Blake Morrison
A poet and memoirist who turned the raw material of family life and public tragedy into works of piercing emotional clarity and cultural resonance.
Born 1950 (age 76)·English poet and author·Birthday: October 8·Baby Boomers
Biography
Blake Morrison operates in the intimate space where private memory and public consciousness collide. While an accomplished poet, literary editor, and critic, he is best known for excavating the complexities of family. His memoir 'And When Did You Last See Your Father?' became a modern classic, stripping away sentiment to examine filial love and rivalry with unsparing honesty. He then applied the same forensic, compassionate gaze to a national trauma in 'As If', a profound meditation on the murder of James Bulger. Morrison’s work is characterized by its moral seriousness and lyrical precision, whether he’s writing about his parents, the Yorkshire landscape, or adapting Ovid. He doesn’t provide easy answers but insists on the necessity of asking difficult questions, making him a essential chronicler of the human condition.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Blake was born in 1950, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Blake Was Born
The biggest hits of 1950
#1 Movie
Cinderella
Best Picture
All About Eve
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Blake's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1950Born
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1955Started school
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1963Became a teenager
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1966Could drive
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1968Could vote
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1971Turned 21
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1980Turned 30
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1990Turned 40
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 50
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 60
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 70
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 76 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the J. R. Ackerley Prize for Autobiography for 'And When Did You Last See Your Father?' in 1993.
- Served as the literary editor of The Independent on Sunday and later The Observer, shaping British literary culture.
- Published 'As If', a critically acclaimed study of the James Bulger murder case, blending reportage, essay, and moral philosophy.
Did You Know?
He collaborated with composer Gavin Bryars on the libretto for the opera 'Doctor Ox's Experiment'.
Morrison was born in a former railway station in Skipton, North Yorkshire, which his father converted into a doctor's surgery and family home.
He has written several verse novels, including 'The Justification of Johann Gutenberg'.
“We all want to please our fathers, even when they’re dead.”
