10 years ago in Leeds, I met Lemn Sissay, but I didn’t know much about him at the time.
I knew lots about Benjamin Zephaniah, who he was with. I’d taught Zephaniah’s books and had read a lot about him.
So when Jon got a Yorkshire Post work assignment to interview Zephaniah and Sissay at the West Yorkshire Playhouse ahead of the debut of Sissay’s stage adaptation of Zephaniah’s novel ‘Refugee Boy’, I tagged along, excited to see the pair behind what promised to be an excellent production.
I’m glad I did. It was a great interview and they didn’t seem to mind me being there, which was lovely of them.
Since then, I’ve looked out for the work of Lemn Sissay. I’ve read a lot of his poetry. I make a point of reading features about him in the arts pages of the broadsheets. I listened to his Desert Island Discs.
And now I’ve read this — his book about growing up in the care system in and around Wigan.
Aristotle apparently said: ‘Give me the child until he is seven and I will show you the man.’
Sissay was a clever child. He wanted things to make sense. He wanted things to be fair. But the system he was in lacked transparency and it lacked accountability. He was fighting an uphill battle. But, despite things getting to him in his teens, he kept his philosophical outlook intact and it’s seen him through.
The audiobook is excellent. It’s narrated by Lemn Sissay, Richard Burnip and Zoe Mills. The additional voices narrate the official reports, statements, and testimonials that chart the key points of change throughout Sissay’s unsettled childhood. These voices are a stark reminder that the child was often spoken about, not necessarily to. Sissay provides reflections on how he actually felt, often contrary to what the official accounts documented, as he was shifted from pillar to post.
This isn’t a misery memoir like those that would top bestsellers lists in the early 2000s. Sure, some of it isn’t comfortable. But there is always hope in the form of Sissay’s character. His demands were never unreasonable. All he wanted was to be treated with humanity.
It’s not a book I’m going to forget any time soon.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This article contains affiliate links.
CherryEdits 