Poetry at Leeds City Academy

Lemn Sissay                                              Photos:  Richard Wilcocks

Sally Bavage writes:
Friday 20 March was a day for stargazing – first at the glimpses of the eclipse that the cloudy Leeds skies allowed and then at a series of poets, amateur and professional, that brought the stars out.

Head of English Mike Nelson started us off with his inner poet, a journey from stammer to grammar as his shy lack of confidence growing up, when he spoke too slowly to order fast food. 

The first two ‘halves’ of the evening were a delightful procession of two dozen young poets, including three guests from Ralph Thoresby school and Kirann, a former pupil at what was City of Leeds who came back to sing his original lyrics.  Michelle Scally Clarke, our poet/coach, also sang her own words. The poets were introduced by student hosts Antonio, Hajar and Sarra.

Christella

Michelle Scally Clarke

We had poems, monologues and songs that ranged widely over journeys to a strange land (England), growing up, difference, bullying, dreams, confessions and advice.  We had a potent mix of talent and tears, attitude and nerves, vulnerability and confidence, perception and insight, wit and pathos, delivered in words, lyrics, duets and duos.  What more could a poetry slam offer?

Well, we had a star performance by Lemn Sissay, internationally-renowned poet, fresh from his masterclass at Lawnswood School, to give us the third ‘half’.  He gave us an insight into the “voice at the back of his mind”, a view of the value of observation in poetry. He mused on why those from Yorkshire and Kashmir, for example, feel themselves different – they see the same landscapes, they drink gallons of the same tea!  Poetry is all around us; in songs, religious books, advertisements.  We should use it to form “a bridge between the physical and the spiritual.”  

He read us some of his own poetry - some published, some new - with such panache and élan, that not only did his words echo afterwards in our minds (like the echo-location of a stranded whale on a Thames beach at Greenwich? – you’d have to have been there) but the uncompromising message behind the words.  Poetry is in all of us, it is for all of us, it is part of what makes us who we are. 

Thanks to Leeds City Academy for hosting the event, musicians Stella Litras and Carl Robinson who supported the young poets, Michelle Scally Clarke for her work with the young people and, of course, to Lemn Sissay himself for a fitting finale. Thanks of course to our young poets: Amber, Aamina, Aleema, Antonio, Areej,  Courtney, Donatella, Fayruze, Hajar, Jawara, Jeraldo, Kirann, Mama, Muzzy, Nida, Nikkayla, Sarra, Simon.

Audience comments:

Amazing innovative event! Inspiring youth! Congrats. ‘Cold room’. Would prefer a raised seating etc!!.go online for soundbytes should tweet the talent – ‘ yng p compaire’ – great youth inspiration.

I love it. The young people were very confident showed that really enjoyed what they were doing. Most importantly they were very supportive of each other. It was their time to ‘shine’. Lemn Sisssay was very interesting entertaining and engaging.

It was really good. I enjoyed all the poems.

A fantastic effort. City of Leeds students performed with conviction and passion. Lemn Sissay was amazing.

What an extraordinary evening – great to hear talented students and loved the wonderful exuberant Lemn Sissay

Great to hear young diverse voices of LS6 and absolutely fabulous performer and raconteur Lemn Sissay! X

Great to see so many young people inspired into creating and performing poems and songs.

Inspirational. A wealth of young talent, thoroughly thought provoking. Through the course of this evening I have felt the whole repertoire of emotions.

I really thought the youth poetry slam was amazing! Such potential and courage.

Brilliant young people. Amazing evening.

Great, really proud of the students!

Fab talent, very well put together. Enjoyed students’ poetry and singing.  Lemn Sissay was very giggleworthy

Very good!

First half – excellent, amazing kids. Shame Lemn Sissay didn’t hear all of them. Would have welcomed a cup of tea/coffee in the interval. Printed copies of the students’ work (£1 each for school funds?) would have been great. Loved Lemn’s poetry – could have had more structure to the presentation.

Pupils’ poems and performance were wonderful, it’s a shame the audience wasn’t bigger. Would have been nice to have some coffee in the break. Photocopied sheets of the poems for sale would have been an idea – I’d have bought one. 2nd half very good. However I think the event could have been more structured, sometimes it was difficult to hear the words – music overpowering.

