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joinedupwriting
AN EXUBERANT NEW COLLECTION FROM ONE OF BRITAIN'S BEST LOVED POETS
'The patron saint of poetry' Carol Ann Duffy For more than fifty years, Roger McGough has entranced generations of readers with poetry which is at once playful and poignant, intimate and ambitious in its scope. Joinedupwriting delivers on all the wry observation, warmth and subtle heartache that readers have come to expect from his collections. From forgotten friendships to the idiosyncrasies of family life, to the trauma of war right through to contemporary global politics - these poems explore the human experience in all its shades of light and dark, but always with McGough's signature wit, irreverence and vivacity. This is the nation's favourite poet at his very finest. 'McGough has done for poetry what champagne does for weddings' Time Out
'The patron saint of poetry' Carol Ann Duffy For more than fifty years, Roger McGough has entranced generations of readers with poetry which is at once playful and poignant, intimate and ambitious in its scope. Joinedupwriting delivers on all the wry observation, warmth and subtle heartache that readers have come to expect from his collections. From forgotten friendships to the idiosyncrasies of family life, to the trauma of war right through to contemporary global politics - these poems explore the human experience in all its shades of light and dark, but always with McGough's signature wit, irreverence and vivacity. This is the nation's favourite poet at his very finest. 'McGough has done for poetry what champagne does for weddings' Time Out
- GenresPoetry
112 pages, Paperback
Published November 7, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 13, 2019
My admiration for Roger McGough has always been peripheral. This is to say that I have noticed his poetry, heard bits I liked and thought he sounded like a cool and clever writer. This was confirmed for me when I finally read The Mersey Sound but then I found myself a little disappointed by the fact that not all of his poems there quite hit home for me.
The poems of joinedupwriting do. There is something about McGough at 81 years old that connects with me far better than McGough at 30. While some may be put off by the mortality he now expresses, I find it appealing; proof that an icon can find the funny side of ageing.
Not only that, the poems in this collection feature all the literary devices that I love. Some focus on wordplay, others end with a striking twist. Most contain at least one glorious turn of phrase such as 'For fear of being outnumbered / children have stopped building snowmen' (Closing In). Some poems even explore the deeper implications of small-time experiences that are so familiar to me. I was even amused by the way McGough criticised his own poetic choices, a trick that can so often turn into an awkward straw-man scenario in the wrong hands.
While joinedupwriting is definitely a 'later life' collection that spends most of its time looking back, it remains a delightful highlight of McGough's career. I heartily disagree with his closing apology for writing 'So Many Poems'.
I recommend this collection to fans of McGough, The Mersey Sound and those looking for a shrewd poetic slant on getting old.
Notable Poems
• The Perfect Negative – a short but insightful verse based on the kind of simple rhyme scheme that I like to write.
• The Bee, The Wasp and the Poet – a pared-back poem born of an everyday annoyance with a vicious comedy twist.
• Charity Shop Blues – the thoughts in this poem have crossed my mind as both a visitor and volunteer at charity shops.
The poems of joinedupwriting do. There is something about McGough at 81 years old that connects with me far better than McGough at 30. While some may be put off by the mortality he now expresses, I find it appealing; proof that an icon can find the funny side of ageing.
Not only that, the poems in this collection feature all the literary devices that I love. Some focus on wordplay, others end with a striking twist. Most contain at least one glorious turn of phrase such as 'For fear of being outnumbered / children have stopped building snowmen' (Closing In). Some poems even explore the deeper implications of small-time experiences that are so familiar to me. I was even amused by the way McGough criticised his own poetic choices, a trick that can so often turn into an awkward straw-man scenario in the wrong hands.
While joinedupwriting is definitely a 'later life' collection that spends most of its time looking back, it remains a delightful highlight of McGough's career. I heartily disagree with his closing apology for writing 'So Many Poems'.
I recommend this collection to fans of McGough, The Mersey Sound and those looking for a shrewd poetic slant on getting old.
