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 sandals, 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 the 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 practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
Acknowledgement:
© Jenny Joseph, SELECTED POEMS, Bloodaxe 1992.
Reproduced with permission of Johnson & Alcock Ltd.
A Warning from Jenny Joseph
A 1996 survey BBC identified this poem as the UK’s most popular post-war one, beating Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night.”
It’s called “Warning” and was written by Jenny Joseph (1932-2018).
It reminds me of my mother. She and Jenny were born the same year. Mom reveled in her position as the Gypsy Queen of Geri-Antics, wearing loud floral shirts, sporting several toe rings, and eating sausages.
This made me wonder about Jenny herself. Is she actually wearing dazzling blouses and skyrocketing her cholesterol count?
As it turns out, Jenny doesn’t qualify as a late bloomer. She composed “Warning” at age 29 and continued writing throughout her adult life. But this one poem has defined her, despite a large and rich body of work.
It has also inspired thousands of women to wear purple—but Jenny hates the color herself.
The Red Hat Society
In 1997, Sue Ellen Cooper of Fullerton, California, gave her friend a vintage red fedora and a copy of “Warning” for her 55th birthday. It made such a hit that Sue Ellen went on to found the internationally popular Red Hat Society. The members famously wear red hats and purple outfits to their public gatherings.
They’re so well-known that in the comic strip “Mother Goose and Grimm,” a Red Hatter sits with the College of Cardinals. One of the cardinals informs her, “Madame, this is not that kind of red hat club!”
Jenny doesn’t mind that “When I Am an Old Woman” has become more famous than she is, but when asked if she would start wearing purple anytime soon, she replied, “I can’t stand purple. It doesn’t suit me.”
“When I Am an Old Woman”—An Ode to Nonconformity
Jenny has published thirteen poetry books and won several awards. During the fourteen years between her first two, Unlooked-for Season (1960) and Rose in the Afternoon (1974), she published six children’s books.
She compiled three more books of poetry after turning 69. Many of her best, including “Warning,” appear in her Selected Poems.
As a Later Bloomer, I love “Warning” as an ode to nonconformity and admire this woman who quietly created art while holding down various jobs, from running a pub to lecturing in English literature.
If you want to know the real Jenny, check out her last book, Led by the Nose: A Garden of Smells. It’s a sensory gift from an uncommon woman with a passion for gardening.
In 1999, the prestigious Royal Society of Literature recognized Jenny’s contribution to British poetry and made her a fellow.
She left us too soon in January 2018 at age 85. And even though she didn’t like purple, I hope she’s still inciting creative rebellion somewhere.
If you enjoyed this piece about Jenny, you might like these stories about a few other talented and feisty women:
- Erma Bombeck’s Glorious Late-Blooming Wisdom
- Marta Becket: The Dancing Queen of Death Valley Who Reigned for 50 years
And here’s Jenny reading “Warning,” better known by its first line, “When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple.”
Source: Jenny Joseph Obituary, The Guardian: January 19, 2018.