What was On

Lemn Sissay "Under the Influence" of the Liverpool poets

 

The highly popular ‘Under the Influence’ series, where one poet looks at the influence another poet has had on their work, continues in 2008 with an exciting new line up and venue. 

As part of Liverpool 08, European Capital of Culture, poet Lemn Sissay  will explain how reading The Mersey Sound by Roger McGough, Brian Patten and Adrian Henri made him realise poetry was for everyone and could be made up of many voices. Sissay’s own poems have been described as “the songs of the street, declamatory, imaginative, hard-hitting". 

When Roger McGough, Adrian Henri and Brian Patten exploded onto the scene in 1967 with The Mersey Sound they shook up the poetry world as well as the cultural lanscape in general.

When a young Lemn Sissay was presented with a tatty copy of the book fifteen years later it gave him the confirmation he needed that poetry was for the people by the people - its a beat he's been working to ever since.

Lemn Sissay is one of the most dynamic poets on the scene and is a regular on TV and Radio, appearing in Grumpy Old Men (he is the youngest one on this by the way!) his exraordinary life story was made into a TV documentary in 1995 by  the BBC called  Something Dark which  dealt with his search for his family. In 2006 Something Dark was adapted for BBC Radio 3 and won the RIMA award. 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.

Lemn says : "If I could touch one percent of the hearts that the Liverpool poets have touched, then I'd be doing alright!" 
 
Click here to listen to Lemn in conversation about the Liverpool Poets
 
The intimate and historic surroundings of the Club Room at the Arts Theatre in London’s West End provide the ideal setting to discover how Lemn Sissay  was influenced by the work of the Liverpool Poets.

The host  for the event will be the Poetry Society’s Chair, Anne-Marie Fyfe.  

 
Tickets £10/£7 (concessions and Poetry Society members)
For telephone bookings, please call on  0844 847 1608.
Alternatively, tickets are available on Ticketmaster, or in person at the venue.
 

 

 Itzcaribbean.com (the leading website for the Caribbean community)  is a friend of the event.

Event details

26th June 2008
7:00PM - 9:00PM
Arts Theatre

This event has already happened. This page will remain here for people who have bookmarked it as a permanent record of the event.

View all events