Childrens’ readings: accompanying music was at too high a volume; hard to hear all the words over the music. Performances: very good, brilliant MC.  Lemn Sissay: excellent as usual and inspirational. Venue: no heating in the hall – it was cold, which doesn’t make it easy for the audience; told the organizers at 6pm but they didn’t put the heating on.  

Lemn Sissay at Lawnswood

                    Photos: Richard Wilcocks

Richard Wilcocks writes:
Pinned and Blu-tacked on walls everywhere in Lawnswood School were elaborate posters anticipating the arrival of Lemn Sissay. He might not be your actual Messiah - he would find a loud laugh in that - but the idea could have flitted through your mind if you had seen the faces or heard the excitement of the lucky fifty from all years who were able to fill the drama studio, which had been carefully prepared for the visit of the international poetry maestro. He did not disappoint. Understatements are a good way to curb excessive, repetitive praising or too much gush, but believe me it is difficult to use any whilst reviewing this performance, and I am backed up on this by the comments of the audience.

With Head of English Amanda Stevenson

 "I don't know how this gig got past my agent," he joked. "I don't do many schools." If that is true, it's a pity, because schools need people like him, desperately, afflicted as they are by the policies of those in power who regard the Arts as optional extras in the educational establishments used by the majority of our young people. Private schools appear to think otherwise. "The Arts" (a singular entity for him, with a capital A) "is central to who we are. It's not something crazy or just messing about."

 "We artists think non-linearly... consider all the great scriptures of the world, the Bible, the Quran, Buddhist texts, the stories, the pictures, the sculptures... the use of the Arts as communication." He called attention to a fact that should be obvious but isn't to some - that the Arts can form the basis of a career, stimulate the economy, in other words it is essential to society.

Then his proselytising beam was turned on to poetry, "the voice at the back of the mind... that's where the real conversation of me is... it's where I really am... I've always written poetry, even when I was inside my mother's womb." He elaborated on this last claim at length, to the audience's delight. Humour gets it across most times, as every good teacher knows. He used it frequently: "I'm an MBE...  Mancunian Black Ethnic... poetry is all around us, like on gravestones, but some of it could be edited... I once took a chisel into a graveyard and improved on some of what I found... when I was a child I was thought to be the Devil's spawn... I didn't know another black person until I was eighteen." He briefly snarled and foamed like a possessed character in a horror film. He apologised for possibly hitting some of the front row with spittle. He jumped about like a strange creature from a cartoon. He came back to his childhood, his formative years.

From Lancashire, but also from Ethiopia and Eritrea, he was adopted by strict (white) Baptists, after his mother, who thought she was putting him up for temporary fostering, was misled by a social worker. He was named Norman. A tiny tremor of disgust passed through him as he told us this. "They had to give me the documents when I was eighteen. I found my true name. Lemn means 'Why' in Ethiopian. It's unusual. I was twenty-one when I found my mum...  and I soon found all my other relatives and of course they're all over the place and some of them don't speak to each other. In other words I've now got a family just like everyone else's. Disfunctional!" We were reminded of all the fictional characters who were fostered, like Harry Potter.

He moved to racism and stereotyping, about the people he meets who think he's an expert on rhinos because he's African, or who want to touch his hair, or who ask him if he's got any Rizlas. He mentioned that the earliest human bones were dug up in Ethiopia not that long ago. "She is known as Lucy. This means that we are all immigrants!"

"You've got to be present inside your poem," he said, and gave us two of his own, every syllable treated as valuable - Suitcases in Muddy Parks and Invisible Kisses. "I have performed Invisible Kisses around the world at weddings. It's a poem to tattoo on the head of your loved one, on the forehead, when they're asleep. Backwards, so it can be read in the mirror when they wake up."

Lemn is currently writing a new comedy for BBC TV.

Listen to Adventure Flight, his poem commissioned by the Football Association.

Audience comments:

I really enjoyed this and he made me think about all the things we often aren't allowed or given time to think about. Thankyou.

Really interesting. The poetry readings were maybe the best or just the comedic side.

His energy and stage presence!

I thoroughly enjoyed the full event and the reading of Invisible Kisses was beautiful. I'm very glad to have had this opportunity.

