Brand New Ancients
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. Tempest’s wholly unique blend of street poetry, rap and storytelling – combined with the spellbinding delivery of an open-air revivalist – has won them legions of followers all over the UK. Tempest's remarkable stage presence is wholly audible in this poem, a spoken story written to be told with live music.
Brand New Ancients is the tale of two families and their intertwining lives, set against the background of the city and braided with classical myth. Here, Tempest shows how the old myths still live on in our everyday acts of violence, bravery, sacrifice and love – and that our lives make tales no less dramatic and powerful than those of the old gods.
Kae Tempest grew up in South-East London, where Tempest still lives. Starting out as a rapper, they toured the spoken word circuit for a number of years, and now works as a poet and playwright. Their work includes Balance, their first album with her band Sound of Rum; Everything Speaks in its Own Way, a collection of poems with CD and DVD of live performance; GlassHouse, a forum theatre play for homeless theatre company Cardboard Citizens; and the plays Wasted and Hopelessly Devoted for Paines Plough.
Brand New Ancients won the Ted Hughes Prize for innovation in poetry, and is published by Picador.
Tempest continues to work on new poems, a novel, and music with producer Dan Carey.