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| Poetry addict | Poetry addict |
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| By Sean Coughlan BBC News Magazine | By Sean Coughlan BBC News Magazine |
| Felix Dennis says poetry is his "fully-fledged obsession"He's a multi-millionaire, a lads mag publisher, who was prosecuted for obscenity before anyone had ever heard of Loaded; a former crack-cocaine addict and friend of John Lennon. Felix Dennis has never wanted for excitement, so why has he turned to writing poetry? | Felix Dennis says poetry is his "fully-fledged obsession"He's a multi-millionaire, a lads mag publisher, who was prosecuted for obscenity before anyone had ever heard of Loaded; a former crack-cocaine addict and friend of John Lennon. Felix Dennis has never wanted for excitement, so why has he turned to writing poetry? |
| If you're one of the richest people in the country and you've finished with your sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll years, what next? When you're facing a life-threatening illness, what really matters? | If you're one of the richest people in the country and you've finished with your sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll years, what next? When you're facing a life-threatening illness, what really matters? |
| For publisher Felix Dennis, it's poetry. A veteran of controversy since his days with the hippy Oz magazine, he describes himself as in the grip of a "fully-fledged obsession". | For publisher Felix Dennis, it's poetry. A veteran of controversy since his days with the hippy Oz magazine, he describes himself as in the grip of a "fully-fledged obsession". |
| His latest book of verse is a wise-cracking update on traditional nursery rhymes - called Nursery Rhymes for Modern Times: When Jack Sued Jill - attacking political correctness, Asbo culture and various forms of hypocrisy. | His latest book of verse is a wise-cracking update on traditional nursery rhymes - called Nursery Rhymes for Modern Times: When Jack Sued Jill - attacking political correctness, Asbo culture and various forms of hypocrisy. |
| But where does this compulsion to write come from? "I don't know - I just know that I become immensely irritable if I don't write," says Mr Dennis. | But where does this compulsion to write come from? "I don't know - I just know that I become immensely irritable if I don't write," says Mr Dennis. |
| He can even precisely date the point at which he began writing verse, and produces the Post-it note on which his first poem was penned in September 1999. | He can even precisely date the point at which he began writing verse, and produces the Post-it note on which his first poem was penned in September 1999. |
| He was in hospital undergoing tests for a thyroid condition (from which he has since recovered) and his previous highs had been more chemical than lyrical. | He was in hospital undergoing tests for a thyroid condition (from which he has since recovered) and his previous highs had been more chemical than lyrical. |
| 'Snobbery' | 'Snobbery' |
| "I needed something utterly absorbing and gripping, when I wasn't doing business. Maybe I was sub-consciously looking for something. And I certainly found it. | "I needed something utterly absorbing and gripping, when I wasn't doing business. Maybe I was sub-consciously looking for something. And I certainly found it. |
| It was complete madness - I'm very embarrassed about it. I had a wonderful time, I'm not going to lie, but I shouldn't have done it. Felix Dennis on his formative years onClick="javascript:launchAVConsoleStory('6165930'); return false;" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3681938.stm">Felix Dennis' poetry | |
| "When you're writing, you're in a totally different zone... I can start a difficult poem and look up at the clock and see to my astonishment that three hours have passed. | "When you're writing, you're in a totally different zone... I can start a difficult poem and look up at the clock and see to my astonishment that three hours have passed. |
| "Instead of taking crack cocaine, going out with whores and boozing, I'll sit down alone in a room and have just as much fun, if not more." | "Instead of taking crack cocaine, going out with whores and boozing, I'll sit down alone in a room and have just as much fun, if not more." |
| No, it hasn't exactly been a quiet life. | No, it hasn't exactly been a quiet life. |
| Sitting in his Soho office, Mr Dennis, who turns 60 next year, is an entertaining firework of energy; a Catherine wheel throwing out ideas, cigarette ash and indignation. | Sitting in his Soho office, Mr Dennis, who turns 60 next year, is an entertaining firework of energy; a Catherine wheel throwing out ideas, cigarette ash and indignation. |
| On poetry, he attacks the "closed shop" of the poetry establishment that looks down on his work, and poets whose work is too obscure to have any popular appeal. | On poetry, he attacks the "closed shop" of the poetry establishment that looks down on his work, and poets whose work is too obscure to have any popular appeal. |
| "It's total snobbery. They can't make a living out of it - so they make a virtue out of writing incomprehensible gibberish." | "It's total snobbery. They can't make a living out of it - so they make a virtue out of writing incomprehensible gibberish." |
| Free wine | Free wine |
| "They can mock all they want," he says, pointing to the greater success of his own poetry sales for his first two collections and the hundreds of people who turned out each night for his readings in the UK and US. | "They can mock all they want," he says, pointing to the greater success of his own poetry sales for his first two collections and the hundreds of people who turned out each night for his readings in the UK and US. |
| In 1971, as one of the "Oz three"Mind you, one of his poetry tours did have the catchy title "Did I mention the free wine?" | In 1971, as one of the "Oz three"Mind you, one of his poetry tours did have the catchy title "Did I mention the free wine?" |
