John Cooper Clarke In Interview

Photos: Kazunori Nishibiro

How did you first get into spoken word?

I was heavily into the Liverpool Beat poetry scene - namely the works of Adrian Henri and Roger McGough - however I was inspired to write poetry myself by my two amazing English teachers, Mr Malone and Mrs Barnes. It makes a real difference when you're a kid and you have inspirational teachers. Would they approve of my poetry? Probably not because they are Catholics! I don't think they would approve of some of the content!

What advice would you give budding poets?

Write about what you know and through that you will discover your own style. A lot of poets copy other people's styles and that's also something that happens frequently in music. I don't think there's anything wrong with that - I think we've come up with everything original we possibly could have by now. There's no avoiding rehash...

Have you ever had a member of the audience walk out on you and why?

Yes, I used to get heckled sometimes when I first started but thankfully now, as people pay me to do this, I don't get hassled anymore! "John Cooper Clarke - reassuringly expensive!" If you give yourself a price tag then people won't heckle you...hopefully.....

Why do you think spoken word performance gets less pop media time devoted to it than, say, music?

Because anyone and everyone can listen to music - even if you are illiterate. It crosses boundaries that sometimes poetry cannot. Spoken word isn't for everybody but that's part of its appeal - it will only speak to those with a true poetic nature.