Gerry Potter is a poet, playwright, director, actor, and both creator and destroyer of the infamous gingham diva, Chloe Poems. A favourite son of Manchester and his home town Liverpool, he is an Everyman Youth Theatre alumnus and National Museums Liverpool lists him amongst the city's leading LGBT+ icons. His published works are included in both the poetry and philosophy collections at Harvard University, and the portrait documentary My Name is Gerry Potter [Dir. Alejandro Negueruela / Prod. Mike Carney] premiered at Homotopia in 2015. Gerry has a reputation for putting his Scouse voice on the line, and is strong on poetry and strong on the causes of poetryism.
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Manchester's full of stories... tell-tale and
multi.
In this bountiful collection of "first draft explosions" the infamous gingham diva rides the sound waves of Manchester, revealing the people and places which stir and shape her creative muse.
"Ever wondered what a night around Manchester with Chloe Poems as a tour guide would be like? Well, here it is, improvised and filled with the crackling energy that comes from trusting those initial sparks of inspiration." - conor a, Per Verse
"Chloe Poems is an inspiration. Heroic, poetic and honest." - Mike Garry, poet & author of Mancunian Meander
"At the end of the last century and over into this one, Chloe Poems held the poetry scene together in Manchester with her own lovely bare hands. She is simply one of the greatest live poets you will find." - Neil Bell, actor & sonic poet
First published in 2007 by Mucusart Publications.
Cover & illustrations by Brink.
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Part love letter to his adopted home city of Manchester, part critique of the arts and governing bodies (both specific and societal), Gerry's eighth collection of autobiographical, domestic/fantastic theatre-verse is a socio-political, hard-hittin' 'n' thought-provokin' collection of poetry, prose and plays.
Adhering to working-class and socialist principles, this polemic discourse on the rise and rise of The Bourgeois Zeitgeist challenges perceptions, misrepresentations and acceptance, and acts as a rallying call for those seeking to confront privilege and injustice.
"It really is
incredibly easy to get an audience to applaud anything these days, TED Talks and The X Factor have seen to that, you
kinda just have to tell them something Positivia-inspired dripping in
Inspirationalism and they'll unanimously roar. There seems to be a major-city
patriotic jingoism manifesting too, not just here in Manchester, everywhere; it
now appears all cities are the greatest cities in the world. While this may be
more than enough for some folk, I'm afraid it's nowhere near enough for me."
- from 'The Bourgeois Zeitgeist'
Definitely no Inspirationalism and absolutely
no Positivia!
Monday 8th September 2018, on the News... The
Bureau of Investigative Journalism has recorded 449 deaths due to homelessness
in Britain - in one year. How many
mentally and physically ill, how many right now facing homelessness, how many
dead since last recorded, how many more will die?
Reason, if reason was ever needed, why no
place in our greed 'n' perilous land can call itself the greatest city in the
world.
And also on the News...
A clip of Theresa May at the previous week's Tory Party Conference, standing in
front of a big blue backdrop, emboldened with white lettering proclaiming
OPPORTUNITY!
This book is dedicated to every one of the
above and all who suffer under Conservative Austerity.
Manchester Isn't the Greatest City in the World includes 80 poems, 2 play scripts, a 20,000 word treatise on The Bourgeois Zeitgeist and the latest of the author's infamous Outroductions.
Plus a Foreword by Caleb Everett.
Read an interview with Gerry in The Guardian.
Cover design by Brink. Adapted from an idea by the author & Maria Barrett.
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In his seventh autobiographical collection of domestic/fantastic theatre-verse, Gerry navigates an ocean of poems and little splashes. From Scottie Road to saunas, Hammer films to heartfelt and articulate politics, and the lost and found of loves and lives, this is where mythos becomes proven fact.
Accidental Splendour of the Splash also includes the script of Gerry's hit play 'Miracle', and a Foreword by Roger Hill.
Cover design by Brink.
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"The Vacant Chair echoes throughout my life. They're vibrant, mystical, time-travelling things, telling tales of the end of lives, of invisible families, of no-longer friends, half-written legendary lovers. Story chairs indeed."
In his sixth autobiographical collection of poetry and prose Gerry explores his fascination with Ireland and a culture steeped in storytelling. Recalling news reports from his childhood he retraces history, experiencing passion, politics and conflict in a poignant and provocative road trip through time.
The Story Chair includes a Foreword by Abby Oliveira and concludes with the RPF play 'Last Ceilidh in Liverpool'.
Gerry reads from The
Story Chair.
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"Before extreme shyness,
before understanding trauma,
in colourful council of infancy, Folly Butler takes root..."
Gerry's fifth collection of domestic fantastic, theatre verse.
A genre defying opus.
The Chronicles of Folly Butler is a three act collection of poetry and plays, and also includes an Epilogue to Fifty.
Gerry
performs 'The Buried Catholic'.
Cover photo by the author.
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When you are turning fifty, fighting HIV/Hepatitis C co-infections, charged with criminally masterminding the recession and unable to dance - what do you do?
Fuelled by Scouse passion and jangle, Fifty charts a year with honest extravagance. It's an anarchic journey shared with illness and the adverse effects of its medications, with the long haul of being grassed up to the dole, with lost tickets, tags and tangents.
But there is dancing. There must always be dancing...
Fifty tells the story of a remarkable year, some parts of which are already "out there", partially documented in ITV's The Briefs and BBC's Britain in a Day, and concludes with the theatre piece 'How To Be A Better Gay'.
Includes a Foreword by Rosie Garland.
Cover photo by Lee Baxter.
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From the drug induced surreal to the gutter sparkle dirty real, Gerry's new collection of domestic fantastic theatre verse delves into all things male, exploring the camaraderie of brothers, the abandonment of fathers and the wit and wisdom of Scousers. It's a collision of bravado, humour and grief, as the man who lived as Chloe Poems for fifteen years unearths working class men as you've never seen them before, finally coming to terms with his masculinity and the men who buttered and battered it into shape.
Gerry's third collection concludes with the remarkable theatre piece 'Bangs His Chest and Roars War at the Universe', a "celestial prequel" to his hit play, 'Miracle'.
Includes a Foreword by Steve Lyons.
"Gerry Potter is a world-class performer at the height of his powers, delivering intelligent, humane and searching poetry that makes us all ask who we are and who we want to be." - Jo Bell, Director National Poetry Day
Cover image by the author.
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Gerry explores his own love, grief, friendships, family and journey into Planet Middle Age. It's a journey with jostling and lost tickets, the strength and vulnerability of first-hand secrets and seats warm from the strangers that sat there before, and the intensity and passion that takes us from one planet to another.
Includes a Foreword by Pam Leeson.
"In his last collection, Potter wrote about killing off his alter-ego Chloe Poems and discovering his Scouse voice. His true voice has never been more expressive than in this latest collection. Here are poems that will amuse, move, inspire and provoke. Long may he continue." - Paul Burston, journalist & author
Cover photo by Shaun Sutton.
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Gerry's first collection of autobiographical theatre verse is a lyrical journey thrusting you ever forward on a magical history tour, brake-slamming and horn-pounding through the domestic and fantastic.
Includes a Foreword by Maria Barrett.
"If you want to visit Planet Young for one last time, you will finally be able to." - Studio Salford
Cover design by the author & Brink.
Flapjack Press: exploring the synergy between performance and the page.