His energy on stage was great. His life story was enjoyable and his inspirational wisdom.

Hearing his views on how art is such an important part of our lives was the best thing - and that whatever you do as a career you can still be a poet or an artist.

I enjoyed it. I most enjoyed the poetry reading.

He was entertaining. Very funny.

He was very funny and had great presence on stage.

The best part was about his life and how he read, and how he accepted any questions.

Was amazing (emoticon) - truly inspiring. Thankyou so much!

I enjoyed the event. Very educational.

His poems were exhilarating and inspiring!

I enjoyed the 'open' feel of it. It wasn't scripted or scheduled.

I love how he was so himself whilst he was performing and everything he said captivated me.

I really enjoyed it, it was better than I expected. He was funny and captivating and I have definitely learnt a lot.

It was inspirational the way he loves what he does. I just wish there was more time. It was amazing.

Entertaining, engaging, inspiring. Each and every student will take away some of these wise words and remember them forever. (Teacher)

I enjoyed the way it seemed he was directly speaking his thoughts as they came. The side-tracking made it feel unrehearsed and showed his passion for what he was saying.

Art/The Arts is the most powerful thing within us.

Lemn was a very original speaker, inspiring us all to write poems from our hearts.

I enjoyed hearing about his past life and about the experiences he has gone through. Made him seem like a real person. (emoticon)

Inspirational and honest work.

His life story was inspirational.

The whole experience was incredible. Lemn really encouraged me to follow my dream of a career in the arts.

I found the emotional things about his childhood the best. I felt the emotion from my past and childhood. It was touching.

I really enjoyed it and I think he was really good.

I found that this was quite intriguing.

I really liked this event because Lemn's speech was very moving and inspirational. It made me feel like I could take my career interests seriously. He was also very funny and entertaining. I liked his poetry because it was very meaningful and provided wonderful imagery.

'My Time Has Come' - Alison Taft's new novel

 Alison Taft with James Nash                            Photos: Richard Wilcocks

Sustenance for the audience

Audience comments:

Brilliant – but then I am her mother!

I enjoyed this evening very much. It’s inspiring and uplifting to listen to Alison talk about her own writing process and feelings about her work. I enjoyed James’s questions and their rapport and feel refreshed for the experience. Thank you.

Really good event. Very relaxed. Alison very open and honest about her writing, the process of writing and being published. Very interesting to find out more of the background to her books as well.

Well organised and relaxed event. Well attended. Pleased that book sales were not pushed to the forefront. Enjoyable, honest conversation between Alison Taft and James Nash - answering intelligent, searching questions.

Great to hear a reading of a novel-in-progress. Relaxed conversation making very interesting insight to the writing process.

Good to hear a writer talking about the process of writing – engaging and inspirational.

Interesting interview. Alison came over very naturally. Enjoyed her reading. Look forward to the finished book!

A fluent presentation and interesting information on her process of writing. Will read one of her books now. It would have helped if the interviewer had also been standing as he was difficult to hear and see.

An interesting conversation between friends. The venue was rather crowded and it was difficult to hear everything. The tone was intimate and warm – a smaller venue might have been better – or the chairs arranged in a semi-circle? Glad I came.

Really enjoyed Alison talking about her own writing in relation to both her novels and on a wider scale. She teaches me creative writing at the Heart centre, so it’s nice to hear her discuss her own work great nibbles and wine! - added bonus!!

Good balance between interview, reading and QandA. The reading really whet our appetite. Lovely to see a full room too.

Brilliant! The questions and answers weren’t too cliché and offered insight. Relaxed atmosphere. Cheers!

Very interesting ‘Q and A’, especially being able to ask Alison our own questions. Also a good reading.

Very interesting event well presented by both Alison and James. Venue excellent, a really enjoyable evening.

Very pleasant and well-arranged event – most interesting to hear an author read her own work. Thank you.

Very interesting talk and I learnt a lot about the writing process.

Really interesting, lovely to hear part of Alison’s new book.

Enjoyable evening; could hear every word. Authoress well inteviewed by Nashie. Poor visibility back in the 1/9s.

Found it very interesting as to what impels Alison to write.

