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- POETRY, MUSIC & ARTWORK -
Frank Bangay
Personal words as well as newspaper articles in loving memory.
Click on the pictures to read full articles.
Remembering Frank
by John Joseph Sheehy
Yesterday I received an email from a poet that I know well.
I was sad to hear from you that Frank Bangay Aka The Bard of Hackney
had passed on over to the other side on Sunday.
I first got to know Frank, when he used to perform in the Union Chapel, Islington.
Frank Bangay the founder member of survivors poetry, taking creative writing workshops in St John's Church Hackney, running creative workshops and festivals in Core Arts school.
Frank Bangay campaigned for mental health rights, the great poet, songwriter, musician and gentleman.
The usual way of coming together is not available to us, in this pandemic crisis
In this wake, of sadness, I remember Frank in performance.
I was sad to hear from you that Frank Bangay Aka The Bard of Hackney
had passed on over to the other side on Sunday.
I first got to know Frank, when he used to perform in the Union Chapel, Islington.
Frank Bangay the founder member of survivors poetry, taking creative writing workshops in St John's Church Hackney, running creative workshops and festivals in Core Arts school.
Frank Bangay campaigned for mental health rights, the great poet, songwriter, musician and gentleman.
The usual way of coming together is not available to us, in this pandemic crisis
In this wake, of sadness, I remember Frank in performance.
by Franc David
In Memory of Frank Bangay 1951 – 2021
My friend Frank, who died on Monday 25 January 2021 aged 70, was a performance poet, mental health activist and more. He was born in Wandsworth Common and left school at age 15 to work as a messenger in Bermondsey. We met on my first week in London in February 1974 when we were both active in ‘anti-psychiatry’ and mental patients’ rights. Our lives intersected over the 45 years since. I remember him over dinner, always ready to share a new poem or news of the poetry groups, and festivals that were at the core of his life.
Frank was a great friend who lived to help others, particularly those who struggled with mental health issues or the difficulties of modern life. In 1990 he helped found Survivors’ Poetry – a group set up to give survivors of the mental health system a creative voice. He was a good listener and that probably helped him to do his very sensitive poetry.
He touched the lives of many thousands of people on the fringes with the humanity he shared with encouragement to write and support to get through difficult times.
Frank was a prolific poet with several collections to his name; many illustrated with artwork influenced by William Blake –one of the many passions of his life. He also wrote prodigiously about the blues especially Black US musicians from the early 20th century.
As well as being a lyrical artist Frank was a keen gardener. His small flat was always overflowing with the many types of flowering and succulent plants he adored.
Frank is much missed by his sister Ursula and his many friends in the local community, those at Hackney Core Arts, at Survivors’ Poetry, at Disability Arts online, at Survivors History Group, at Louder than War and beyond. He will have a service at his local church.
From his link on the Core Arts website, here’s the first stanza of his poem ‘The Boat Sails’, written in May 2007, that I think sums up his gentle warm personality with a simple but profound elegance.
I will say farewell my friend.
The leaves fall
And blow through an autumn park.
Through life’s turbulence
Your boat sets sail for a distant shore.
I know that my boat will sail one day
I hear Blind Willie Johnson singing,
Come with me to that land
Come with me to that land.
My friend Frank, who died on Monday 25 January 2021 aged 70, was a performance poet, mental health activist and more. He was born in Wandsworth Common and left school at age 15 to work as a messenger in Bermondsey. We met on my first week in London in February 1974 when we were both active in ‘anti-psychiatry’ and mental patients’ rights. Our lives intersected over the 45 years since. I remember him over dinner, always ready to share a new poem or news of the poetry groups, and festivals that were at the core of his life.
Frank was a great friend who lived to help others, particularly those who struggled with mental health issues or the difficulties of modern life. In 1990 he helped found Survivors’ Poetry – a group set up to give survivors of the mental health system a creative voice. He was a good listener and that probably helped him to do his very sensitive poetry.
