It’s impossible to talk to John Hegley for more than a few minutes without his enjoyment of words and rhyme, bubbling ‘sheer and clear and fun to hear’ into the conversation. The popular poet, who has produced ten books of verse and prose pieces, two CDS and one mug, is an Edinburgh Fringe Festival regular, former front man of the John Peel-endorsed Popticians, and is performing at the Oxford Playhouse on Friday 14th May. Hegley, who started his career busking outside a Hull shoeshop, now DJs, performs frequently for the radio, runs workshops and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Bedfordshire.
Known for his exploration of topics as diverse as dog hair, potatoes, handkerchiefs and the misery of human existence, Hegley says childhood curiosity, having stayed with him through to adulthood, fuels the variety of his creative output. The balance he maintains between his poetry as written words and theatrical performance is inspired by the reciprocity of children’s street rhymes and games.
Hegley sees the poet as a conductor, absorbing the lightning of the audience, and stresses that audience interaction is as integral to his performance ‘as cake is to icing’, and makes all the difference to his ‘poetic slicing.’
In Hegley’s eyes, poetry is an aural art form just as much as it is written; he sees poetry hand in hand with performance. ‘Poetry is to be enjoyed; its reception is the most important thing. The point of poetry is to make the audience laugh or cry or think, and to want to pass it on to someone else.’ Only through theatre, however, can the poet experience the pleasure of giving their words as a gift, and enjoy the reaction which greets them, a fresh and unique time and again with every new audience.
Hegley’s enthusiasm for poetry and its reception is infectious, and in conclusion to his endearing, generous conversation, he offers this advice to aspiring poets and performers: ‘Find the juice. Find the elephant in the room…Find the moose in the room.’