Enyoyed hearing about the creative process and a book reading. (Not to mention the wine!)

Committed to her work. Enthusiastic.

Very good and funny author. Very good interview by James Nash as well.

Fascinating evening. I need to read the book now.

Enlightening, interesting and entertaining.

A great evening. Thought provoking and entertaining.

Really enjoyed the evening, very interesting to listen to.

Interesting and informative event. Well organised.

Very inspiring and enjoyed.

Great, Ali was great, really good talk.

Very interesting and entertaining. Thank you.

A very enjoyable event.

Brudenell Poetry Assembly

The battered trumpet                                       Photo: Kevin Hickson

Sheila Chapman writes:

Don’t ever throw away battered and broken things. They might clutter up your house but they can also fire imaginations and inspire marvellous poetry. That’s what happened at Brudenell primary school today when Year 5 children set to work writing about an old trumpet (pictured).

They loved that trumpet, they thought about it, they used their senses and then they stood up in front of us - an audience of over sixty people - and read us poems about it. Brilliant!

Here are some snippets:

Left old in an antique, murky fire,

An iron letting out emotions like steam,

Volcano erupting,

Steamy slushing in a lions heart,

It looks like a plunger,

A rain cloud growing brighter,

Tastes like moondust,

Fallen from high in the lightening sky,

Metal birds singing,

Whisked from the air.

Lifeless trumpet,

Crushed and mushed,

The soul back for revenge,

Bringing armies and death,

It seems like judgement day.

Tasting copper,

If only it could do magic,

It could play whenever it wanted to.

Dragon shouting,

Tornado storm,

The broken trumpet.

A wrinkly old man,

Wheezing,

Treasured music

Crushed by a big foot.

Feels like emotions of a broken heart.

Shaped like an ice cream cone,

Sound of blowing noses,

Old and dusty like an old oil factory,

A broken car engine,

Demolished and dent,

Flowing lava flood,

The hidden secrets,

A cracked core,

A grumpy man,

A volcano erupting,

Burns people with his loud voice,

It smells like frozen oil,

Tastes like a metal nail cutter,

The dragon screaming,

Oily sniper rifle,

It feels like judgement day.

The trumpet looks like a telescope,

It smells like money,

She turned into a man,

With coin bones all over his body.

Metal, steel, shocking,

Patterns of roses of life.

It’s old and rare,

Like a tarnished rifle bullet,

Sounds of a trumpeting elephant.

Hard like a Lamborghini,

Tastes like metal chocolate,

Smells of garbage.

If it was a person,

It would be my granddad,

He doesn’t care how he looks,

He looks battered and old,

A rocket launcher,

About to launch in my eyes.

1. Comments from staff

Wonderful sessions. Children engaged throughout. Really enjoyed it :)) Yr. 5 form teacher

Really fired the imagination of many Yr5 pupils and helped produce some wonderful poetry. Yr. 5 classroom assistant

A wonderful programme of poetry studies that really opened up a creative site to many students Yr. 5 classroom assistant

Great to see the hard work the children had put in. James is clearly an inspiration! Thanks and see you next year. Teacher at Brudenell primary school

2. Selected comments from the children - in response to four questions: What has been the best thing about this project? What have you learnt? Why is it good to share your work with other children in school? What will you remember about this project?

What has been the best thing about this project?

The best thing about this project, for me, was when we wrote our first draft.

Writing the poems and giving ideas to people

Writing the poems.

Talking about the trumpet.

When you was showing us the things on your first day like the boxing gloves and that dance book.

Looking at the trumpet.

Getting some good ideas

The trumpet has been the best bit and the poems.

It is when we read our poems to the audience.

We got to write our poems using 5 senses.

When we were writing the poem

What have you learnt?

I have learnt to write a proper poem.

 I have learnt that you put the poem in ideas, and then you write the poem in bits.

I learned to make a poem.

That poems don’t have to rhyme

I have learnt how to describe in poems and know how to write and make poems.

How many lines are in one verse in a poem.

I have learned how to make an amazing poem.

To do the poems and do the story about the trumpet.

I have learnt new words and I think my imagination has grown.

 I have learnt to describe something.

I’ve learnt using 5 senses you can write something nice.

Lots of things about trumpet and reading

My best thing was when we wrote our poems you guys helped us.

