Baldwin's Catholic Geese

Keith Hutson has written for Coronation Street and for many well-known comedians. His award-winning poetry has been widely-published both in the UK and internationally. He plays to packed houses and was a 2018 Laureate’s Choice poet. He is a member of the Poetry Salzburg editorial board and delivers poetry and performance workshops in schools for the Prince’s Trust. A Mancunian by birth, Keith now lives in Halifax, West Yorkshire, where he is Poet-In-Residence at the Square Chapel Theatre. He has an MA (Poetry) from Manchester Metropolitan University. His two pamphlets, Routines (Poetry Salzburg, 2016) and Troupers (Smith|Doorstop, 2018) were followed by his first book-length collection, Baldwin's Catholic Geese (Bloodaxe Books, 2019).

These poems illuminate something timeless about ambition and the human spirit. Keith Hutson is a wonderful talent – his hardworking, technically-assured poems arrive all of a piece centre-stage.

• 11 The Opener12 Juvenile13 Coming On Strong14 Revival15 The Fish Fryer16 No Contest17 Lady Be Good18 Hylda20 Heart21 Glasgow Empire22 Bad Impresario23 Accept No Imitations24 Family Business25 My Old Man26 The Call of the Wild28 Raising Steam29 And They’re Off!30 Night Class31 The World’s Greatest Whistler32 Morton Fraser’s Harmaniacs33 The Man with the Xylophone Skull34 The Ray Conniff Singers36 Tiddly Om Pom Pom37 Slave Song38 Straight Man39 Frontiersman40 The Reluctant Sitter42 Anthony Howell and His Disenchanted Sow43 Largesse44 The Art of Hunger45 Praise Poem46 Zazel, The Shooting Star!47 Without a Net48 Dr Zhivago49 Power Sharing50 The Dancing Quakers51 Inextricable52 The Audience54 Exotica55 Widow Twankey56 Burlington Bertie57 Out from Under58 Mary Poppins59 Self Help60 Saddled61 Better Out Than In62 Beyond Belief63 Crowd Control64 Engagement65 Controlled Explosion66 Le Pétomane67 Castrato68 Tragedian69 Nightmare Scenario70 Lo! Hear the Gentle Lark71 Foreign Exchange72 Counter Culture73 Brass Band74 Pleasure Craft75 Response76 Bad Rap77 Roughage78 Three Sightings of Batman80 The Hard Stuff81 Little Wonder82 Go Gentle83 Street Cred84 The Man Who Killed Houdini85 Here’s Looking at You86 Lament87 Buccaneer88 Double Act89 Scandal90 Vintage91 Clever Bugger92 Civic Theatre93 Hostess Trolley94 Dumbing Up95 Town Crier96 Light Brigade97 Speech Coach98 A Funny Thing Happened…99 Dun Roamin’100 Confidence Trick101 Caretaker102 Immense103 Above All104 Vera105 Eleven, Plus106 Stepping Out107 The Belly Dancers of Burnage108 Crossing the Floor109 The Highland Live-Wire110 Hostilities112 I’m Here All Week!113 All the Rage114 Chanteur116 Memory Man117 Soul Mates118 That’s Your Lot119 Notes127 Bibliography