Information
Henry Normal – COLLECTED POEMS and other landfill
The very latest and greatest poetry of Henry Normal. 90 minutes that’s been a lifetime in the making.
Following another hilarious BBC Radio 4 Christmas show, award-winning poet and writer Henry Normal is back on a UK tour to promote his recent poetry collection, compiled from 11 highly-acclaimed poetry books.
Since retiring from TV and Film production in 2016, Henry has written and performed multiple BBC Radio 4 shows combining comedy, poetry and stories about family. His 10th show ‘A Normal Home’ was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on December 20, 2022.
Henry is a writer, poet, TV and Film producer, founder of the Manchester Poetry Festival (now the Literature festival) and co-founder of the Nottingham Poetry Festival.
In June 2017 he was honoured with a special BAFTA for services to Television.
He co-wrote and script edited the multi-award winning Mrs Merton show and the spin off series Mrs Merton and Malcolm. He also co-created and co-wrote the first series of The Royle Family.
With Steve Coogan he co-wrote the BAFTA winning Paul and Pauline Calf Video Diaries, Coogan’s Run, Tony Ferrino, Doctor Terrible and all three of Steve’s live tours and the film The Parole Officer.
Setting up Baby Cow Productions Ltd in 1990, Henry Executive Produced all and script edited many of the shows of it’s 17 and a half year output during his tenure as MD.
Highlights of the Baby Cow output during his time include the Oscar nominated film Philomena, I believe in Miracles, Gavin and Stacey, Moone Boy, Uncle, Marion and Geof, Nighty Night, The Mighty Boosh, Red Dwarf, Hunderby, Camping and Alan Partridge.
Born in St Anne’s, Nottingham in 1956, Henry now lives in Fairlight, Nr Hastings with his wife and screenwriter Angela Pell and their son Johnny. In April 2018, Two Roads publishers released his book of memoirs ‘A Normal Family’ which was written with his wife Angela Pell, drawing on his family experience. It immediately became a best seller on Amazon and has already been reprinted. The paperback was released on 21st March 2019.
Henry has performed his unique poetry and comedy at dozens of Literature Festivals, theatres and arts centres around the UK in the past few years to great audience and venue satisfaction.
His eleven poetry books are available from Flapjack Press including the latest entitled ‘Collected Poems Vol.2′ . He was recently awarded an honorary doctorate of letters by Nottingham Trent University, another by Nottingham University and has a beer and a bus named after him in Nottingham!
Reviews:
‘Distinctly funny’ Time Out
‘The Alan Bennett of poetry’ The Scotsman
‘Witty and uncannily accurate with his observations’ The Stage
‘A mixture of the absurd and downright wacky…a gentle giant of stand-up poetry’ The List
‘Shove up National Treasures. We need to make room for Henry Normal’ Simon O’Hagan – Radio Times
‘The poetry itself is stuff of proper substance, marrying the suburban beauty of Beatles ballads with the blunt candour of the kitchen sink’ The Guardian