Adrian Mitchell was a writer and the most prominent anti-nuclear poet in Britain, who played an active and creative part in CND’s campaigning. It was his idea to arrange a giant puppet show on the Vietnam War and British government complicity at the 1966 Trafalgar Square Easter Rally. Adrian also scripted the performance, which used 20-foot puppets to get the message across. In 1972 he confronted then-prime minister Edward Heath about germ warfare and the war in Northern Ireland. More recently, his reading of his poem ‘Tell Me Lies’ at a protest event just before the 2003 invasion of Iraq was memorable to all who was present. The poem was originally about the Vietnam War, but Adrian powerfully brought it up to date for the ‘war on terror’. Fellow-poet Michael Rosen said about Adrian, ‘He celebrated a love of life with the same fervour that he attacked those who crushed life.’ |
What is 60 faces of CND? Founded in 1958 at the height of the Cold War, CND has been a powerful collective voice against the dangers of nuclear weapons. CND’s greatest strength has always been its members. Here we take a look at 60 Faces of CND, |
60 Faces homepage |