On March 23, 1964, John Lennon’s first book, In His Own Write, was published in the U.K. The 78-page volume featured 31 nonsensical and absurd short stories and poems, as well as an introduction by Lennon’s Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney.
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Besides his obvious passion for music, Lennon was an avid reader and art lover growing up. As a child and teen, he began to channel his creativity into making cartoon doodles and writing poems and short stories that displayed his skewed, absurd sense of humor and knack for clever wordplay.
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With The Beatles’ star on the rise, Lennon showed some of his writing and drawings to journalist Michael Braun, who in turn showed them to the head of U.K. publishing company Jonathan Cape, Tom Maschler. Impressed by Lennon’s works, Maschler agreed to publish them in a book.
On the evening of In His Own Write’s publication, an interview with Lennon about the book aired on the BBC television show Tonight. In addition, several excerpts from the book were read by some of the show’s presenters.
The book received mostly favorable reviews and was a huge commercial success, with its first edition run of 25,000 copies selling out in one day. In His Own Write eventually sold 300,000 copies in the U.K. The book also was a bestseller in the U.S., where it was published on April 27, 1964.
Origins of the Book and Lennon’s Influences
Lennon wrote most of the pieces featured in In His Own Write specifically for the book, although some were previously published a number of years earlier in the Liverpool music publication Mersey Beat. Some of the writings date back to Lennon’s teen years.
Lennon frequently discussed his literary inspirations for the book, citing Lewis Carroll’s writings, particularly the poem “Jabberwocky,” as a major influence. Other influences include the comic actors and humorists Spike Milligan and “Professor” Stanley Unwin.
Lennon’s artistic inspirations included the writer/cartoonist James Thurber and the satirical cartoonist Ronald Searle.
Paul McCartney’s Contributions to the Book
Besides penning the introduction to In His Own Write, McCartney also came up with the book’s title, and was credited with co-writing one of the stories in the book, “On Safairy with Whide Hunter.” Lennon said McCartney also co-wrote a second piece with him, but never identified which one it was.
In his introduction, McCartney wrote of Lennon, “Aunt Mimi, who had looked after him since he was so high, used to tell me how he was cleverer than he pretended, and things like that. He had written a poem for the school magazine about a hermit who said: ‘as breathing is my life, to stop I dare not dare.’ This made me wonder right away – ‘Is he deep?’ He wore glasses so it was possible, and even without them there was no holding him.”
Lennon’s Bio for the Book
Lennon contributed his own quirky author biography to the book, cheekily called “About the Awful.” It read, in part, “As a member of the most publified Beatles my and (P, G, and R’s) records might seem funnier to some of you than this book, but as far as I’m conceived this correction of short writty is the most wonderfoul larf I’ve ever ready.”
Effect of the Book on How Lennon Was Perceived
The book helped bolster Lennon’s reputation as “the smart Beatle.”
Meanwhile, Lennon’s early prose and poems appear to foreshadow the style of some of his later Beatles lyrics, particularly during the group’s psychedelic period. Examples include “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and “I Am the Walrus.”
Lennon Collaborated on a Play Partly Based on the Book
Lennon published a second book, A Spaniard in the Works, in 1965.
In 1966, American playwright Adrienne Kennedy was commissioned to adapt In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works into a one-act stage production. In late 1967, she began working with actor Victor Spinetti on the project. Spinetti had appeared in The Beatles films A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, and Magical Mystery Tour, and had become friends with Lennon.
Lennon sent notes to Kennedy and Spinetti regarding the play and had final approval of the script. Kennedy was removed from the project before it was completed. Lennon also recorded effects tapes for use in the production. Titled The Lennon Play: In His Own Write, the show was produced by Sir Laurence Olivier and directed by Spinetti.
The play premiered in June 1968 at The Old Vic Theatre in London, but received mixed reviews.
