Blade of Grass, Brian Patten)

"A Cat, a Horse and the Sun" covers nature:

The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said;
The recent buds relax and spread,
Their greenness is a kind of grief.
(The Trees, Philip Larkin)

And finally "Smithereens" covers everything else:

Many policemen wear upon their shoulders
cunning little radios. To pass away the time
They talk about the traffic to them, listen to the news,
And it helps them to Keep Down Crime.

But Sergeant Brown, he wears upon his shoulder
A tall green parrot as he's walking up and down
And all the parrot says is 'Who's a-pretty-boy-then?'
'I am,' says Sergeant Brown.
(Sergeant Brown's Parrot, Kit Wright)

In sum, this is a vivid, no-holds-barred, highly relatable anthology of love, fear, humour, horror... and nature poetry, and word play... the wonderful anthology that McGough should have had instead of Palgrave's at age 14 or 15 - and just as rich for adults as for kids. Readable and rereadable.

[Hattie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of poetry from a range of incredible poets about all manner of things. Definitely found some new favourites amongst them!! At the time of publishing most of the poets were alive (and British!) a conscious decision by McGough who wanted to dispel the notion that poetry is stuffy and old.
This is certainly true and the poems all have a certain liveliness to them - but my one grumble would be that it's aimed at school kids. This poetry is not 'for' anyone in particular and all ages will find something that sparks in them. I appreciate that he imagined teenagers and kids want stuff JUST for them, stuff that their parents don't read. But I dunno... none of the poems themselves were directly aimed at my age group (which was fine -- they were all brilliant) but it felt contrived that it 'was for teenagers'. Hence my 4/5 rating.
But, grumping aside. These are a fun, serious, thought provoking, well rounded collection of poetry written in all manner of styles. This is an anthology for people who want a good mix of poems. To flick the book open and find something they weren't expecting to read.

[Historia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was wonderful to read "Strictly Private", an anthology of poetry by Roger McGough.

On the one hand the actual poems themselves were diverse, easy to access and very enjoyable. On another level, I found that browsing through the various works provided an open window on the culture and mentality of the period in which they were written. The book was published in 1981, but largely reflects the thinking (and the humour) of the 1970's and even the late 60's, with influences of swinging London, the new left, anti-war sentiments and the onset of punk.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one has been a go-to poetry collection for me since my teens.