The Mersey Sound, an influential anthology of poems that is credited with changing the face of 20th century poetry, is more realistic and relevant today, say its creators.

Roger McGough and Brian Patten, the two surviving Mersey Beat poets, said that reality has eventually caught up with the poems from The Mersey Sound, published in 1967.

The book, number 10 in a series of paperbacks called Penguin Modern Poets, became one of the bestselling anthologies of verse and is being republished to celebrate its 40th anniversary.

McGough, speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, said: "We were thrilled to be part of that series, the Penguin Modern Poets series, we came in at number 10 and were thrilled to be part of that.

"Less thrilled that they called it The Mersey Sound, we thought it was just Penguin Books Modern Poets number 10, but of course they linked it, Penguin publicity, quite rightly, in retrospect to Mersey.

"The book was, hopefully, a book that invited the reader in. Many poetry books at the time, you needed to pass an exam to read them."

Patten continued: "We were filling theatres and disgusting critics. The fact that it is being called a classic is vindication for all those people who bought it, because the critics were saying: "what do the great unwashed know about poetry?"

The Mersey Sound inspired a new breed of poet who used direct language and often humorous references to everyday objects, like pint bottles of milk or bus conductors.

Speaking about his poem, Little Johnny's Confession, about a seven-year-old boy who goes on the rampage with a gun, Patten said: "The poem is almost a fantasy to begin with. The idea of a young person doing something. But 40 years later reality has caught up with it."

The poets will be reading the 20 most requested poems from the book at an event hosted by the Southbank Centre, London, on Friday.

Times Recommends

• The 100 Best Books of the Decade
• The Times picks the 50 best paperbacks of 2009
• The conversation: James Ellroy