Why is it good to share your work with other children in school?

Our confidence grows when stand in front of an audience.

Because it could give them ideas if they’re stuck.

It makes me proud.

To get ideas to people.

Because we can learn from each other and make it better.

It is good to share your work with other people in the school because everyone can see your fantastic ideas and your confidence will grow.

People might enjoy my poems.

It is good to share your work so that people can learn more.

Because they can take some information and write them in their books.

To have good feedback

To show how fun it is

It is good to share with other children so that they get to know what we are learning about.

So then you will not be scared and you will overcome your fear.

What will you remember about this project?

It is fun.

Five senses. The trumpet.

I will remember the trumpet. Whenever I see a trumpet I will remember your trumpet.

Looking at the trumpet

We got a little mystery with James Nash.

That you have taught me a lot of things about poems and trumpet

I will remember all the audience clapping and Rachel and Mr James Nash saying lovely comments about me.

I will remember everything I did with Nash.

I will remember I was the first one to touch the trumpet.

I would remember the poem that we wrote and the trumpet.

I will remember about the boxing gloves and I will remember about the people clapping.

Impossible Worlds - Adrian Tchaikovsky

Roberta Stabilini  writes:

"Picture of Adrian sitting in his Throne of Games" (photo by Sally Bavage)

Local author Adrian Tchaikovsky made his passion for fantasy and his willingness to innovate the fantasy genre very clear to his audience, taking us through his many talents and interests.  He explained how important it is to him to find new paths, new sources of inspiration, in order to stand out and make a contribution to the genre as a whole and avoid imitating classics.

To achieve this goal, for instance, Adrian practises sword fighting. Not only does he enjoy it, but it is also useful to him to describe the technicality of the moves in his books (“You see only a lot of shaky camera and quick cuttings when they fight in the movies” – I write realistically”).

Adrian also enjoys role-playing (“Sometimes you just need to go out there and be someone else”) and studying insects, which is clear to those who have read his ten-book series Shadows of the Apt.

Adrian also discussed how fantasy writers tend to develop circular plots, at the end of which the world goes back to how it was at the beginning.  Instead, he prefers linear plots, which are more typical of science fiction, in which the world undergoes a permanent change.  Perhaps for this reason, Adrian decided to write his first science fiction novel, Children of Time, coming out in June.  He also read an extract from his recently-published novel, Guns of the Dawn, to the delight of his fans.

For further information about the Shadows of the Apt series, or on Adrian’s other writing for magazines and anthologies, go to http://shadowsoftheapt.com/about-the-author

Follow Adrian on @aptshadow

  

Audience comments:

Amazing event! It was great to listen to the author himself! Usually, when people read, they picture the events in their mind according to their own imagination. This, of course, is great, but it is also fascinating to hear what the author actually meant in a certain passage, or why he decided to develop the story in a certain way.

The venue was perfect for this event, very cosy and welcoming. The time (6 o’clock) also suited me just fine.

The event was very interesting! It was lovely to chat with the author about his novels in such a nice little bookshop. I am a fan, so I would have loved some more time for Q&A, but oh well, next time! I reckon the event could be have been scheduled a couple of hours later maybe, to avoid rush hour.  Apart from that, I absolutely loved it!

I found out about this event from the flier on the bookshop’s window and thus decided to come in. I am glad I did, as the event was well-organised and it was very nice to talk to the author in person.

It was lovely of the Headingley Oxfam bookshop to host a LitFest event again - and great that Blackwell's were there too selling new copies of Adrian's books. How nice to see two booksellers collaborating to ensure that local customers could obtain new fiction whilst being able to check out the extensive secondhand  collections of not just sci-fi but other genres.  Where else but in Headingley!

