Ted Hughes Shortlist: herkne and rede

I’m delighted to be shortlisted for the 2014 Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry. Like Chaucer’s original, Telling Tales was primarily a book written to be read, but also listened to and viewed live. Last year’s tour comprised mostly solo readings but on May 21 at the Albany in Deptford (on the original London-Canterbury route), Apples and Snakes and Renaissance One hosted a staged slam featuring several poems from the book. Here’s a preview:

I hope these short extracts make you want to hear more from that very enjoyable evening, which also included unique performances from Pete the Temp, Dfiza Benson, Shane Solanki and The Speech Painter. Watch this space for the full video.

Re:mixing the Remix – Prioress’s Tale

When I remixed the Prioress’s Tale as a rap (Sharps an Flats) in the voice of a 21-year old Black man from Southeast London, I hoped the lyrics would inspire someone to reinvent it, make it their own.

And it’s happened: Cynthia Turner Camp at UGA English Department (in Athens!!) introduced Telling Tales to her students. The talented King Atakpa has remixed my remix. Like the original, not for the fainthearted. I cried when I watched it, because it gets to heart of the piece in a totally different style to my own performance, because it creates beauty out of pain, as all art should.

Happy Publication Day!

The Litel Boke

Today is the official publication day for Telling Tales. Hooray!

The photo was taken by the wonderfully talented Lyndon Douglas at The George Inn, Southwark. It’s the previous version of the cover but I think it looks rather good if I say so myself. Credit must go to the Canongate inhouse designer, Peter Adlington.

Below is the link for the first of a sequence of films to celebrate the creation of the book. As you will see, the camera chose to freeze on a particularly poetic grimace. The featured poem, Sharps an Flats, isn’t mentioned in this film but it gives you a flavour of one of the many voices in the book.

http://www.canongate.tv/discover/patience-agbabi-introduces-telling-tales/

Whan that Aprill…

To celebrate #Whanthataprilleday I don my medieval hoodie and read the opening of the Book of the Tales of Caunterbury. The birds are singing in the trees, the blossom is out and my hay fever is raging. But I am happy to lose myself in the mellifluous Middle English, to pay homage to my favourite poet, Chaucer, who inspired Telling Tales. Happy Whanthataprilleday everyone!