He touched the lives of many thousands of people on the fringes with the humanity he shared with encouragement to write and support to get through difficult times.
Frank was a prolific poet with several collections to his name; many illustrated with artwork influenced by William Blake –one of the many passions of his life. He also wrote prodigiously about the blues especially Black US musicians from the early 20th century.
As well as being a lyrical artist Frank was a keen gardener. His small flat was always overflowing with the many types of flowering and succulent plants he adored.
Frank is much missed by his sister Ursula and his many friends in the local community, those at Hackney Core Arts, at Survivors’ Poetry, at Disability Arts online, at Survivors History Group, at Louder than War and beyond. He will have a service at his local church.
From his link on the Core Arts website, here’s the first stanza of his poem ‘The Boat Sails’, written in May 2007, that I think sums up his gentle warm personality with a simple but profound elegance.
I will say farewell my friend.
The leaves fall
And blow through an autumn park.
Through life’s turbulence
Your boat sets sail for a distant shore.
I know that my boat will sail one day
I hear Blind Willie Johnson singing,
Come with me to that land
Come with me to that land.
by Kim Bennett
Frank Bangay ‘The Bard of Hackney’ 1951-2021
On Monday 25 th January we lost a truly spiritual soul, and very special poetic voice sometimes dubbed ‘The Bard of Hackney’. His was a life that was great in its capacity, intelligence and generosity though he lived very modestly; he performed his poetry and songs with musicians at performances at live poetry and benefit gigs all over London. His presence at gigs at Union Chapel, Chats Palace, Mad Pride events, Survivor’s poetry at Tottenham Chances and The Poetry Café, on Resonance FM, at Core Arts and numerous other venues meant that a great many people have heard and seen him over the years and will remember his unique performance style, and the humour, depth and wisdom of his verses.
Even in the previous year before Covid struck when he suffered a fall and his foot was wrapped in bandages he was coming to events first with a cane and then a Zimmer frame. He would slowly hobble to the stage and then an extraordinary transformation would take place; all trace of infirmity disappeared as he came to life – wheeling his arms in circular movements while creating a wreathe of words – a world of language that came alive in his movements, as the words moved from a prosaic level often onto something universally true, employing both humour and seriousness.
As a musician his heart was with Gospel and the Blues, about which he had a great depth of knowledge. He played harmonica and sang with other musicians from Core arts such as Congo born gospel poet and singer, Sophie Mirrel and Tunde Busari. He produced more than a dozen albums on CD, designing all the artwork, inserts and booklets at Core arts over the past decade, amongst them ‘Jewels in the Poundshop’ and ‘This Topsy-Turvey Life’.
He was above all a nature lover, and something of a naturalist – being an expert on succulents and a member of Kew. He felt the spirit of all living things and depicted those ideas in his many watercolour paintings; for him all nature is imbued with positive energy and love, which he translated into his own personal semi-animist brand of Christianity. He was reminiscent of William Blake with a less classical education; he saw angels and faces in friendly trees and talked to the nesting pigeons outside his door of his flat, creating stories and poems for children as well as adults -about the pigeons, Jack frost, the trees, flowers, clouds; endlessly alive to the world around him.
He was also known as a blogger and online writer, who wrote about the origins of the Blues, wrote blogs for ‘The Big Untidy’ about growing succulents and other topics for online journals such as The Poetry Review.
He will also be remembered for his campaigning on behalf of mental health service users. He was often blogging and participating in fundraising events, was a speaker at mental health forums and a campaigner against forcible restraining.
From the late 1970s onwards he co-founded CAPO (Campaign Against Psychiatric
Oppression) and came up with the idea of marrying mental health activism with performance poetry, which was the inspiration behind the charity Survivor's Poetry, (of which he was a co-founder in 1991) and was a voice for more compassion in mental health care.
