Lemn Sissay (writer)

Lemn Sissay OBE FRSL is a poet, memoirist playwright curator and broadcaster. He was born in Billinge Hospital in Wigan. This page lists his career in chronological and thematic order. His website links are under "website" in the right hand column.

Early life

Sissay was fostered by The Authority for the first 12 years after which he lived in four institutions for five years: Woodfields, Gregory Avenue, Oaklands and Wood End. His first apartment (at 18) was in Poets Corner in Atherton.^[1]

Personal life

Sissay met his mother in The Gambia when he was 21. He met his father's daughter in Ethiopia when he was 28. He met his father's sons and other daughter in Virginia and Washington DC when he was 29. He met his father's brothers and sisters in Boston, Seattle and San Francisco when he was 29. He met his mother's son and daughters in Paris Senegal and New York when he was 34. ^[2]

Fellowships

2023 Fellow of The Ethiopian Academy of Sciences
2023 Hon. Fellow of Mansfield College Oxford
2022 Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature
2021-23 Hon. Fellow of Jesus College Cambridge
2015-22 Chancellor University of Manchester
2014 – 15 Fellow of The Foundling Museum.

Hon. Doctorates

2023 Leicester University
2022 University of Essex
2018 University of Kent
2019 Brunel University
2015 University of Manchester
2009 University of Huddersfield

Trusteeship

2026 Factory International (present)
2016-26 The Gold from the Stone Foundation (present)
2020-26 The Foundling Museum

Career

1989-26 Writer
1987-89 Asian & Afro-Caribbean writers development worker
1986-7 Gutter cleaner.

Highlights

Sissay is a three times Sunday Times bestselling author. He was curator of the first Ethiopia Pavilion at The Venice Biennale in 2024. Sissay read with Paul McCartney at his book launch in 2001. Sissay was the official poet of the 2012 London Olympics. Sissay was chancellor of the University of Manchester from 2015 until 2022. Sissay featured on the multi-million selling album 'Leftism'. Sissay co-edited Hold Still spearheaded by HRH Princess of Wales.

Books

1985 Perception of the pen (out of print)
1988 Tender Fingers in A Clenched Fist (Bogle L'Ouverture Publications)
1992 Rebel Without Applause (Bloodaxe Books)
1998 The Fire People (editor – Canongate Books)
1999 Morning Breaks in The Elevator (Canongate Books)
2000 The Emperor's Watchmaker (Bloomsbury Books)
2000 Rebel Without Applause (Canongate Books)
2006 Something Dark (Oberon Books)
2008 Listener (Canongate)
2013 Refugee Boy (adapt. Bloomsbury)
2016 Gold From The Stone (Canongate)
2019 My Name is Why (Canongate)
2021 Hold Still (co-edited National Portrait Gallery)
2022 Don't Ask the Dragon (Canongate)
2023 Let the Light Pour In (Canongate)

Theatre

2023 Metamorphosis produced by Frantic Assembly
2017 The Report produced by Royal Court Theatre
2013 Refugee Boy produced by West Yorkshire Playhouse
2009 Why I don't hate White People produced by Contact Theatre
2004 Something Dark produced by Battersea Arts Centre and Contact Theatre
2002 Storm produced by Contact Theatre Manchester
1993 Skeletons in the Cupboard produced by Bury Metro Arts
1994 Chaos by Design produced by Community Arts Workshop Manchester

Education

Sissay attended RL Hughes Infant School and RL Hughes Junior School. He attended Birchall Secondary and Leigh C of E High School in Leigh.

Music

Sissay was a member of the little known Manchester band Secret Society in the late 1980s and early 1990s performing everywhere from The Hacienda in Manchester to The Jazz Café in London. In 1994 in Germany Lemn Sissay featured on the album Disjam Phuturing Lemn Sissay on Yo Momma Records in Hamburg Germany. In 1995 Lemn featured on the multi award winning Leftfield album Leftism. In 2017 Sissay's poem 'Spark Catchers' was the inspiration behind an eponymous concerto by Chineke at The BBC Proms written by Hannah Kendall. It was the most viewed YouTube concert in the history of BBC Proms. In 2021 his poems were part of a Carnival performed at the BBC Proms with Michael Morpurgo and The Kanneh Mason family in The Royal Albert Hall. In 2005 Fraser Trainer wrote a concerto inspired by Lemn Sissay's poem Advice for the living and performed it at The BBC Proms including violin by Viktoria Mullova. In 2017 Baaba Maal featured Lemn and two poems on the album Traveller. In 2022 Lemn's poem Making a Difference featured on the Leftfield album It's What We Do.

