Afbeelding van de auteur.

Adrian Mitchell (1) (1932–2008)

Auteur van Nobody Rides the Unicorn

Voor andere auteurs genaamd Adrian Mitchell, zie de verduidelijkingspagina.

73+ Werken 854 Leden 10 Besprekingen Favoriet van 1 leden

Over de Auteur

Adrian Mitchell is a poet, playwright and children's writer
Fotografie: Shetland Arts

Werken van Adrian Mitchell

Nobody Rides the Unicorn (1999) 119 exemplaren
The Steadfast Tin Soldier (1996) — Auteur — 48 exemplaren
The Ugly Duckling (1994) 37 exemplaren
Our Mammoth (1987) 31 exemplaren
Blue Coffee: Poems, 1985-95 (1996) 26 exemplaren
Our Mammoth Goes to School (1987) 22 exemplaren
Twice My Size (1999) 20 exemplaren
Greatest Hits (1991) 19 exemplaren
All Shook Up: Poems 1997-2000 (2000) 16 exemplaren
Poems (1969) 16 exemplaren
The Bodyguard (Picador Books) (1970) 15 exemplaren
Man Friday (1974) 15 exemplaren
Baron Rides Out (1985) 14 exemplaren
Tell me Lies: Poems 2005-2008 (2009) 13 exemplaren
Ride the Nightmare (1971) 12 exemplaren
Our Mammoth Has a Baby (1990) 11 exemplaren
Nothingmas Day (1984) 11 exemplaren
Thirteen Secrets Of Poetry (1993) 10 exemplaren
Out Loud (1968) 10 exemplaren
The Apeman Cometh (1975) 9 exemplaren
On the Beach at Cambridge (1984) 9 exemplaren
Baron All at Sea (1987) 7 exemplaren
Maudie and the Green Children (1996) 7 exemplaren
DK Young Classics: Snow Queen (2000) 6 exemplaren
My cat, Mrs Christmas (1998) 6 exemplaren
A Child's Christmas in Wales: Christmas Musical (1984) — Playwright — 6 exemplaren
If You See Me Comin' (1962) 6 exemplaren
Wartime (Picador Books) (1975) 5 exemplaren
The Pied Piper: a play (1988) 5 exemplaren
Zoo of Dreams (Pick up a poem) (2001) 4 exemplaren
The Siege (1996) 4 exemplaren
Umpteen Pockets (2009) 4 exemplaren
The Snow Queen (Oberon Books) (1998) 4 exemplaren
HOUDINI: A CIRCUS OPERA (1978) 3 exemplaren
Love Songs of World War III (1989) 3 exemplaren
Our Mammoth in the Snow (1990) 2 exemplaren
Daft as a doughnut (2004) 2 exemplaren
Pushkin's Boris Godunov (2012) 2 exemplaren
Just Adrian (2012) 2 exemplaren
The Annotated Out Loud (1976) 2 exemplaren
The Mammoth Sails Tonight! (2016) 1 exemplaar
Who Killed Dylan Thomas? (2000) 1 exemplaar
All My Own Stuff (1991) 1 exemplaar
The Dogfather (CD) (1999) 1 exemplaar
Dancing in the Street (1999) 1 exemplaar

Gerelateerde werken

Fahrenheit 451 (1953) — Nawoord, sommige edities53,883 exemplaren
British Poetry Since 1945 (1970) — Medewerker, sommige edities167 exemplaren
Emergency Kit (1996) — Medewerker, sommige edities108 exemplaren
Jazz poems (Pocket poets) (1963) — Medewerker — 12 exemplaren
Jump, my brothers, jump : poems from prison (1970) — Redacteur — 3 exemplaren
Man Friday [1975 film] (1991) — Original play — 2 exemplaren

Tagged

Algemene kennis

Geboortedatum
1932-10-24
Overlijdensdatum
2008-12-20
Geslacht
male
Nationaliteit
England
UK
Geboorteplaats
London, England, UK
Plaats van overlijden
London, England, UK
Oorzaak van overlijden
heart failure, following a bout of pneumonia
Woonplaatsen
London, England, UK
Opleiding
University of Oxford (Christ Church)
Dauntsey's School
Greenways School, Wiltshire, England, UK
Monkton Combe School, Bath, England, UK
Beroepen
journalist
poet
playwright
novelist
songwriter
Korte biografie

"Adrian had been writing poetry for over 50 years until his recent death. He came to fame with his anti-war poem "To whom it may concern" which he read at a peace rally in 1964. Even greater acclaim came in July 1965 when he read it at the Poetry Festival held at the Albert Hall. This was one, if not the highlight of the evening, when several better known foreign [mainly USA] poets' performances were a little the worse for "dubious substances" and since the Vietnam war was by then a greater worry, his poem was more frequently called by its refrain "Tell me lies about Vietnam." May the Muses tend a sadly deceased peace-loving poet I sometime met." (By member Landric)

Leden

Besprekingen

The Bodyguard by Adrian Mitchell is an overlooked gem in the literature of dystopias.

