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Brand New Ancients

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The poems tell a connected set of stories, intended somewhat as old myths recast as stories of regular, flawed modern people. Their books have been translated into eleven languages and published to critical acclaim around the world. I read this in a single sitting, and that final line was a complete gut punch - I had to let out an audible breath when I finished! Maybe a predictable storyline, but something that works in Tempest’s favour as it feels normal, the expected outcome for people like this.

Divinità antiche incontrano e si fondono con l'uomo e la donna comune, che sono le divinità contemporanee. I read this out loud in its entirety (sitting outside on the porch, lying on a bed, waiting for the potatoes to boil in the kitchen, sitting on the couch after dinner), and parts of the poem made me raise my voice and speed up, unintentionally. In short, this one doesn't really do a good job of living up to the whole Ancient/Modern mash-up because it really just uses the idea of the gods as a mask. People glass and get glassed, fuck and get fucked; there's no system to intervene, nor anything one can do save try to be "the kind of god a god can trust.It’s the kind of story that deserves to be read all in one go, preferably with tea, and lose yourself into the world of these characters whose lives intersect in ways that are recognisable to the reader. Kae Tempest is one of the most exciting and innovative performers to have emerged in spoken-word poetry in many years; their dramatic poem Brand New Ancients won the prestigious Ted Hughes Prize for innovation in poetry. Please read this poem, and read it out loud if you can; it will leave you broken and hopeful and shocked and empowered all at the same time. The story of Mary and Brian, Jane and Kevin, and their two sons is dramatic enough to carry the reader through the poem, but it is, in the end, a superficial one.

The scope is epic, but the drama has the sort of exquisite fragility that only comes from brilliant writing about the most ordinary of souls. Tommy and Clive, half-brothers who don’t know it remind me a little bit of the half-brother’s in my favourite play, Blood Brothers. Tempest uses rhythm, rhymes, different lyrical styles (including rap) and other stylistic devices to great effect.

The story within is not a bad one, the female character solves her own problem rather than getting saved. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

Kate Tempest is also skilled at evoking complete scenes from rather minimalist descriptions and at creating vivid imagery. Most impressive though is how it tells a story, draws you in and makes you forget that you are reading a poem.

Tempest’s work as a rapper is clear, and I think Brand New Ancients works best read aloud to really appreciate the work that has gone into crafting this poem. It is entirely possible that this issue is one I only noticed because I read the poem instead of listening to it being performed; I might not have paid so much attention to the narrative structure otherwise. The main story running through the poem, telling the story of a group of young people growing up in modern times, one the product of an affair, one unloved by his father, getting in trouble, their lives spiralling out of control and becoming more violent is brilliantly executed.

Honest, insightful, heart wrenching, fun, philosophical, angry, inspired, revolutionary, hopeful, ironic, and pragmatic all with an internal rhythm that you can't help but be pulled along into. She deftly weaves together two generations of modern families, telling stories of love, betrayal, anger and revenge with a minimum of verbiage. Kate Tempest’s Brand New Ancients pushes the idea of what poetry can be, telling a complete story through verse rather than serving as a collection of individual poems.I could have done without the first four pages ("The myths in this city have always said the same thing - /about how all we need is a place to belong", etc. Tempest’s remarkable stage presence is wholly audible in this poem, a spoken story written to be told with live music.

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