John Hegley (born 1 October 1953) is a popular English performance poet, musician and songwriter whose poems and songs have appeared both in print and on the radio. He was born in the Newington Green area of Islington, London, England, into a Roman Catholic household. He was brought up in Luton and Bristol. He has a B.Sc. from the University of Bradford in social sciences, concentrating on European literature and the history of ideas. Hegley has French ancestry (his father's name was René), and his family is believed to be related to the composer Jean-Philippe Rameau. Prior to his career as a poet he was leader of the comedy group The Popticians, who received national exposure when they recorded two sessions for John Peel in 1984. The same year Hegley published his first poetry collection, Visions of the Bone Idol (Poems about Dogs and Glasses), pieces from which were later incorporated into Glad to Wear Glasses. Hegley has written a number of collections of poetry, ranging from the surreal through the humorous to the personal and emotional. His first television appearance was on Carrott's Lib in 1983. He was presenter of the television series Word of Mouth in 1990 and the BBC radio series Hearing with Hegley from 1996 to 1999. The University of Luton awarded him an honorary LL.D. in 2000.
go and play in the middle
my Mum used to watch out of the window
these boys who played football
on the green in fron...[read poem]
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these boys who played football
on the green in fron...
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