Roger McGough is a sell out at the Liverpool Literary Festival

Roger McGough is appearing at the first event to sell out at the Liverpool Literature Festival, but luckily he is appearing twice over the weekend.

In our Liverpool Poets series, Roger is hosting Liverpool Poets Two at the Bluecoat. 'A trickster you can trust', he is one of Britain's best-loved poets for both adults and children. He was awarded his O.B.E. for services to poetry in 1997 and a C.B.E. last year. He was recently honoured with the Freedom  of the City of Liverpool.

In May this year the Liverpool Playhouse saw Roger McGough's 'Tartuffe' a sell-out success and receive rave reviews. The Daily Post said 'There are times when a critic is redundant and last night was one. There is absolutely nothing to criticise about Tartuffe at the Liverpool Playhouse'.

The Reader festival office has had many people enquiring about his events at the Liverpool Literary Festival, and obviously Liverpool folk can't get enough of him.

Although his event at the Bluecoat has been sold out, the good news is that Roger McGough is appearing twice! He will be hosting a panel discussion and poetry clinic with other festival writers (Sunday 9 November at 4pm) and it will be a fantastic opportunity to see and hear him in this close-up interactive event in which the audience asks the panel to select poems for particular occaisions, seasons and reasons. So get your thinking caps on and come along to put this panel of experienced writers of poetry through their paces by finding instant recomendations for your particular purposes.

This should be lively and entertaining hour indeed! Please see our website for event details, updates on panel members and information on how to book tickets. Even my five year old daughter is excited about the prospect of Roger McGough coming to Liverpool as she's learning his children's poem called Gruesome for school!

I was sitting in the sitting room
toying with some toys
when I saw a door marked GRUESOME
and heard a gruesome noise.

Cautiously I opened it
and there to my surprise
a little Grue was sitting there
with tears in its eyes.

Oh little Grue please tell me
what is it ails thee so.
I am so small it said
the other Grue's don't want to know

EXERCISES are the answer
each day you must do some
and do you know what
the very next day he GREW SOME.

And don't forget all the other great Liverpool Poets attending the festival: Brian Patten, Paul Farley, McKendrick, Peter Robinson, John Redmond and Deryn Rees-Jones.

Please see our website www.liverpoollitfest.org.uk for full details.