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Rebel Without Applause
Lemn Sissay's poems are laid into the streets of downtown Manchester, feature on the side of a public house in the same city and have been emblazoned on a central London bus route. He has been published in press as diverse as the the Times Literary Supplement and the Independent to The Face and Dazed & Confused.
He has been commissioned to write poetry, documentaries and plays for Radio 1 and Radio 4. He has been involved in television in the roles of writing, performing and presenting. He is published in over sixty books and featured on the Leftfield album Leftism, which has sold over five million copies worldwide.
Rebel Without Applause is the collection that started everything for Lemn Sissay.
He has been commissioned to write poetry, documentaries and plays for Radio 1 and Radio 4. He has been involved in television in the roles of writing, performing and presenting. He is published in over sixty books and featured on the Leftfield album Leftism, which has sold over five million copies worldwide.
Rebel Without Applause is the collection that started everything for Lemn Sissay.
- GenresPoetry
80 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 1993
9 people are currently reading
140 people want to read
About the author
Lemn Sissay
43 books325 followersLemn Sissay OBE (born 21 May 1967), is a British author and broadcaster.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 9, 2012
An interesting collection of poems by someone I like to consider as more of a street poet, and when this collection was first published in 1992 ahead of its time. Some accuse him of using rap as poetry but to me isn't that the point of poetry.
Poetry is about expressing what you feel and how you feel it - to me if all poets used the same formula to write poetry would be unresponsive to the world around them. This collection was written in the UK during the Prime Ministers reign of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, when the north may as well been a different country. It was even worse if you were young and black - your future was hopeless and this collection represents that.
Poetry is never about doing the same as everyone else and I like Lemn Sissy and Rebel Without Applause - or for the old died in the wool poetry lovers Rebel without a stanza - and good for him!
Poetry is about expressing what you feel and how you feel it - to me if all poets used the same formula to write poetry would be unresponsive to the world around them. This collection was written in the UK during the Prime Ministers reign of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, when the north may as well been a different country. It was even worse if you were young and black - your future was hopeless and this collection represents that.
Poetry is never about doing the same as everyone else and I like Lemn Sissy and Rebel Without Applause - or for the old died in the wool poetry lovers Rebel without a stanza - and good for him!
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February 26, 2011at worst this is adolesant rap mimicking crap, but at best, it transends structure and rhyme, turning the everyday into the poetic and the poetic into the everyday, Lemn chews up world history, and personal history, and weaves it into little states of social commentary, whit and invective, never more dense than they need to but just every so often too sparse, and repeated themes some times desend into repeated lines, probably great in public performance but not so great on the page, overall none the less fantastic and every diamond needs a little dirt to make gleam that brighter.
June 2, 2024
“Familiarise yourself with European thought.
Conquer was the word I heard that replaced genocide”
Ik vond de besproken thema’s heel goed. De schrijfstijl zelf was soms niet echt mijn ding, maar bepaalde gedichten of paragrafen waren echt mooi of pakkend.
Conquer was the word I heard that replaced genocide”
Ik vond de besproken thema’s heel goed. De schrijfstijl zelf was soms niet echt mijn ding, maar bepaalde gedichten of paragrafen waren echt mooi of pakkend.
April 27, 2018
Sissay describes himself (in 'Writer's Blockocks') as 'an oral poet' and the form of all his work reflects this.
Most of these 44 poems are political and angry, in a way that would certainly be mesmerising for the right audiences. His anger about racism and Britain's imperialist record is still topical today, at the height of Brexit and the exposure of the British govenment's shameful "hostile environment" policy directed allegedly at illegal immigrants, but really at arbitrary, vulnerable humans who are as likely as not to be perfectly legal and economically productive residents, often entitled to citizenship. His description, in 'Gunshot', of the exposure of working class residents in Manchester to gun crime and violence reveals a troubling world that the comfortable residents of better off suburbs simply never have to encounter. In 'I Hate You' he sets aside any concession to polite society.
Some poems are personal or whimsical and show a gentle, observational side to Sissay. 'Chidren and Company' in particular struck me with its observations on the way children see the world differently to adults:
"It's children who spot spiders
and dew-cobbled cobwebs
holes in bushes
and worms that are half dead.
It's children who spot puddles
pavement cracks and kerbs"
Sissay and Simic will live cheerfully as neighbours in my collection; their love of whimsical imagery and unexpected conjunctions is something they share.
