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Arthur Berry was born in Smallthorne, a northern district of Stoke on Trent, in 1925.

However, his first misfortune was also his good luck: for he escaped the common destination of the sons of the families around him, working down the mines, after being born with a crippled arm. In fact he had to spend time in hospital as a youth.

His success in Burslem enabled him to move to London to attend the Royal College of Art.

London

In the capital he was able to meet other inspirational artists, a circumstance compelling him towards his all consuming desire to paint.

Unfortunately, the worsening of his severe agoraphobia forced Arthur to return to Stoke-on-Trent.

Would he have had greater recognition for his painting and writing had he been able to stay in the national limelight?

Back home

He returned to Burslem to teach at the School of Art, which later became a part of the North Staffordshire Polytechnic, (which even later became, as it is today, Staffordshire University), where he was a lecturer in Painting until 1985.

His second wife Cynthia met Arthur while she was studying at the North Staffordshire Polytechnic.

She said: 鈥淚 was in my first year of a pre-diploma and was looking for a place on the third year diploma course and so I was taken to meet him.鈥�

鈥淚 was absolutely terrified of him at first, as he was this larger than life character, but because I lived locally I spent all my time working at the Uni, and he used to sing to me as we were working. Over time we fell in love and eventually got married in 1966.鈥�

The Berrys lived together in Wolstanton, a suburb of Newcastle under Lyme, until Arthur's death in July 1994.

Tin Chapel - detail of painting

Art

His art works became increasingly rooted in the local culture of North Staffordshire; and he became known for his ability to capture the vanishing lives and landscapes of the industrial world of the Potteries.

In 1976 his first play was staged at the New Victoria Theatre in Newcastle after he approached the founding director Peter Cheeseman with a screenplay.

Peter said: 鈥淲hen I set up the Victoria Theatre I had already met him, and by 1962 we had built up a relationship. One day he came up to me in a pub in Burslem and said 鈥業鈥檝e written a play for you鈥�, it was 'The Spanish Dancer from Pinnox Street' and it was wonderful.鈥�

鈥淗e became very important in my life. The marvellous thing about Arthur Berry is that he has more mass appeal in his work than any other writer or poet I know. Working class people adorn his poetry. In a sense he was bilingual; he could speak comfortably in the local lingo and he could also speak in a learned way about anything.鈥�

As Cynthia said: 鈥淲ith his work he felt that he wanted to leave something behind so that it would not have all been a waste - which it might have been, because of his agoraphobia, and his reluctance to promote himself.

He wanted to paint a vanishing world and capture the disappearing working-class values and family values. He was first and foremost a human being. He would say that the British countryside could get very boring; and it was people that he loved.鈥�

New book

Cynthia decided to release a book of Arthur鈥檚 work after meeting local publisher and part-time Lecturer at Staffordshire University, Malcolm Henson, at a gathering of people who were interested in Arthur鈥檚 work.

Cynthia was surprised and gratified by the numbers of people came along to remember him.

Malcolm鈥檚 companies North Staffordshire Press and Henson Editorial Service, had released books about other local legends, and Cynthia thought that they would be perfect to give Arthur鈥檚 poems the publicity that he would never allow them in his own lifetime.

Cynthia and Peter Cheeseman then went about finding somebody to produce an electronic copy of the poetry ready for publication.

Romy Cheeseman, Peter鈥檚 wife and friend of Cynthia, proof-read the poems, before Malcolm put the finishing touches to the book and had copies printed.

So the new book 'Dandelions' was born, and released in late 2007.

***

Email m.henson@staffs.ac.uk for more information on how to purchase a copy of 'Dandelions'

NOTE:

To find out about recordings by Arthur Berry for Radio Stoke, click on the link in the top-right-hand corner of this page.

To hear Cynthia talking about Arthur, click on the link in the top-right-hand corner of this page.