Notable Poems
• The Perfect Negative – a short but insightful verse based on the kind of simple rhyme scheme that I like to write.
• The Bee, The Wasp and the Poet – a pared-back poem born of an everyday annoyance with a vicious comedy twist.
• Charity Shop Blues – the thoughts in this poem have crossed my mind as both a visitor and volunteer at charity shops.
December 18, 2021
McGough's quirkiness never ceases to impress and entertain me. There can never be enough McGough poetry in the world. His metapoetry (like "This is one of those poems", p. 51) amuses and intrigues in equal measure.
May 18, 2019
What can I say? This poetry just isn't ... great. When it comes to the postmoderns I've read, I don't enjoy their messy, helter-skelter approach, but at least it is an approach. This poetry mainly reads like something your aunt writes when she joins a post-retirement cultural activity group. There's no there there. A lot of it rhymes. A lot of it uses mildly annoying and juvenile editorial tricks (like the one that's printed in a spiral, mother of GOD).
The Perfect Negative and What Keeps Me Awake at Night were okay, I guess.
Then there's the little hints that McGough has a few metoo-adjacent unresolved issues:
The Power of Poetry:
However, the photographs of yourself attached,
(WHOARR! as the Sun would have it), I will keep on file,
should my domestic arrangements change in the near future.
This poem is purportedly about poetry submissions McGough received when he was 'poet in residence' for BT, which in the first place is a painfully dumb concept. Just after he started this post they laid off loads of people and this poem is about them using poetry to combat it; that's ... unlikely. As unlikely as a hot girl sending an old poet hot pics of herself just after she's been made unemployed. Can we spell 'wishful thinking'? And 'gross'? And 'his poor wife'? (I spend a lot of time feeling sorry for the poor wives of white male authors.)
Big Hugs:
Before I go, who do I give a hug to?
[...]
Exes. Lovers and girlfriends, especially the ones
who'd rather I didn't.
I'M JUST GOING TO LEAVE THAT THERE BECAUSE IT'S SELF-EXPLANATORY BUT ALSO, OH MY GOD.
The Perfect Negative and What Keeps Me Awake at Night were okay, I guess.
Then there's the little hints that McGough has a few metoo-adjacent unresolved issues:
The Power of Poetry:
However, the photographs of yourself attached,
(WHOARR! as the Sun would have it), I will keep on file,
should my domestic arrangements change in the near future.
This poem is purportedly about poetry submissions McGough received when he was 'poet in residence' for BT, which in the first place is a painfully dumb concept. Just after he started this post they laid off loads of people and this poem is about them using poetry to combat it; that's ... unlikely. As unlikely as a hot girl sending an old poet hot pics of herself just after she's been made unemployed. Can we spell 'wishful thinking'? And 'gross'? And 'his poor wife'? (I spend a lot of time feeling sorry for the poor wives of white male authors.)
Big Hugs:
Before I go, who do I give a hug to?
[...]
Exes. Lovers and girlfriends, especially the ones
who'd rather I didn't.
I'M JUST GOING TO LEAVE THAT THERE BECAUSE IT'S SELF-EXPLANATORY BUT ALSO, OH MY GOD.
July 19, 2019
The majority of this collection I found enjoyable, fun, made me smile and sometimes laugh. Some sparkled my imagination and others caused me to poignantly reflect.
Some of the poems having a 'P.S' poems is a great and inventive idea and works well, along with other innovative poems I have known him to do throughout is works that he displays here.
There are a number of poems related to mortality they may cause the reader to think it is maybe the writer close to wrapping things up, but the collection never fully sinks into a dark abyss without a chuckle at your side and a hand to pull you out of the pit.