It is set in an authoritarian UK at least ten years in the future of its 1970 publication date. Our narrator is a none too bright thug, a bodyguard (or BG) part of the always necessary horde of myrmidons required to come between the oppressing politicians of an authoritarian state and the people. He is relating his tale from a hospital bed where he is recovering from serious wounds he has received in the line of duty. He is an unreliable narrator. Some of that unreliability may be the effects of the heavy drugs he's taken as part of his recuperation, as there are at times fantastical elements to his story. But he also has an inflated opinion of himself. He often tells us he wants to be the best BG of all, and in his mind he clearly is just that, whereas in reality, while he's no Schweik, he isn't all that good at his job. (There is a need for large numbers of Bodyguards as there is a pretty fearsome insurgency, which our 'hero' refers to as The Rot, continually committing acts of violence against the leaders and apparatus of the regime.) The book, however, is a product of its time and there are some oddly hippy facets to our otherwise oppressed society. While not ubiquitous, public nudity is not uncommon in certain contexts, and some drugs such as marijuana are legal.

It is a short but quite dense book and is very well written. The author is primarily a poet, and while the prose is not purple it is refreshingly free of cliche. The author skilfully gets by without the use of infodumps, and as a reader we only gradually acquire a complete picture of the surrounding society.

If you're a fan of Nineteen Eighty-Four, Fahrenheit 451, etc, then The Bodyguards is well worth adding to that list.
… (meer)
½
 
Gemarkeerd
bibliopolitan | Oct 2, 2023 |
First, let me say that I'm not sure how to describe the "authors." Rudolf Erich Raspe, according to the dust jacket, wrote Baron Munchausen's Narrative of His Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in 1785. Adrian Mitchell has retold some of these tales in this book and its predecessor, The Baron Rides Out.

In this book, while in Egypt, the Baron agrees to a bet with his friend, Robin Hood, that he can't go all the way down Mount Etna in an hour. After having himself shot out of a cannon to get to Italy quickly, and descending the inside of the active volcano, he meets Vulcan and his wife, Venus. Vulcan, jealous, throws the Baron into a well and he lands in an ocean, where he is rescued by a Dutch ship in the south Seas. After a storm, they land on an island made of cheese and populated by purple cheese people. The baron shoots a stag in its forehead with a cherry stone; the stag grows a cherry tree there. When they leave, they eventually find themselves in a wine-dark sea---since the sea is made of wine. A giant whale swallows them. Together with the crews of the other ships in its stomach they escape. The baron hops a ride on a giant eagle and he lands back in Egypt, where Robin Hood and Venus greet him.… (meer)
½
 
Gemarkeerd
raizel | Aug 1, 2016 |
The Ugly Duckling, illustrated by Jonathan Heale.

Hans Christian Andersen's original fairy-tale about a cygnet mistakenly hatched by a duck, who is convinced by the cruelty of his peers that he is ugly and abnormal, is retold here in free verse by Adrian Mitchell, and accompanied by gorgeous woodcut illustrations by Jonathan Heale. The effect is quite pleasing, with a narrative that reads well, and artwork that offers an immensely satisfying visual feast, sure to please woodcut lovers in particular.

This may, in fact, by my favorite edition of The Ugly Duckling, which is, admittedly, not saying much, as it has never ranked amongst my favorite fairy-tales. Still, Heale's illustrations are a real pleasure to behold, with their bold black outlines and lovely watercolor embellishments. I think I may look for more of his work!
… (meer)
 
Gemarkeerd
AbigailAdams26 | Apr 2, 2013 |
Perfectly fine but not awesome anthology.

Pluses: Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll, William Carlos Williams, Bessie Smith
Minuses: Lennon-McCartney's Yellow Submarine, the DIY poetry section, and illustrations
 
Gemarkeerd
beckydj | Mar 31, 2013 |

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Statistieken

Werken
73
Ook door
9
Leden
854
Populariteit
#29,958
Waardering
4.0
Besprekingen
10
ISBNs
170
Talen
6
Favoriet
1

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