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Adrian Mitchell

エイドリアン・ミッチェル

Adrian Mitchell

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1932-10-24 （London (near Hampstead Heath)）
Died
2008-12-20 （London (hospital in North London)） age 76
Nationality
United Kingdom
Languages
English

Career

Occupations
poet, novelist, playwright, cultural activist, journalist (early career)
Active Years
1953-2008
Influenced By
William Blake, (influences from earlier radical and romantic poets)
Influenced
British left-wing and protest poets

Education

Monkton Combe School (Junior School)
Country: United Kingdom
Early schooling; staged his first play as a child.
Dauntsey's School
Country: United Kingdom
Boarder; collaborated on plays with friends.
Christ Church, Oxford
English / Department of English
Degree: BA
Country: United Kingdom
Studied English; chaired the university poetry society and was literary editor of Isis magazine. Taught by J. R. R. Tolkien's son.

Awards

Eric Gregory Award
1961
Organization: Society of Authors
Result: winner
PEN Translation Prize
1966
Organization: PEN
Result: winner
Tokyo Festival Television Film Award
1971
Organization: Tokyo Festival
Result: winner
CLPE Poetry Award
2005
Work: Daft as a Doughnut
Organization: Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE)
Result: shortlist

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

To Whom It May Concern

1964 anti-war poem / performance poem

His best-known poem, a bitterly sarcastic reaction to televised horrors of the Vietnam War. First read at a CND march and became a staple of protest readings.

anti-warcritique of authoritymedia satire

Heart on the Left: Poems 1953–1984

1997 poetry collection (selected)

A collected selection of poems from 1953 to 1984, notable for Ralph Steadman's cover art.

politics and social critiquepersonal emotionhumour and satire

Tyger: A Celebration Based on the Life and Works of William Blake

1971 play / stage work (celebration)

A stage celebration based on William Blake's life and works, written for the National Theatre.

romanticismcreativityanti-authoritarianism

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (stage adaptation)

1998 stage adaptation / musical

An adaptation commissioned and performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1998; a family musical stage production.

children's literature adaptationadventure and growth
Adaptations
  • [stage] The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1998)

Bibliography

  • If You See Me Comin' (novel, Jonathan Cape, 1962)
  • Poems (Jonathan Cape, 1964)
  • Ride the Nightmare (Cape, 1971)
  • Tyger: A Celebration Based on the Life and Works of William Blake (Cape, 1971)
  • Heart on the Left: Poems 1953–1984 (Bloodaxe, 1997)
  • Tell Me Lies: Poems 2005–2008 (Bloodaxe, 2009)
  • Daft as a Doughnut (Orchard Books, 2009)
  • Shapeshifters: Tales from Ovid's Metamorphoses (Frances Lincoln, 2009)

Adaptations

  • Royal Shakespeare Company stage adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1998)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
colloquial, direct voicesatirical and political poetryworks for children with strong rhythmic and narrative qualities
Recurring Motifs
anti-war / pacifismcritique of government and poweranimals and naturehumour and irony

Health

  • pneumonia
    2008（晩年）
    Suffered from pneumonia in late 2008; died following a suspected heart attack.

Legacy

Adrian Mitchell was a leading British protest poet whose anti-war and left-wing readings made him a prominent public voice. Known for a wide range of work including children's poetry and stage pieces, he is regarded as a popular and political presence in modern British poetry.

Quotes

  • "Most people ignore most poetry because most poetry ignores most people."
    Source: Prefaces/essays by Adrian Mitchell (attributed)

Trivia

  • First read 'To Whom It May Concern' to thousands at a 1964 CND march, making the poem widely known.
  • Served as poetry editor of the New Statesman and published the first interview with The Beatles.
  • In 2002 was semi-seriously nominated as Britain's 'Shadow Poet Laureate'.