I have a few issues with a few things expressed (for example poems on 'the right timing' relating to suicide by transport maybe ironic, sad and cynical yet it maybe triggering to the vulnerable and another example being a line about 'have I been transgender all these years and no one had the decency to tell me?' in a poem maybe unempathetic but nothing much to delve too into in the majority and mainly reflects a generational view more then anything else)
Overall one of the better later collections by a lifelong poet I have read, that benefits from a lifetime of experience and still carries the exuberance, wit, style and energy of a true creative talent.
Some of the poems having a 'P.S' poems is a great and inventive idea and works well, along with other innovative poems I have known him to do throughout is works that he displays here.
There are a number of poems related to mortality they may cause the reader to think it is maybe the writer close to wrapping things up, but the collection never fully sinks into a dark abyss without a chuckle at your side and a hand to pull you out of the pit.
I have a few issues with a few things expressed (for example poems on 'the right timing' relating to suicide by transport maybe ironic, sad and cynical yet it maybe triggering to the vulnerable and another example being a line about 'have I been transgender all these years and no one had the decency to tell me?' in a poem maybe unempathetic but nothing much to delve too into in the majority and mainly reflects a generational view more then anything else)
Overall one of the better later collections by a lifelong poet I have read, that benefits from a lifetime of experience and still carries the exuberance, wit, style and energy of a true creative talent.
May 30, 2019
‘ I apologise for writing so many poems.’
So ends Roger McGough’s latest collection of poems, but those of us who have enjoyed his poetry, whether from its dawning over 50 years ago or only in more recent times, would assure him that there is no need to apologise! McGough’s poetry has brought many people joy and laughter, and his work has helped revive interest in this art form.
On occasions, I found this collection more morbid than has been the case in the past, but there were still many poems that brought a smile to my face. (I would also comment that, having heard him present some of these poems live, the humour inherent in them is more apparent when they are read out loud.). My favourites? I loved ‘The Power of Poetry’ and ‘Poem to be Stitched inside a French Beret’ and the reworking of well known poems, but my pick would be ‘Charlie and the Chaplain’ - for its wit, and for its clever integration of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ style.
A master at work.
So ends Roger McGough’s latest collection of poems, but those of us who have enjoyed his poetry, whether from its dawning over 50 years ago or only in more recent times, would assure him that there is no need to apologise! McGough’s poetry has brought many people joy and laughter, and his work has helped revive interest in this art form.
On occasions, I found this collection more morbid than has been the case in the past, but there were still many poems that brought a smile to my face. (I would also comment that, having heard him present some of these poems live, the humour inherent in them is more apparent when they are read out loud.). My favourites? I loved ‘The Power of Poetry’ and ‘Poem to be Stitched inside a French Beret’ and the reworking of well known poems, but my pick would be ‘Charlie and the Chaplain’ - for its wit, and for its clever integration of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ style.
A master at work.
June 1, 2021
McGough's wit and play continues to shine is this new collection. The tricks and stunts he weaves through his collection are as always a delight to encounter and make reading through the collection a varied an engaging experience. The PS poems were particularly enjoyable encounters. Mindfulness the poem that lingered with me.
April 17, 2019
Great collection (big hugs) especially what it means to be getting on in years. There's a lot of humour and clever use of nostalgia.
July 13, 2019
I should’ve known it was going to be bad because all the reviews on the cover are praising the poet and not the current collection of poetry.
August 30, 2019
Enjoyable everyday poetry for everyone.
October 13, 2019
A fun new collection from one of my all-time favourite poets; very much a spark to the fuse for me.
October 4, 2020
Some of the poems are brilliant and some you can take or leave but they are a joined up set... it is a whole that does and doesn’t work together. Mood dependent perhaps.
November 26, 2021
Not my favourite. Always enjoy the exercises in progression
May 22, 2024
Very cleverly written! Funny without intending to be.
Definitely not your traditional poems, but great all the same
Definitely not your traditional poems, but great all the same
November 12, 2025
Found this tedious. Poems that were meant to be cheeky came out cynical. Zippy social commentary didn't quite... zip? Brian Bilston does it better now, sorry.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews