wordsmiths but many of us shy away from the art and the best harness the power of words, poetry. but not my guest today. john cooper clarke once called the punk poet, all his life is used words, rhythm and rhyme to bind human and truth in the chaos of everyday life. thanks to the internet one of his crimes has become a worldwide viral sensation. where does his word magic come from. poems. john cooper clarke, welcome to hardtalk. great to have you here. ijust read your memoir in one of the first sentences as this one, all my life all i ever wanted to be was a professional poet. i ve heard of kids who wanted to be train drivers, professional footballers but redefine a kid who always knew he wanted to be a poet. how come? a poet. how come? when i say alwa s, a poet. how come? when i say always. i a poet. how come? when i say always. i guess a poet. how come? when i say always, i guess from a poet. how come? when i say always, i guess from the - a poet. how come? when i
all his life, he has used words, rhythm and rhyme to find humour and truth in the chaos of everyday life. thanks to the internet, one of his poems has become a worldwide viral sensation. so, where does his word magic come from? john cooper clarke, welcome to hardtalk. hello, stephen. it s great to have you here, john. ijust read your memoir and one of the first sentences in it is this one all my life, all i ever wanted to be was a professional poet. now, i ve heard of kids who want to be train drivers, professional footballers, but very rare to find a kid who always knew he wanted to be a poet. how come? when i say always, i guess from the age of 12 i became enamoured of poetry, thanks to an inspirational teacher, mr malone john malone. who, although he was a rugged, outdoor sporty type of guy, he was a complex character and had a weakness for the poetry of the 19th century the stuff you might find in the palgrave s golden treasury, which then was the go to anthology
quyi where who was like a modern guy, and urban poet in mid 19th century paris and yet he was kind of. baudelaire. there was a kind of melancholy the things that had been lost and i think you have to have that in your back pocket as a poet. unusually usually on this poet we usually on this programme we end with a question and i will ask if we can end with you reading from i think a poem that sums up the way that you are today, you ve called the luckiest guy alive. that s right, but for how long? the titular poem to my latest anthology. nothing matters and what if it did there s more than one way to make a quid. you ll be fighting through silk if you stick with me, kid. i m the luckiest guy alive. life is one big happy sky, and for the