Keith Hutson's debut collection, Baldwin's Catholic Geese, looks at the delight and heartbreak of being human through the lens of beloved music hall and variety stars like Hylda Baker and Frankie Howerd, as well as less celebrated, now long-forgotten acts of the past: The Bryn Pugh Sponge Dancers, Macauley's Leaping Infants, Willy Netta's Singing Jockeys, and many more. Hutson's vividly realised portraits bring back to life a whole cast of the extraordinary characters who have entertained us for over two centuries. Comedy is brought into sharp relief by hardship. His Baldwin's Catholic Geese is a social history chronicle in poems, focusing on what it means for all of us who have to make the most of our luck - the good, the bad, and the bizarre.
Keith Hutson has written for Coronation Street and for many well-known comedians. His award-winning poetry has been widely-published both in the UK and internationally. He plays to packed houses and was a 2018 Laureate's Choice poet. He is a member of the Poetry Salzburg editorial board and delivers poetry and performance workshops in schools for the Prince's Trust. A Mancunian by birth, Keith now lives in Halifax, West Yorkshire, where he is Poet-In-Residence at the Square Chapel Theatre. He has an MA (Poetry) from Manchester Metropolitan University. His two pamphlets, Routines (Poetry Salzburg, 2016) and Troupers (Smith|Doorstop, 2018) were followed by his first book-length collection, Baldwin's Catholic Geese (Bloodaxe Books, 2019).
Title: Baldwin's Catholic Geese
Author: Keith Hutson
ISBN: 9781780374550
Binding:
Publisher: Bloodaxe Books Ltd
Publication Date: 2019-02-21
Number of Pages: 128
Weight: 0.2201 kg
These poems illuminate something timeless about ambition and the human spirit. Keith Hutson is a wonderful talent - his hardworking, technically-assured poems arrive all of a piece centre-stage. -- Carol Ann Duffy
Knowing, funny, sad, virtuoso, these compelling sonnets bring theatrefuls of yesteryear vividly to life. Keith Hutson explores art as artfulness, performance as a way of coping, or seeming to. His ad-libs are perfectly timed and if we laugh out loud at his routines, we flinch too at the imaginary hot fat of the risks his characters take by being centre-stage. -- Peter Sansom * on Routines *
