PATRICK MCMANUS, SURVIVOR POET PERFORMER

Patrick McManus. Photograph courtesy of the author

Patrick McManus, survivor poet performer was once an architect in Denmark. He lives in Raynes Park. His career as a poet has spanned more than six decades, beginning with an early publication in the Brixton School of Building magazine in 1959. However, it was in the mid-1990s that his voice truly emerged, rooted firmly in activism and community. His early work appeared in publications linked to social justice causes, such as War on Want’s Loose Change and Dole Drums, as well as in Humanist newsletters across Greater Manchester and Sutton. During this period, he became deeply involved with the Survivors’ Poetry movement, contributing to anthologies like Under the Asylum Tree, Beyond Bedlam, and the Survivors’ Poetry National Jamboree, establishing himself as a poet who wrote honestly about mental health, social exclusion, and the human condition.

McManus’s poetry is deeply embedded in the local life of Merton and Sutton in South London. Throughout the late 1990s and 2000s, he was a regular presence in local outlets, most notably the Wimbledon Guardian and the MAGA (Merton Allotments newsletter), to which he contributed consistently for many years. He also featured in Merton Arts projects such as Write Up Your Street and 20 Years Merton Poets. This dedication to local newsletters, residents’ associations, and community groups demonstrated his belief that poetry should belong to everyday people and everyday places, not just academic or elite circles.

As his career progressed into the 2000s and 2010s, McManus embraced new media and performance. He shared his work through online platforms, including YouTube and Vimeo, with videos such as Door McManus and Uneven Floor, and performed live at venues like the Rialto Club. His work also reached international audiences through publications such as Fiera Lingue, Shoalhaven Poem of the Week in Australia, and online journals like Poets Against the War and Drunken Boat. He remained politically engaged in his later years, contributing to the Occupy Writers movement, the Wimbledon CND newsletter, and environmental anthologies like Earth Love, reflecting his enduring commitment to peace, ecology, and social justice.

His publication in Ars Notoria Magazine: The Art of the Noteworthy has added a further dimension to his career, showing that his work is recognised and respected. While he is a grassroots poet at heart, his voice resonates well beyond Raynes Park.

Patrick McManus is a people’s poet defined by a lifelong dedication to community, activism, and the belief that poetry has the power to speak for and to ordinary people. And he is no fan of religion! From 1959 to contribution in U3A in the Time of Corona in 2020, and now in Ars Notoria, Patrick has remained a consistent, honest, and compassionate voice, chronicling the struggles (and beauties) of life with a great sense of humour.

To celebrate Patrick McManus’s poetry we present a set of pages from his book READY MIXED AGGREGATE together with his illustrations, drawings, depictions, sketches, line drawings, delineations, doodles.

Enjoy!

Ars Notoria