The poet laureate of alternative comedy, John Hegley, entertains an audience with his book of verse.

Performance poet John Hegley was born in 1953 in Newington Green, Islington.
He grew up in Luton and was educated at Bradford University, where he studied Literature and Sociology. He has worked as a bus conductor in Bristol, and in children’s theatre in London.

His collections include Glad to Wear Glasses (1990), Can I Come Down Now Dad (1991) and Dog (2000). He has published a volume of verse for children, My Dog is a Carrot (2002). In 2008 he coedited an anthology of poetry for young people, The Ropes: Poems To Hold On To, with Sophie Hannah. His most recent collections are Peace, Love and Potatoes (2012), New & Selected Potatoes (2013) and I am a Poetato (2013).

John Hegley has also released his own CD of songs and poetry, ‘Saint and Blurry’, and collaborated with Robyn Hitchcock as John Hegley and The Popticians.

In 2000 he received an honorary Arts Doctorate from Luton University, where he has also let creative writing classes. Hegley launched “Warning: May Contain Nuts”, a project using comedy to increase awareness of mental illness. He performed these shows in 2010 with other performers, including comic Mackenzie Taylor, talking about mental illness.