| There is something irresistibly quirky about a publishing leviathan turning his serious attention - not to mention his cheque book - in the direction of the miniature world of poetry publishing. | There is something irresistibly quirky about a publishing leviathan turning his serious attention - not to mention his cheque book - in the direction of the miniature world of poetry publishing. |
| This year's Sunday Times Rich List estimated Mr Dennis' wealth at £715m. As owner of Dennis Publishing, he divides his time between homes in Britain, the US and Mustique. He's got more homes than most poets have readers. | This year's Sunday Times Rich List estimated Mr Dennis' wealth at £715m. As owner of Dennis Publishing, he divides his time between homes in Britain, the US and Mustique. He's got more homes than most poets have readers. |
| And he says that the poet and the businessman in him are not always the same person. | And he says that the poet and the businessman in him are not always the same person. |
| "It's very difficult to be continuously charitable in a capitalistic society. You've also got to make sure that you can pay everyone who works for you," he says. | "It's very difficult to be continuously charitable in a capitalistic society. You've also got to make sure that you can pay everyone who works for you," he says. |
| Before his discovery of poetry, he had also been entertaining himself in an epic style; in a way that makes him sound like some kind of corporate Bacchus. | Before his discovery of poetry, he had also been entertaining himself in an epic style; in a way that makes him sound like some kind of corporate Bacchus. |
| Mr Dennis stayed with John Lennon after the Oz trial"It was complete madness, I'm very embarrassed about it. I had a wonderful time, I'm not going to lie, but I shouldn't have done it. It was fun at the beginning, but then it becomes not so pleasant. | Mr Dennis stayed with John Lennon after the Oz trial"It was complete madness, I'm very embarrassed about it. I had a wonderful time, I'm not going to lie, but I shouldn't have done it. It was fun at the beginning, but then it becomes not so pleasant. |
| "You're behaving badly and there's no one to tell you to stop, it gets out of hand. And then you get addicted. So I walked away." | "You're behaving badly and there's no one to tell you to stop, it gets out of hand. And then you get addicted. So I walked away." |
| Although now known for his publishing empire, including titles such as Maxim and Stuff, Felix Dennis first entered the public arena for a different publication. | Although now known for his publishing empire, including titles such as Maxim and Stuff, Felix Dennis first entered the public arena for a different publication. |
| As an editor of the establishment-baiting Oz magazine, in 1971 he was briefly imprisoned, after an obscenity trial that became a cause celebre for the hippy counter-culture. | As an editor of the establishment-baiting Oz magazine, in 1971 he was briefly imprisoned, after an obscenity trial that became a cause celebre for the hippy counter-culture. |
| 'Utterly corrupt' | 'Utterly corrupt' |
| The experience - the political involvement in the case, the subsequent disclosure of police corruption and the way a deal was secretly agreed to release them - destroyed any faith in the system, he says. | The experience - the political involvement in the case, the subsequent disclosure of police corruption and the way a deal was secretly agreed to release them - destroyed any faith in the system, he says. |
| The Forest of Dennis will cover thousands of acres in the Midlands | The Forest of Dennis will cover thousands of acres in the Midlands |
| "It was utterly, utterly corrupt. Until then, I'd still held on to a belief in English justice, I still half-believed that some of it was true - none of it was true." | "It was utterly, utterly corrupt. Until then, I'd still held on to a belief in English justice, I still half-believed that some of it was true - none of it was true." |
| But it also gave him stories that sound like scenes from a movie. Released from jail and besieged by the press, he was rescued by none other than John Lennon, who had organised protests on behalf of the Oz defendants. | But it also gave him stories that sound like scenes from a movie. Released from jail and besieged by the press, he was rescued by none other than John Lennon, who had organised protests on behalf of the Oz defendants. |
| He stayed with Lennon, who was working on Imagine at the time, and says that every time the former Beatle threw away scraps of lyrics, he'd gather up the pieces of paper, which he prudently kept. | He stayed with Lennon, who was working on Imagine at the time, and says that every time the former Beatle threw away scraps of lyrics, he'd gather up the pieces of paper, which he prudently kept. |
| So if he is spending more cautiously these days, where is all the money going to go? | So if he is spending more cautiously these days, where is all the money going to go? |
| Mr Dennis has another big project underway - to plant a huge forest in the Midlands. | Mr Dennis has another big project underway - to plant a huge forest in the Midlands. |
| "I've been busy for years, buying land, often under pseudonyms, and planting trees on it. All the money is going into it when I die - and in the end I'd like to think that it will be 20 to 30,000 acres." | "I've been busy for years, buying land, often under pseudonyms, and planting trees on it. All the money is going into it when I die - and in the end I'd like to think that it will be 20 to 30,000 acres." |
| And he still sees himself as standing up to establishments. "It's the bullying that annoys me... When I see something that's wrong, I just speak and act first and I'll take the consequences later." | And he still sees himself as standing up to establishments. "It's the bullying that annoys me... When I see something that's wrong, I just speak and act first and I'll take the consequences later." |
Add your comments on this story, using the form below. | Add your comments on this story, using the form below. |