Ten Years in An Open Necked Shirt by John Cooper Clarke

by John Cooper Clarke

Genres: Poetry

Paperback

Published January 1, 1891

About the author

John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet who first became famous during the punk rock era of the late 1970s when he became known as a "punk poet". He released several albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and continues to perform regularly.

Reviews

[Connor Collins]

This is absolutely my kind of poetry.

John Cooper Clarke has everything I want: rhyme, rhythm, wordplay, humour, darkness, cynicism and some completely bizarre turns of phrase. Even just reading him on the page, you can hear the momentum of it.

My copy is absolutely covered in marker stickers. Sometimes for a rhyme, sometimes for a clever line, sometimes for an observation, and sometimes for an entire poem.

What I particularly love is the voice. There’s personality running through everything. The poems can be funny, grubby, cynical, strange or genuinely sharp, but they always sound unmistakably like they came from the same person.

Probably three quarters of the collection was fantastic for me. The remaining quarter wasn’t really my thing, so I can’t quite give it the full five stars, but that’s still an incredibly high hit rate for a poetry collection.

I’ve enjoyed Burnham and Bilston for their cleverness and wordplay, but given the choice, John Cooper Clarke is the poet I’d rather sit down and read.

Funny, filthy, clever, rhythmic and completely his own.

[Alyn Paul Coward]

This is a fabulous collection of The Bard of Salford’s finest early work. It is interesting to note that some poems have been modified to make them more acceptable to the modern age. For example, one particularly racist line from the classic ‘Kung-fu International’ has been cut. And, one of my favourites, ‘Tw*t’ has been greatly expanded.
Great stuff and I’m now looking forward to seeing the great man live in Leicester in March ‘24. Can’t wait!

[Tyler Horton]

I quite like about 1/3 of these, but for the most part it is just not my cup of tea. There are a bunch that remind of Shel Silverstein because of the rhythm and rhyming pattern and they feel too disjointed for me with the material he focuses on, which is typically pretty crude. A few of my favourites could be lyrics from an Idles song.

[Ben Osborn]

A masterclass in using rhymes as punchlines which I think all songwriters should read; and sometimes it is genius, but sometimes the humour falls flat and the repetitive formulas feel a little hackneyed and dull. Still, if you, like me, have a trade in writing lyrics, I think this kind of thing is invaluable; a lesson in how to use rhymes to surprise even within the most formulaic constructions.

[Eleanor Wilkinson]

Honestly love this poetry book and love John Cooper Clarke. You can’t go wrong with his poems at all. They are tragic, real, funny, and everything in one. Think my favourite of all in this book was Love Story In Reverse. I think it’s called that, now passed on to a friend for her to read!

[Paul Taylor]

Dr John's first poetry collection, illustrated by Steve Maguire. The grime and seediness of Cooper Clarke's 60s Salford pervades this collection.

[C.H. Elton]

amazing wordcraft covering a myriad of topics, observed from the wit and wisdom of a master craftsman. Deep, dark, zany and poignant, this is JCC at his best.

[Kieran Gillar]

Best poetry book of the last hundred years

[Paul Ferguson]

Good in parts. More like a 3.5/5.0 than a real 4. Some great poems including one based on Fucking Halkirk, one of my favourites from the Faber book of War Poems.

[Ruby Marsh]

He’s a funny old bloke. Forget stuffy rule-bound poetry this book is a breath of fresh air and a laugh too so what’s not to like? Poetry doesn’t have to be so suffocating and serious