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Poetry-essays Videos

The Brand New Ancients (Kate Tempest)

Kate Tempest’s Brand New Ancients won the Ted Hughes Prize for innovation in poetry.

“Just as in her narrative, the ordinary is lifted into the extraordinary; score, writing, band and voice come together to create a package that never makes you question why you aren’t just reading or listening to this. That’s because Tempest, fierce and shy in the same moment, is such a genuinely galvanising presence and acutely responsive to her audience. It matters that we are there; it matters that these stories are told. It matters that we listen.” from the Guardian review by Lyn Gardner.

Part 1 is the performance piece I would like you to watch. (The other parts of the poem are less relevant to the course, and somewhat violent in nature.)

Also by Kate Tempest, check out Icarus