Lemn Sissay
Lemn Sissay (born 21st may 1967) is a British and Ethiopian poet, playwright, memoirist and broadcaster. Lemn Sissay (born 21st may 1967) is a poet, memoirist playwright curator and broadcaster. He was born in Billinge Hospital in Wigan. He has been a writer by profession since he was 20 years old. He is a number one Sunday Times best selling author He was offered The Freedom of The City of London. His adaptation of Benjamin Zephaniah’s Refugee boy is a choice text on the National Curriculum.
He was chancellor of University of Manchester from 2015 to 2022 and official poet of the london olympics 2012.
Lemn was awarded the Pen Pinter Prize in 2022 and the Hay Medal for poetry in 2024. His television documentaries have been nominated for Grierson BAFTA and RTS awards. His work in radio has been nominated for Sony and Palm D’Ors. He has performed on stages throughout the world from The Library of Congress in The United States to the National Theatre of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, from The Opera House in Dubai to The London Paladium. His landmark poems in public spaces have been permanently placed on walls throughout the world.
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Overview.There is only one person in the world with the name Lemn Sissay
Early Life
He was stolen from his mother at birth by a social worker named Norman Goldthorpe who, unable to convince her to sign the adoption papers, gave him to foster parents and said ‘treat it as an adoption’. When he was 12 years of age the foster family put him into a children’s home and said they would never visit. They never did. He lost everything and everyone he had ever known. From then until 18 he was moved through four different institutions and into one apartment. One of the institutions was a virtual prison for children. At 18 he was and left in an apartment with no recourse to his past. He was the only witness to the full impact of what happened. Lemn Sissay entered adulthood bewildered. For the first 16 years of life he thought his name was Norman Mark Greenwood. Norman was the name given to him by the social worker, Mark was the name the foster parents wanted to call him and Greenwood was their las name. The social worker named him Norman after himself. The name on his birth certificate was always Lemn Sissay. Lemn means ‘why’ in the ancient Ethiopic language of Amharic. It is a prophetic unusual name. He found out the meaning when he was 29 long after establishing himself as a poet. His second name Sissay is his mother’s second name. Her surname was given to him because he was born in England. In England the second name (or surname) is the father’s and if there is no father present the child takes the second name of the mother. In this case “Sissay”. Had he been born in Ethiopia he would have taken his fathers first name as his second name. Ethiopia has a patronymic naming system similar to Russia. It was his mother’s wish that his surname was Giday as documented in her letter published in his memoir in which she says to “Noman Goldthorpe” the social worker on June 5th 1968 “I want his second name to be Giday not Sissay” Currently there is only one person in the world named Lemn Sissay. [1].
Career
Career highlights, key projects, and milestones.
Books
His first book ‘perceptions of the pen’ was printed at a local printers in the village of Atherton circa 1985. He was 18. His first externally published book of poetry was published in 1988 by Bogle L’Ouverture Publications when he as 21 years of age and featured in a major Guardian article written by Kate Muir. With a brief stint at Bloodaxe books he moved to Canongate Books and is presently the writer who has been with them for the longest. Throughout his career he has been published all the major presses. His memoir My Name is Why is a number one Sunday Times best seller. His book of poetry Let The Light Pour In is a top ten Sunday Times Best Seller. He co-edited ‘Hold Still’, a book of portraits spearheaded by The princess of Wales which was also a Sunday Times best Seller.
Awards
- Lemn received an MBE from the queen at Buckingham Palace in 2010 and an OBE from the king at Windsor Castle in 2021. He was awarded the Pen Pinter Prize in 2022 and the Hay Medal for poetry in 2024. He is a fellow of the royal society of literature. In 2023 he was offered Freedom of The City of London. He has honorary doctorates from LIST HERE
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Art
Exhibitions, mediums, themes, collaborations.
Music
Discuss musical works, performances, recordings, and collaborations.
Landmark Poetics
Outline the concept and practice of “Landmark Poetics,” its development, and influence.
Theatre
Plays, tours, venues, companies.
Television
Appearances, presenting, documentaries.
Radio
Broadcasts, series, specials.
References
- Reference 1 title, publisher (year).
- Reference 2 title, publisher (year).