Barrow Poets

The Barrow Poets or Barrow Collective were a group of poets and folk musicians formed in England in the 1950s.^[1] Their name came from their practice of selling, from a barrow, copies of works they had written or performed.^[1] Members at different times included Gerard Benson, Jim Parker, William Bealby-Wright, Christine Shotton, Cicely Smith, Heather Black, John Naylor, Susan Baker, and William Gardener.^[2] They released several folk and spoken word albums on Argo Records from 1963 to 1981, sold mostly at their own gigs.^[2] The group "performed everything from Shakespeare and Milton to limericks and risqué ballads everywhere – from the back rooms of pubs to BBC's Late Night Line-Up, around the country and in Europe and the US".^[3] "The Pheasant Plucker's Song" was an Australian Top 10 single.^[3]