‘It cracks me up’ University award makes city street poet Doctor Hoo
PROMINENT Bristol poet, educator and activist Lawrence Hoo has received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bristol and can now rightfully be called Doctor Hoo.
The man behind the CARGO Classrooms initiative received his award at one of the University of Bristol’s last graduation ceremonies of 2022, and was joined by a group of other recipients being recognised by the university.
Last week, the chief executive of housing charity Shelter, Polly Neate CBE, received an honorary degree from the university. The charity boss graduated with an English degree back in 1988 before becoming a journalist and charity boss.
This year’s awards of honorary degrees and doctorates would have included Bristol civil rights leader Roy Hackett, but his award was bestowed posthumously to his family at his funeral in September.
Lawrence Hoo said being made a Doctor of Letters, which enables him to be called ‘Doctor Hoo,’ “cracks me up”, but added that he hoped his award of an honorary doctorate showed people not to give up.
Dr Hoo went to eight schools, left at 16 with no qualifications and ended up on the streets. “I always found the streets more comfortable than home. Even when I was five or six when things got tough I’d go to the streets. I was a runaway,” he said. Life changed for him in his late 20s when he had the first of his four sons, Myles. The prostitution, drug dealing and gang violence he witnessed in his neighbourhood – even outside his local primary school – took on new meaning.
He started documenting it with photos and videos and eventually picked up a pen and wrote his first poem, Life. “I wanted to protect my children,” he said. “I filmed everywhere, even in crack houses. People said it was a risk, but for me, not doing it was the risk.”
He published three poetry collections, Inner City Tales in 2006, HOOSTORY in 2011, and CARGO in 2019. His latest project, CARGO
Classroom (CARGO stands for Charting African Resilience Generating Opportunities), involves free lessons about people from African and African diaspora descent.
Aimed at pupils aged five to 14, they are made with the help of University of Bristol academics and a team of education experts. They use poetry, film and illustrations to make the content more engaging and accessible. Tracks written by Massive Attack accompany the poetry performances.
Dr Hoo has been working with the University of Bristol to devise the content for CARGO. “It’s been great working with the University of Bristol – the School of Education has been instrumental in CARGO.
“Putting our strengths together, working as equals, has been really good. Being Dr Hoo still cracks me up. When I tell people they fall about laughing,” he said, adding that he hoped young people would be inspired to keep going.
“You do matter and you aren’t disposable. So don’t give up on yourself and try to be the best you can in whatever you’re doing.”