I have always greatly admired Tony Harrison (1937-), a vehemently working-class poet from Leeds. Harrison has unmistakable talent and, which is rarer, moral integrity. His work avoids the lofty obscurantism of so much modern poetry. The subject and meaning are clear, and there is a total absence of pretentiousness. There is a vivid social conscience and wry observation of contradictions, ironies and uncomfortable truths. But he is not
A disciple of ‘The Left’ actually pre-occupied with the plight of the British working class. Hard to imagine that such a person ever even existed now. I remember Harrison’s film-poem ‘Prometheus’ being broadcast on Channel 4, way back in 1998, as Blair’s New Labour were setting about their business of dismantling Great Britain. The film begins in a post-industrialised wasteland in Yorkshire - a clear reference to the miners’ strike of 1984. It’s a hugely powerful piece. I lived in the part of Yorkshire worst affected by the mjners’ strike for a number of years. When Margaret Thatcher died in 2013, locals burnt an effigy of her in the old village square.
If the working class thought they had it bad under Thatcher, they’d no idea what ‘the new Left’ had in mind for them. I’d love to know what Harrison makes of Starmer and his cronies. Harrison is 87 now - perhaps he doesn’t care as he’ll ‘be dead soon so it won’t affect me’, the trite excuse made by a good number of that generation. Perhaps he despises the reptilian prosecutor Starmer as much as we do. I wonder what the remains of ‘the old Left’ in Britain think - are they pleased with how it’s all working out?
No, he isn't nearly as bad as that. If I have unwittingly conveyed him in that way, it is inaccurate and I hope that will be ameliorated in later chapters.
As soon as one gets some life experience, one notices that you can't be pro-miners and pro-gay at the same time. You have to choose one or the other. Elites and champagne socialists made their decision a long time ago and dropped the miners, i.e. the entire indigenous working-class. That required the convenient demonization of the indigenous working class as "racists", "bigots", "antivaxxers" and other antiwhite slurs. People like Harrison, probably George Galloway and others have become homeless in today's political landscape. They belong to past decades, to a pre-internet world.
Our Friends in the North like Alan Bennett or Ted Hughes perhaps-famously Dennis Potter, Mike Leigh and Ken Loach further south
Artistic and creative types do tend to veer Leftward its true
I tend to file that under 'artistic license' if they producing work of high calibre, as with all the above.
Will have to check Mr Harrison's work but pretty sure I will prefer to Benjamin Zephaniah or similar 'modern poets'.
Wow. Very interesting stuff. I'm in Newcastle and I never knew about any of this
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Fascinating read.
A disciple of ‘The Left’ actually pre-occupied with the plight of the British working class. Hard to imagine that such a person ever even existed now. I remember Harrison’s film-poem ‘Prometheus’ being broadcast on Channel 4, way back in 1998, as Blair’s New Labour were setting about their business of dismantling Great Britain. The film begins in a post-industrialised wasteland in Yorkshire - a clear reference to the miners’ strike of 1984. It’s a hugely powerful piece. I lived in the part of Yorkshire worst affected by the mjners’ strike for a number of years. When Margaret Thatcher died in 2013, locals burnt an effigy of her in the old village square.
If the working class thought they had it bad under Thatcher, they’d no idea what ‘the new Left’ had in mind for them. I’d love to know what Harrison makes of Starmer and his cronies. Harrison is 87 now - perhaps he doesn’t care as he’ll ‘be dead soon so it won’t affect me’, the trite excuse made by a good number of that generation. Perhaps he despises the reptilian prosecutor Starmer as much as we do. I wonder what the remains of ‘the old Left’ in Britain think - are they pleased with how it’s all working out?
No, he isn't nearly as bad as that. If I have unwittingly conveyed him in that way, it is inaccurate and I hope that will be ameliorated in later chapters.
As soon as one gets some life experience, one notices that you can't be pro-miners and pro-gay at the same time. You have to choose one or the other. Elites and champagne socialists made their decision a long time ago and dropped the miners, i.e. the entire indigenous working-class. That required the convenient demonization of the indigenous working class as "racists", "bigots", "antivaxxers" and other antiwhite slurs. People like Harrison, probably George Galloway and others have become homeless in today's political landscape. They belong to past decades, to a pre-internet world.