Main content

Poet and playwright: Lemn Sissay

How did Lemn Sissay find a remarkable poetic voice amongst dark and painful experiences? Stephen Sackur speaks to the renowned poet and playwright.

It is dangerous to generalise about the human impulse to create art, but it does often seem to be linked to the experience of dark and painful places Stephen Sackur speaks to Lemn Sissay - a renowned poet and playwright whose writing and performances lay bare his own intimate wounds. He was abandoned as a baby, rejected by his foster family and abused in public institutions of care. He has since been on a quest to understand his past and piece together his identity. Along the way how did he find a remarkable poetic voice?

Image: Lemn Sissay, Credit: BBC

Available now

23 minutes

Last on

Fri 21 Feb 202523:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Fri 24 Nov 201700:06GMT
  • Fri 24 Nov 201703:06GMT
  • Fri 24 Nov 201704:06GMT
  • Fri 24 Nov 201707:06GMT
  • Fri 24 Nov 201708:06GMT
  • Fri 24 Nov 201723:06GMT
  • Sat 25 Nov 201720:06GMT
  • Mon 28 May 201802:06GMT
  • Mon 28 May 201803:06GMT
  • Mon 28 May 201806:06GMT
  • Mon 28 May 201807:06GMT
  • Mon 28 May 201814:06GMT
  • Mon 28 May 201819:06GMT
  • Fri 4 Jan 201903:06GMT
  • Fri 4 Jan 201906:06GMT
  • Fri 4 Jan 201907:06GMT
  • Fri 4 Jan 201914:06GMT
  • Fri 4 Jan 201918:06GMT
  • Fri 4 Jan 201920:06GMT
  • Fri 4 Jan 201921:06GMT
  • Sun 6 Jan 201900:06GMT
  • Fri 21 Feb 202508:06GMT
  • Fri 21 Feb 202515:06GMT
  • Fri 21 Feb 202518:06GMT
  • Fri 21 Feb 202523:06GMT

Podcast