The King's Psychic - Sean Stowell

Doug Sandle writes:

Sean Stowell    Photo: Sally Bavage

In the late 1930s a taxi is summoned in the middle of the night, the driver screens off the back seats with a curtain, as instructed to do so on such occasions when he his required to meet a docked cargo ship at the harbour of Douglas Isle of Man. A mysterious hooded figure is escorted from the ship into the taxi that speeds away to the North of the island to a mansion hidden away in a wood, close to a military airport.  There lived Dr Alexander Cannon,  a Leeds graduate in medicine, a self-proclaimed mystic, an alternative therapy guru with a cult international following whose practices included  electrotherapy, hypnotism and a belief and ‘practice’ in telepathy. Cannon attracts many clients from the Mainland who are attracted by his charisma and have a belief in his bizarre treatment regime. Cannon’s clients and followers include many from the top echelons of the British military, government and high society. There is every chance that the secret visitor is a very high ranking individual – even, (as the taxi driver’s son believed and later revealed) to be a very senior member of the then cabinet - or even King Edward VII himself.

Into this scenario add the presence of two sisters from Sunderland who had  been trained and given new names and identities by Cannon and who may have  been involved in duties of a more sensual and erotic nature, - a plot by the Archbishop of Westminster and the Church of England to oust Kind Edward and bring about his abdication,  that  Cannon’s dinner table and client  networks  included Blackshirts, fascist sympathisers and Nazi supporters and friendships with Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler’s special envoy and later foreign minister, and with an influential  banker to royalty and a Nazi sympathiser, George Drummond - further add a ‘special’  relationship between one of Cannon’s assistants and one of his clients, Sir Geoffrey Congreve, a naval commander who founded the Special Service Squadron, also  a mystery secret programme to use telepathy  to locate enemy submarines,  plus a sprinkling of Winston Churchill and conflicting views about Cannon in MI5 and you have all the makings of a fantasy spy thriller. However this was a real life story, the subject of a book, which was most ably presented by local BBC TV journalist Sean Stowell, author of The King’s Psychic.

Dr Alexander Cannon

Sean outlined the life of Cannon and the intrigues and mysteries surrounding him, which were received with interest and fascination by an engaged audience. Sean included in his presentation recorded extracts from his book, some read by his BBC TV colleague, Harry Gration. There were plenty of questions and speculations from a good audience in the friendly and relaxed atmosphere of the after-hours Headingley Library. The overwhelming conclusion was that this was a film waiting to be made – and perhaps one day one to rival The Kings Speech - whose subject was also apparently, on at least one occasion, a client of Cannon’s.

Cannon and some of his associates eventually fell from grace and in his final years he lived in Douglas in a large town house where he kept the curios he had collected in his heyday as an international guru. He still wore a cloak and attempted to continue his persona as a mysterious practitioner of mystic and magical arts. However he became a parody of himself and attempted to pedal his persona as an act on stage, only to be received as a somewhat pompous figure of fun. 

In my own childhood during the 50s on the Isle of Man, I once visited his Douglas residence to be entertained by his supposed magic as part of a school visit (his house was very close to my secondary school). This visit was as a member of the school rugby team that had won some competition or other and we had been invited into his house to also watch an inter-varsity match on TV –as not many had televisions at that time. I remember going into a darkened room that was artificially lit and that was capped by a black ceiling scattered with silver stars. The room was packed with curios – stuffed alligators, swords and weapons and strangely carved cabinets. However his later persona was more Harry Worth than a mixture of James Bond and Gandalf. Perhaps such was merely to disguise and obfuscate his past as a German spy, as he was suspected of being such by both the local police of the time and some of MI5 – or maybe, just maybe, as an English spy involved in an extravagant complex life as a double agent – as there are tantalising hints in Sean’s book that sometimes Cannon was also being protected by some other influential person or source?

Audience comments:

The library staff were very pleasant and had plenty of chairs and a display of connected books. The talk was enjoyable, plenty of questions, some sales. (But I am Sean's mother ...!!)

Really enjoyed hearing about the book and thought the recorded readings were a really nice touch and did well to break up the talk. Was interesting to hear people’s questions and reflections at the end.

Fascinating event with a personal interest for me. Carrying on the fine versatility of this festival. One small criticism – can you find some sporting interest, particularly cricket of which there are numerous books?

Excellent; interactive speaker, historic topic.

Very interesting indeed. Can’t wait to see the film.

A really fascinating story – adds to the intrigue around Edward VIII’s abdication.

Very interesting, fascinating sounding book which I will now read.

Interesting and thought provoking.

Very interesting – a subject I know nothing about but do now!

Interesting but a complex and confusing story.

Excellent.