My brother, John Horder, who has died aged 80, was known as the “hugging poet”. He was interested in the teachings of the India mystic Meher Baba, whom he called a “hugging genius”, and Baba’s maxim “don’t worry, be happy” became John’s favourite saying.
His first published collection was The Child Walks Around Its Own Grave (1966), for which he received two Arts Council awards. A selection, A Sense of Being (1968), was published as part of the Phoenix Living Poets series, and, later, Meher Baba and the Nothingness (1981). His plays included Cakes and Carrots and The African Who Loved Hugging Everybody. He wrote a reinvention of Rumpelstiltskin which I saw him perform; he had a wonderful stage presence.
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