Britain, (1943-2017)
~ Four (formerly Three) Pig Poems ~
#1 Target
- My shoe has caught a Pig
- My shoe has caught a Pig
- I am a Pig Trap
#2 Boiler
- Pig sit still in the strainer
- Pig sit still in the strainer
- I must have my Pig tea
#3 Liddled
- The Pig fell over the upturned motor car
- The Pig fell over the upturned motor car
- Drunk said Pig, drunk
#4 Horny
- The Pig loved Sousa
- The Pig loved Sousa!
- Hurrah!
- Hurrah!
250 Grams of Poetry. Harwood Academic Publishers, 2001. Poems #1, #2 and #3 where first published 1966 by Tarasque Press.
Editor’s Note:
Hawkins is perhaps best known for the above three short poems ‘Three Poems Concerning Larionov’s Provincial Life Series.’ These were inspired by depictions of pigs in the work of Russian impressionist painter Mikhail Larionov.
The three original poems, his signature work from the sixties, became ‘Four Pig Poems’ with the publication of an anthology of his poetry 250 Grams of Poetry in 2001 as ‘#4 Horny’ was added.
Here is a link to an .mp3 recording of Hawkins introducing and then reading each of these four poems in his raspy, nicotine-saturated Liverpoolese voice. Listen, laugh and ponder… Four Pig Poems.mp3
About the Poet
Spike Hawkins, British (1943-2017). Hawkins was an internationally known poet, screenwriter and playwright.
Hawkins was a prominent influence at the origin of the Liverpool Poets movement during the experimental 1960s. Later he went to the United States where he became loosely associated with the Beats.
Hawkins, termed a “luminous eccentric” by fans, produced poetry that is direct of expression, simple of language and wry, silly, or piercingly satiric. He has been described as: “A literary oracle who when asked for practical advice could only respond with strips of luminous poetry” (Routledge Press). [DES-07/18]