| Jenny Joseph |
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| 1932 births | |
| living people | |
| english poets | |
| english women writers | |
| english jews | |
| jewish poets | |
| people from birmingham, england | |
| alumni of st hildas college, oxford | |
| women poets | |
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She was born in Birmingham , and studied English Literature at St Hilda's College, Oxford , before becoming a journalist. She has worked for the Bedfordshire Times , the Oxford Mail and Drum Publications ( Johannesburg , South Africa ). Her first collection of poetry was published in 1960 . The poem entitled ''Warning'', a witty poem about growing old, is her most popular work, and the inspiration for the Red Hat Society . A BBC poll found it to be the most popular 20th Century poem. :When I am an old woman I shall wear purple :With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me. :And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves :And satin sandles, and say we've no money for butter. :I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired :And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells :And run my stick along the public railings :And make up for the sobriety of my youth. :I shall go out in my slippers in the rain :And pick flowers in other people's gardens :And learn to spit. :You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat :And eat three pounds of sausages at a go :Or only bread and pickle for a week :And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes. :But now we must have clothes that keep us dry :And pay our rent and not swear in the street :And set a good example for the children. :We must have friends to dinner and read the papers. :But maybe I ought to practice a little now? :So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised :When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple In 1995 , she was awarded a travelling scholarship by the Society Of Authors . She is a Fellow of the Royal Society Of Literature . SEE ALSO |
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