Some clear references to his own childhood in foster care are very telling, such as 'Suitcases and Muddy Parks', including this stanza, referring to his childhood love for and writing of poetry:
Sometimes I go back to you
like a child through a muddy park,
adult achievements tucked under my arm,
I explain them with a childlike twinkle
thinking any mother would be proud ...
Yes he is quite right - they almost certainly were adult achievements for a child, something any decent parent would be proud to see, and this collection was an adult achievement for a young, political poet at the start of his public career.
Most of these 44 poems are political and angry, in a way that would certainly be mesmerising for the right audiences. His anger about racism and Britain's imperialist record is still topical today, at the height of Brexit and the exposure of the British govenment's shameful "hostile environment" policy directed allegedly at illegal immigrants, but really at arbitrary, vulnerable humans who are as likely as not to be perfectly legal and economically productive residents, often entitled to citizenship. His description, in 'Gunshot', of the exposure of working class residents in Manchester to gun crime and violence reveals a troubling world that the comfortable residents of better off suburbs simply never have to encounter. In 'I Hate You' he sets aside any concession to polite society.
Some poems are personal or whimsical and show a gentle, observational side to Sissay. 'Chidren and Company' in particular struck me with its observations on the way children see the world differently to adults:
"It's children who spot spiders
and dew-cobbled cobwebs
holes in bushes
and worms that are half dead.
It's children who spot puddles
pavement cracks and kerbs"
Sissay and Simic will live cheerfully as neighbours in my collection; their love of whimsical imagery and unexpected conjunctions is something they share.
Some clear references to his own childhood in foster care are very telling, such as 'Suitcases and Muddy Parks', including this stanza, referring to his childhood love for and writing of poetry:
Sometimes I go back to you
like a child through a muddy park,
adult achievements tucked under my arm,
I explain them with a childlike twinkle
thinking any mother would be proud ...
Yes he is quite right - they almost certainly were adult achievements for a child, something any decent parent would be proud to see, and this collection was an adult achievement for a young, political poet at the start of his public career.
April 29, 2019
Can't go wrong with a bit of lemn
May 17, 2018
I had this book for like 5 years. I was reading it to then sell it at a booksale...only I'm keeping this one! Lemn Sissay writes so well on very important topics (mostly about being black and societal treatment along with some unequal international relations).
I liked especially the first half of the book, then I guess I was overloaded and I didn't get what some of the poems were about (it happens often with poetry). I still enjoyed the poems though. He reminds me so much of Zack Hemsey who is a genius, underrated singer/songwriter/composer.
While the book was published in 1992 and in 2000, many of the poems unfortunately still apply today. especially the ones about racial crimes which have increased once again in the UK following Brexit.
The poems are mostly politically charged wake-up calls and commentary. Some are more personal. I'll be re-reading this book at some point and I'll look for more by Sissay. Great poet.
I liked especially the first half of the book, then I guess I was overloaded and I didn't get what some of the poems were about (it happens often with poetry). I still enjoyed the poems though. He reminds me so much of Zack Hemsey who is a genius, underrated singer/songwriter/composer.
While the book was published in 1992 and in 2000, many of the poems unfortunately still apply today. especially the ones about racial crimes which have increased once again in the UK following Brexit.
The poems are mostly politically charged wake-up calls and commentary. Some are more personal. I'll be re-reading this book at some point and I'll look for more by Sissay. Great poet.
January 11, 2022
A lot may say that he just mimicking and slandering and it’s political aggression in many of the pages in this book, this work that Lemn has written has rhythm it has a voice to it that many won’t be able to disregard but for those who say it’s just a angry man with a lot of political aggression why is it so hard to accept a point of view which may be more acute than yours ? anyway his expression within this works are canny and bold
June 13, 2022
This was Lemn's first published collection from 1992. Having read his autobiography I understood the message he wanted/needed to tell. Therefore I wasn't surprised that the forty-four poems predominantly carry that singular theme. However, there are different styles, rhythms and techniques used as he experimented and grew his talent. A lot I could not do justice to with my reading and would welcome hearing him recite them in his distinctive manner.
May 17, 2021
Some stand-out poems, but the power of Sissay is in performance rather than on the page.
October 23, 2018
This afternoon I read this poetry collection and did not feel proud to be British and white.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews