The cuttings on my desk are yellow and curling — a visual reminder of Felix Dennis’ more anarchic days, when student demos and taking on the establishment were the name of the game.

Famously arrested in 1971 as co-editor of controversial culture magazine Oz, the 24-year-old was sentenced to nine months for ‘corruption of the young’. Although the ‘Oz Three’s’ convictions were later quashed, the die had been cast and Felix Dennis’ name was rarely out of the papers.

Turning himself smoothly into a media mogul and multi-millionaire, (Dennis Publishing created Maxim and The Week to name but a few), Felix flaunted his wealth and success via yachts, fast cars and beautiful women, and the headlines continued.

But it wasn’t until he reinvented himself as a poet the literary world’s hackles were raised, and even worse when he proved himself a firm contender, Tom Wolfe naming him ‘the best poet in the English language’.

Described as the ‘the uncrowned Poet Laureate’, Felix has been credited with bringing poetry back to the masses — but either way, his is a strange and fascinating journey. Don’t take my word for it, come and view the Felix Dennis phenomenon for yourself tonight as part of his 30-date Did I Mention The Free Wine? The Cut Throat Tour to publicise his seventh book of verse Love Of A Kind.

“I might grumble when the helicopter comes to pick me up but that’s a knee-jerk reaction. I’m making a rod for my own back but I enjoy it,” he said.

What makes Felix Dennis even more remarkable is that he didn’t even know he could write poetry until recently. “When I was 53 years old, and for no reason I could discern, I sat down and wrote a poem,” he told me. “I don’t know what happened or where it came from. It’s an absolute mystery to me but I didn’t tell anybody, nobody knew. “So I was a late beginner and yet the poems poured out of me. That was in 2000 and now I leave three hours aside every day to write. So I don’t know why I didn’t write it before. It’s like finding out you can drive a formula one car when you’ve been riding a bike.”

Further complicated by developing throat cancer which is now in remission, Felix said that cancer further clarified his position as a poet. “Cancer does change your life, it does sober you up and tends to make you think ‘get on with it’. You know what you want to achieve. It means you have to be careful, you can’t party as hard. “So if I have a big performance I have to rest because my levels of stamina aren’t the same, which is a bit sad for noisesome beasts like me.”

Noisesome beast is an understatement, Felix Dennis spending his fortune as fast and hard as possible for decades. “I had a hell of a time and spent tens of millions. Sex drugs and rock ‘n roll... I can’t remember most of it, but it gives me something to write about,” he laughed unashamedly.

“But my party days in that way are over and I can enjoy it more now than when I was in the middle of the debauchery, and the madness it descended into — private jets, beautiful young girls. It was barmy, flying all over the world but also running a business. Lord knows how I managed.”

Perhaps hedonism got in the way of the poetry? “I don’t know if my lifestyle stifled my creativity or the business,” he said. “But I love working with young talent and I’m good at delegation.”

So he has time for his poetry and his trees:his one-man campaign to replant Britain’s forests: “This month we celebrate our millionth tree in the ground which is wonderful,” he says.

Not that he’ll rest on his laurels. “I was cross when I got cancer as I wasn’t done. I had writing to do, forests to plant, homes around the world to visit. But poetry is a compulsion. I’m never more miserable than with writer’s block.”

So what would the anarchist make of his cultural reincarnation? “I don’t have time to think about might-have-beens, but this has been the best tour by a mile — the response has been incredible. I’ll take triumph over failure any day but at least it’s getting a reaction,” he mused.

As for his longevity, Felix couldn't care less. “I don’t spend one minute thinking about that. I’m not Genghis Khan. I live in the moment. If there is one thing I’ve learnt it’s live now. Everything will or won’t happen, so you can’t worry about it.”

“So I’m glad they managed to keep my voice intact because it’s not enough just to write. Can I have some more?” he roars, before wandering back to script some more poems and keep the wheels of industry turning. With Felix Dennis the proof is definitely in the pudding.

Did I Mention The Free Wine? The Cut-throat Tour
The Sheldonian, Oxford
Tonight
Visit felixdennis.com