'It's behind you': 'A Barry Bendy Poem' and Cambridge in the 1970s

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

The essay offers a close-reading of Jeff Hilson's 'A Barry Bendy Poem'. 'A Barry Bendy Poem' initially presents itself as a site-specific poem about Cambridge; it then builds up a picture of 1970s Cambridge - the Garden House Hotel Riot, the new country boundaries - within an evocation of the wider culture of the 1970s: feminist protests against Miss World; the Angry Brigade; the Cod Wars, Northern Ireland; joining the EEC. The essay tracks these topographical and period references and discloses the poem's deeper engagement with 1970's sexual abuse.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationHilson Hilson
Subtitle of host publicationthe poetry of jeff hilson
EditorsRichard Parker
Place of PublicationLondon
PublisherCrater Press
Pages144-55
Number of pages12
ISBN (Print)9-781716-576447
Publication statusPublished - 10 Jan 2021

Keywords

  • Jeff Hilson
  • A Barry Bendy Poem
  • Cambridge
  • 1970s
  • Rolf Harris
  • Operation Yewtree
  • Garden House Hotel Riot
  • Anna Mendelsson
  • Grace Lake
  • Angry Brigade
  • Miss World
  • heraldry
  • Pink Floyd
  • Cod Wars
  • Baroness Butler Sloss
  • flippancy
  • Sexual abuse

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