Public Art

Sissay's landmark poems are in sculptures and on walls public spaces. Here are a few.

Curator

2026 Tell Me Something About Family Online World project.
2023 The first Ethiopia Pavilion at the Venice Biennale
2022 Superheroes orphans and origins 125 years in comics at The Foundling museum
2020/22 Guest curator of the Brighton festival
2020 – 24 Artistic advisor for Manchester International Festival
2020 Co-curator with Hans Ulrich Obrist - Poet Slash Artist
2017 Warrior Words with Joel Taylor in Canterbury
2013 Salander at The Roundhouse.

Performance

Since Sissay's first public reading was in 1984 at The Abasindi Black Women's cooperative in Manchester supporting "African Dawn". Sissay has performed his work live on stage throughout the world, from The Library of Congress in The USA to the National Theatre of Ethiopia. Here is a list of some of countries he has performed in:

America, Australia, Bali, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, China, Denmark, Dubai, Ethiopia, Eritrea, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Holland, India, Italy, Kenya, Malaysia, Malta, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, UK and Zimbabwe.

Screen

There are various documentaries about Lemn Sissay's life, nominated for Grierson, BAFTA, Broadcast and RTS awards. He made a few too. Here are some:
2023 The Memory of Me BBC 1
2024 My life at Christmas BBC 2
2018 Superkids Channel 4
1995 Internal Flight BBC2

Sound

Lemn Sissay has made and featured on various broadcasts His work in radio has been nominated for Sony and Palm d'Or awards.

2003 An English Journey BBC Radio 4 (30 min x 3)
2011 One Love Bob Marley BBC World Service
2012 Great Lives BBC Radio 4
2013 The Last Poets BBC Radio 4 (BBC Radio 4)
2015 Landmark Poetics BBC Radio 4
2015 Lemn Sissay's Homecoming BBC Radio 4 (series)
2015 Lemn Sissay in five Dishes (2022.) BBC world service,
2015 Desert Island Discs
2015 Deliverance, BBC Radio 3
2016 My Muse Bob Marley (BBC Radio 4)
2016-26 Origin Stories Superheroes BBC Radio 4 (series)
2019-26 Pieces of a man Gil Scott heron BBC Radio 4 (30 min)

Awards

2010 MBE from the queen at Buckingham Palace
2021 Winner Indie Book Awards Non Fiction 2021 OBE from the king at Windsor Castle
2022 Pen Pinter prize
2022 Ness Award The Royal Geographical Society
2023 Freedom of The City of London
2024 The Hay Medal for poetry

Residencies

2018 Canterbury poet Laureate
2012 Official poet of the London Olympics 2012.
2006 – 12 Artist in residence at Southbank Centre
1996 – 2002 Contact Theatre Manchester
.

Judge

Sissay has served on juries for The Booker Prize, The International Booker Prize, The Forward Poetry Prize, The Arvon Poetry Prize, The Ted Hughes Prize, The Sky Arts Poetry Award, The Foyles young poets prize, The Bridport Prize, The Charles Causley Prize and many more.
.

Activism

Inspired by The Tope Christmas Dinner of 2012 Lemn set up The Christmas Dinners in Manchester in 2013. The idea is simple: to provide a Christmas Dinner on Christmas Day for Care leavers between the ages of 18-25. The Christmas Dinners have become a social movement, with groups of passionate volunteers organising more than 170 dinners in over 30 towns and cities nationwide for care leavers. Lemn set up The Gold from the Stone Foundation which is a charity providing seed funding and support to the charities, not for profit organisations, and community groups who enable The Christmas Dinners to happen. The Gold from the Stone Foundation helps coordinate the national initiative, acting as a central point of mentoring and support.

Other forms of activism In 1984 Lemn joined two activist organisations: The National Association of Young People in Care and Black and in Care. In 2021 he brought together a group of adults for what The Guardian called a historic photograph. All the adults had been in care. In 2015 he took The Authority, Wigan Council, to court for stealing his birth family, imprisoning him as a child and placing him with ruinous foster parents. In 2018 he settled out of court for £100,000.

References