“We cried together last night, but our tears were in solidarity with the sadness of the world, and through our tears we found strength.” 1985
He leaves a sister and many, many people who admire his work and will always remember him as a loyal, caring friend, always sympathetic to other people's struggles, supporting others when he could, close to so many despite being very modest and unassuming.
www.corearts.co.uk –links to Frank’s website, soundcloud account and Blogs can be found on their artists’ pages.
His book of poems –‘Naked Songs and Rhythms of Hope’ was published in 1993.
On Monday 25 th January we lost a truly spiritual soul, and very special poetic voice sometimes dubbed ‘The Bard of Hackney’. His was a life that was great in its capacity, intelligence and generosity though he lived very modestly; he performed his poetry and songs with musicians at performances at live poetry and benefit gigs all over London. His presence at gigs at Union Chapel, Chats Palace, Mad Pride events, Survivor’s poetry at Tottenham Chances and The Poetry Café, on Resonance FM, at Core Arts and numerous other venues meant that a great many people have heard and seen him over the years and will remember his unique performance style, and the humour, depth and wisdom of his verses.
Even in the previous year before Covid struck when he suffered a fall and his foot was wrapped in bandages he was coming to events first with a cane and then a Zimmer frame. He would slowly hobble to the stage and then an extraordinary transformation would take place; all trace of infirmity disappeared as he came to life – wheeling his arms in circular movements while creating a wreathe of words – a world of language that came alive in his movements, as the words moved from a prosaic level often onto something universally true, employing both humour and seriousness.
As a musician his heart was with Gospel and the Blues, about which he had a great depth of knowledge. He played harmonica and sang with other musicians from Core arts such as Congo born gospel poet and singer, Sophie Mirrel and Tunde Busari. He produced more than a dozen albums on CD, designing all the artwork, inserts and booklets at Core arts over the past decade, amongst them ‘Jewels in the Poundshop’ and ‘This Topsy-Turvey Life’.
He was above all a nature lover, and something of a naturalist – being an expert on succulents and a member of Kew. He felt the spirit of all living things and depicted those ideas in his many watercolour paintings; for him all nature is imbued with positive energy and love, which he translated into his own personal semi-animist brand of Christianity. He was reminiscent of William Blake with a less classical education; he saw angels and faces in friendly trees and talked to the nesting pigeons outside his door of his flat, creating stories and poems for children as well as adults -about the pigeons, Jack frost, the trees, flowers, clouds; endlessly alive to the world around him.
He was also known as a blogger and online writer, who wrote about the origins of the Blues, wrote blogs for ‘The Big Untidy’ about growing succulents and other topics for online journals such as The Poetry Review.
He will also be remembered for his campaigning on behalf of mental health service users. He was often blogging and participating in fundraising events, was a speaker at mental health forums and a campaigner against forcible restraining.
From the late 1970s onwards he co-founded CAPO (Campaign Against Psychiatric
Oppression) and came up with the idea of marrying mental health activism with performance poetry, which was the inspiration behind the charity Survivor's Poetry, (of which he was a co-founder in 1991) and was a voice for more compassion in mental health care.
“We cried together last night, but our tears were in solidarity with the sadness of the world, and through our tears we found strength.” 1985
He leaves a sister and many, many people who admire his work and will always remember him as a loyal, caring friend, always sympathetic to other people's struggles, supporting others when he could, close to so many despite being very modest and unassuming.
www.corearts.co.uk –links to Frank’s website, soundcloud account and Blogs can be found on their artists’ pages.
His book of poems –‘Naked Songs and Rhythms of Hope’ was published in 1993.
Frank Bangay – Diamond Geezer
By his friend Leg Over Sue
AKA Susan-Aliya Andrea Bernadette Andrews-Howells
26th March 2021
AKA Susan-Aliya Andrea Bernadette Andrews-Howells
26th March 2021
First Impressions
Poem written by Susan Aliya Andrews-Howells
14th January 2003
14th January 2003
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