UK Alt Poet Lemn Sissay at York U
Presented by: York University Faculty of Fine Arts
"Life's not worth living if there's no one you would die for." - Lemn Sissay
Internationally acclaimed performance poet and playwright Lemn Sissay is the featured presenter at the Wendy Michener Memorial Lecture. He will share stories of his remarkable life and career path, and perform selections from his works.
Sissay’s compelling poems and plays are anchored in his experiences growing up as a child in the care of the state and the only black person in his village in Lancashire, England. At once deeply personal and profoundly universal, his works address social, cultural and political issues through both the heart and head, striking to the core of our common humanity.
Sissay will perform extracts from his one-man play Something Dark, about his search for his Ethiopian birth family, and several of his landmark poems, including “Invisible Kisses”, "Gold from the Stone” and “The Queen's Speech”. He will also present his powerful film What If?, a searing exploration of where ‘evolution’ has taken the human race, commissioned by the BBC for its Darwin Originals series marking the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species.
Sissay is the first commissioned poet for the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games. He is the author of five poetry collections, editor of The Fire People: A Collection of Contemporary Black British Poets, and creator/performer of more than two dozen radio documentaries for the BBC. He has performed his work on major stages and at festivals and schools worldwide.
“His name is magic, his poems are songs of the street” – The Independent
Free admission |
Runs: Oct 19, 2011
At: York U Tribute Communities Recital Hall, Accolade East Building, 4700 Keele St, Toronto
Playing: Wednesday
Times: 7pm
Cost: Free
Getting there:
www.yorku.ca/finearts/about/map.htm
For more information contact:
Amy Stewart
Phone:
416-650-8469
Email:
amy.stewartSPAMFILTER@yorku.ca
