Poet Adrian Henri dies

Liverpool was the backdrop for the Mersey beat poets

Poet and painter Adrian Henri, who was part of the Liverpool literary scene in the 1960s, has died after a long illness aged 68.

Last year the poet suffered a stroke and had a heart bypass operation.

He had been awarded the Freedom of the City of Liverpool on Wednesday night and on Monday had received an honorary degree from the city's university.

Henri, along with Brian Patten and Roger McGough, was part of a coterie of Liverpool poets in the 60s who achieved critical and popular appeal.

Adrian Henri was an accomplished painter as well as a popular poet

They were compared with the American beat poets and writers, such as Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, of a decade earlier.

McGough, who held a benefit for Henri earlier this year, paid tribute to his "great pal" who had a "genuine naivety which was very infectious".

"I have known him for over 40 years," he said. "He seemed back then so learned and widely educated.

"He had a childlike enthusiasm for things. He had a genuine naivety which was infectious and that was why he was a great teacher.

"I always miss him. Adrian played many roles as poet and artist but when the dust settles, people will remember what a great man he was."

Henri's partner of 15 years, Catherine Marcangeli, said he was "one of the most loving people you could meet".

Roger McGough: "I always miss him"

Like the American poets, Henri, Patten and McGough drew inspiration from their environment, from popular culture, art and music.

Live performance of their poetry was an important part of their work, best remembered for the influential collection of poems The Mersey Sound.

The volume has sold some quarter of a million copies over the years and has been acclaimed for making poetry more accessible and popular.

Henri's poetry collections include Tonight at Noon and City.

He was born in Birkenhead on the Wirral, and educated at St Asaph Grammar School, north Wales, and King's College, Newcastle before graduating from the University of Durham in 1955 with an honours degree.

Art prize

After a spell teaching in Preston, Manchester and Liverpool, he moved to Liverpool in 1957 where he painted stage sets at the Playhouse Theatre.

A prolific artist, he won the 1992 John Moores Prize and has exhibited regularly in Liverpool with pieces of his work finding a home in the permanent collection of the city's Walker Art Gallery. Henri was the oldest of the three poets and the one of the trio who remained in Liverpool.

He was president of the Liverpool Academy of Arts from 1972 to 1981.

An exhibition of his work is currently touring in Wales.