The poet carving a place in a quieter world

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Raymond Antrobus is an award-winning poet and educator. He grew up in east London to an English mother and Jamaican father. When he was a child, he remembers thinking his mum had an amazing superpower – she could hear things that he couldn't. Raymond always felt like there was something he was missing out on. It wasn't until his deafness was diagnosed when he was 6 years old and he started to experience the world through hearing aids, that he realised there was a whole set of social codes and nuances he'd never been party to before. But even after he entered this new sound world, Raymond struggled to fit in to it and through his teens and early working life often tried to hide his deafness. Searching for purpose he found a release through music by Busta Rhymes and his dad's dub and reggae records. He started writing his own words and throughout his life, writing helped him to navigate difficult periods and to understand tricky relationships including with his father whom he was dedicated to, but was a man fighting his own demons. Raymond never thought of his words as poetry until one day they were labelled as such by someone he least expected. Today, his poems are on the exam syllabus for teenagers in the UK and he's written two children's books. Raymond Antrobus' recent memoir is called The Quiet Ear. If you’ve been affected by any of the issues raised in this episode, you can find support at befrienders.org Sara Faith Alterman was eight when she accidently discovered that her prudish dad was secretly a globally successful writer of adult books. Growing up, it was never discussed, but when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in his late 60s, he asked Sara to help him write again before it was too late. This interview was first broadcast in October 2020. Sara Faith Alterman’s memoir is called Lets Never Talk about this Again. Presenter: Mobeen Azhar Producer: Andrea Rangecroft Get in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp 44 330 678 2707 (Photo: Poet Raymond Antrobus stands in front of a tree wearing a white t-shirt and brown open shirt, with one hand wrapped around himself and the other hand holding his chin. Credit: Marco Giugliarelli for the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, 2025)