Michael Rosen will be performing live poetry at Watford Palace Theatre
POWER to the poets could be the battle cry of children's author and poet Michael Rosen who comes to Watford Palace this month. The writer of We're Going On A Bear Hunt and numerous poetry anthologies has been exercising his political might, at least as far as literature is concerned, ever since he became children's poet laureate last June. Like all true campaigners, Michael outlined his policies from the start in a laureate web diary. Some of his ideas already underway include a prize for the funniest book of the year, a Youtube style website for young writers and The A-Z of Poetry tour featuring a host of literary talent at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, which kicks off on Thursday, February 14 as part of the Imagine Children's Literature Festival on the South Bank in London.
I ask Michael if his laureate status has made a difference?
"It has enabled me to support people who are trying to get books to families and schools. I've been whizzing around and these plans are just beginning to bear fruit. I've been working on an interactive area for teachers on the Booktrust website to create poetry friendly classrooms. There ought to be a programme of things schools could do to become book loving schools but many schools are under enormous pressure with Ofsted and Sats so creating a book loving environment is not top priority. The energy of the last few years has been focused on testing and fulfilling the literature strategy and not enough on reading for pleasure. Children are not reading a whole book, they're just answering questions on a part of it. It's an oversight that's built into the system. It's a strange idea not to read the whole book and feel the pleasure of discovering what happens to the characters. I'm going to make it my priority to show how you can you get kids crazy about books."
The son of two teachers, young Michael was no stranger to books. Born in Pinner in 1946, he was educated at Harrow Weald County Grammar School and later Watford Boys Grammar School when his family moved to Rickmansworth. His school days appear in poetry collections such as You Wait Till I'm Older Than You, Quick Let's Get Out Of Here and No Breathing In Class. He has fond memories of Watford Grammar.
I’m going to make it my priority to show how you can you get kids crazy about books
Michael Rosen
"It was a long, long time ago," recalls Michael. "Decades, but I had a very good time in the sixth form."
Intending to study medicine, Michael attended Middlesex Hospital Medical School and then Wadham College, Oxford where he later switched to studying English.
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"I thought I'd be a Renaissance man and do everything," says Michael. "By 18, I realised I was not very good at science so I went back to words. It depressed me because I thought I was going to be a doctor but at least my parents let me give it a try."
Michael's way with words led to a stint as a BBC trainee working on Playschool and in radio. He then studied at the National Film School in Beaconsfield for three years where he worked in TV, theatre and began broadcasting his poems. His first book of poems for children, Mind Your Own Business, was published in 1974.
For An Audience With... Michael tells me he mixes recollections with excerpts from his poetry. He says: "I'm a bit like Billy Connolly for kids. I do these long anecdotes around my life as a child and as the parent of young children and act out my poems in between. It's a performance piece."
I ask Michael what books inspired him to read as a child?
"I read historical fiction by authors like Henry Treece and Cynthia Harnett and books written from the point of view of animals. I liked Tarka The Otter and the books of Rene Guillot. I didn't read a lot of poetry. It seemed like a strange thing, rather mournful and gloomy and I didn't get it really. It was sad, wistful and nostalgic stuff it was only when I got older I realised it didn't have to be like that."
An Audience with Michael Rosen is on Saturday, February 9 at 2.30pm. Details: 01923 225671, www.watfordpalacetheatre.co.uk
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