Lemn Sissay
Encyclopedia
Lemn Sissay MBE
is an award-winning British
author and broadcaster of Ethiopian and Eritrean parents.
He is known for performances of his poetry and also with jazz fusion
groups. He is a playwright, and has worked on radio and television. He appears on the award-winning Leftfield
album Leftism
At eighteen years old he moved from Atherton, Greater Manchester, to the city of Manchester. By the age of nineteen he was one of only two black literature development workers in Britain at Commonword, a community publishing cooperative in Manchester. A number of his poems adorn buildings throughout the Manchester
area and have become landmarks.
By the age of 21 his first book of poetry was released in London. “Lemn Sissay has success written all over his forehead” said the Guardian Newspaper in 1988. He soon left his post and from the age of 24 until the present day he has been a full time writer. He has read his poetry on stages throughout the world. Some examples are Jo’Burg, Cape Town Pretoria in South Africa, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Singapore, Los Angeles, Berkley, Melbourne, Bulgaria, Greece, Germany, France, Switzerland, Portugal, India, Holland, Ireland, and Italy.
In 1995 The BBC made a television documentary about his life called Internal Flight. His 2005 drama Something Dark deals with his search for his family. In 2006 Something Dark was adapted for BBC Radio 3 and won the RIMA award.
Television appearances range from The South Bank Show to BBC’s hit series Grumpy Old Men, where he remains the youngest contributor. As a radio broadcaster he makes documentaries for the BBC. They range in subject matter from The Last Poets in New York to WH Auden’s Night Mail; the last in March 2008 was a documentary about the source of pub signs all over Britain called The Black Boy. He is a regular contributor on BBC Radio Four’s Saturday Live which in 2008 is nominated for two Sony Awards. He also contributes to Simon Mayo’s Book Panel.
In 2008, as part of his Poems as Landmarks series, a commissioned poem "The Gilt of Cain" is to be placed inside a sculpture in The City of London. In 2007 he was appointed as artist-in-residence at the Southbank Centre in London where he remains throughout 2008. In 2008 his award-winning play was published by Oberon Books as part of Hidden Gems edited by Professor Deidre Osborne. Also in 2008 his next book of poetry Listener is to be published by award-winning publishing house Canongate. The cover shot is a photograph taken by award-winning photographer Rankin. Prior to the book launch and tour Lemn Sissay will be travelling to the Antarctic with Cape Farewell and a ship full of artists.
He was born in Billinge
, near Wigan
, Lancashire
, of Ethiopia
n descent. He was fostered for eleven years. From eleven to seventeen he lived in various children's homes in Lancashire. From then on, he spent most of his adult life searching for his family. By the age of thirty-two he had found them all. In his own words he “has now got a fully dysfunctional family just like everyone else”.
Sissay was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours.
Chaos by Design (1994)
Storm (2002)
Something Dark (2006)
Recorded releases
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Lemn+Sissay
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
is an award-winning British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author and broadcaster of Ethiopian and Eritrean parents.
He is known for performances of his poetry and also with jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
groups. He is a playwright, and has worked on radio and television. He appears on the award-winning Leftfield
Leftfield
Leftfield are a British duo of electronica artists and record producers, namely Paul Daley and Neil Barnes, who formed in 1990 in London, England...
album Leftism
Leftism (album)
Leftism is the first album by electronica musicians Leftfield, released in 1995. It was shortlisted for the 1995 Mercury Music Prize but lost-out to Portishead's Dummy...
At eighteen years old he moved from Atherton, Greater Manchester, to the city of Manchester. By the age of nineteen he was one of only two black literature development workers in Britain at Commonword, a community publishing cooperative in Manchester. A number of his poems adorn buildings throughout the Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
area and have become landmarks.
By the age of 21 his first book of poetry was released in London. “Lemn Sissay has success written all over his forehead” said the Guardian Newspaper in 1988. He soon left his post and from the age of 24 until the present day he has been a full time writer. He has read his poetry on stages throughout the world. Some examples are Jo’Burg, Cape Town Pretoria in South Africa, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Singapore, Los Angeles, Berkley, Melbourne, Bulgaria, Greece, Germany, France, Switzerland, Portugal, India, Holland, Ireland, and Italy.
In 1995 The BBC made a television documentary about his life called Internal Flight. His 2005 drama Something Dark deals with his search for his family. In 2006 Something Dark was adapted for BBC Radio 3 and won the RIMA award.
Television appearances range from The South Bank Show to BBC’s hit series Grumpy Old Men, where he remains the youngest contributor. As a radio broadcaster he makes documentaries for the BBC. They range in subject matter from The Last Poets in New York to WH Auden’s Night Mail; the last in March 2008 was a documentary about the source of pub signs all over Britain called The Black Boy. He is a regular contributor on BBC Radio Four’s Saturday Live which in 2008 is nominated for two Sony Awards. He also contributes to Simon Mayo’s Book Panel.
In 2008, as part of his Poems as Landmarks series, a commissioned poem "The Gilt of Cain" is to be placed inside a sculpture in The City of London. In 2007 he was appointed as artist-in-residence at the Southbank Centre in London where he remains throughout 2008. In 2008 his award-winning play was published by Oberon Books as part of Hidden Gems edited by Professor Deidre Osborne. Also in 2008 his next book of poetry Listener is to be published by award-winning publishing house Canongate. The cover shot is a photograph taken by award-winning photographer Rankin. Prior to the book launch and tour Lemn Sissay will be travelling to the Antarctic with Cape Farewell and a ship full of artists.
He was born in Billinge
Higher End
Higher End or Billinge Higher End is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England.-Governance:Billinge lies within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire...
, near Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n descent. He was fostered for eleven years. From eleven to seventeen he lived in various children's homes in Lancashire. From then on, he spent most of his adult life searching for his family. By the age of thirty-two he had found them all. In his own words he “has now got a fully dysfunctional family just like everyone else”.
Sissay was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours.
Books
- Tender Fingers in a Clenched Fist 1987
- Rebel Without Applause 1992 with Bloodaxe and 2000 with Canongate
- Morning Breaks in the Elevator 1999
- The Fire People 1999 Editor
- Emperor’s Watchmaker 2000
- Something Dark 2008
- Listener 2008
Plays
Don't Look Down (1993)Chaos by Design (1994)
Storm (2002)
Something Dark (2006)
Recorded releases
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Lemn+Sissay