Adrian Henri (April 10, 1932 – December 21, 2000) was a British poet and painter. April 10 is the 100th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (101st in leap years). ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

He is most commonly remembered — along with Brian Patten and Roger McGough — as one of a trio of Liverpool poets who came to prominence in that city's Merseybeat zeitgeist of the 1960s and 1970s, Henri's verse marking a middle road between the increasing seriousness of the former and the lighthearted word-play of the latter. His characterisation of popular culture in verse helped to widen the audience for poetry among 1960s British youth. Influenced by the French Symbolist school of poetry and surrealist art, his career spanned everything from artist and poet to teacher, rock-and-roll performer, playwright and librettist. And he could name among his friends John Lennon, George Melly, Allen Ginsberg, Willy Russell and Paul McCartney. Brian Patten (born 1946) is a British poet. ... Roger McGough OBE (born November 9, 1937) is a well-known British performance poet. ... For the TV program please see Merseybeat Merseybeat, sometimes referred to as Merseysound, was a style of music popular during the 1960s. ... John Winston Ono Lennon (October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980) was best known as a singer, songwriter, poet and guitarist for the British rock band The Beatles. ... George Melly (born: 17 August 1926 in Liverpool, England) is a British jazz and blues singer. ... Allen Ginsberg, far left, at Airport Frankfurt, Germany Irwin Allen Ginsberg (IPA: ) (June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American Beat poet born in Newark, New Jersey. ... William Martin Russell (born 23 August 1947) is a British playwright, lyricist and composer. ... Paul McCartney, as photographed by John Kelley for the 1968 LP The Beatles (aka The White Album). Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born June 18, 1942) is a British singer, musician and songwriter, who first came to prominence as a member of The Beatles. ...

His grandfather was a seaman from Mauritius who settled in Birkenhead, Cheshire, where Henri was born. Unlike McGough and Patten, Henri chose to remain in Liverpool, turning his back on the trendier London scene, saying there was nowhere he loved better. Map sources for Birkenhead at grid reference SJ3088 Birkenhead is a town on The Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, on the left bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. ... This article is about the English county. ...

He studied art in Newcastle and for a short time taught art at Preston Catholic College before going on later to lecture in art at both Manchester and Liverpool Colleges of Art. In 1972 he won a major prize for his painting in the John Moores competition. He was president of the Merseyside Arts Association and Liverpool Academy of the Arts in the 1970s and was an honorary professor of the city's John Moores University. He married twice, but had no children. His numerous publications include The Mersey Sound, with McGough and Patten, Wish You Were Here and Not Fade Away. He was the leading light of a band The Liverpool Scene which released two LPs of poetry and music.

He was a firm believer in the live poetry reading and read his poetry at many and varied venues as well as holding poetry workshops at schools and colleges. One of his last major poetry readings was at the launch of The Argotist magazine in 1996. The Argotist was a British literary journal that ran from 1995–1999 and was created by Nick Watson and Jeffrey Side. ...

He died in Liverpool aged 68 following a long illness. Shortly before his death he was awarded the Freedom of the City of Liverpool in recognition of his contribution to Liverpool's cultural scene. He also received an honorary doctorate from Liverpool university.

He described his early philosophy as If you think you can do it and you want to do it — then do it.

External links

• Interview with The Argotist Online