Literary Nonfiction. Memoir. MORE PRICKS THAN PRIZES is a memoir that takes Pickard from Newcastle in 1968 to London's Old Bailey in 1976, with side trips to Poland. The poet Basil Bunting makes an appearance. As does Paul McCartney. This is a true crime story with a happy ending. "I am an old admirer of Tom Pickard's poetry and believe as does Basil Bunting that he is one of the most live and true poetic voices in Great Britain"—Allen Ginsberg.

Author City: LONDON UK

Tom Pickard, a Newcastle-born writer who left school at 14 and fell swiftly under the spell of American Beat poetry and poets, was not only present at the birth of the British Poetry Revival in 1965 but also is credited with leading the charge. He is the author of nine books of poetry spanning four decades. In addition, he has made several documentaries, including We Make Ships (1988) about labor history in the north of England and Birmingham is What I Think With (1991) about the poet Roy Fisher. His many books include MORE PRICKS THAN PRIZES (Pressed Wafer, 2010), BALLAD OF JAMIE ALLAN (Flood Editions, 2007), THE DARK MONTHS OF MAY (Flood Edtions, 2004), HOLE IN THE WALL: NEW AND SELECTED POEMS (Flood Editions, 2002), and FUCKWIND (Etruscan Books, 1999).

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author page @ The Poetry Foundation