Lemn Sissay delivering verse in the Yorkshire Dales
I’ve gained quite a lot of experience in performance poetry over the years. I’ve had bad gigs - forgetting lines, feeling ill, reading over people talking at badly run events. I’ve also had my triumphs - winning poetry slams, receiving compliments and even drinks from audience members, I’ve been booked for feature slots and had strangers telling me they remember poems they heard weeks or months ago. But there’s always more to learn, especially if you’re being taught by one of the UK’s foremost writers and performers Lemn Sissay.
Let There Be Voice! was a five-day residential course in performance poetry led by Lemn at the Garsdale Retreat. This fairly new centre in the Yorkshire Dales is based in a splendid Edwardian house walking distance from Garsdale Station and run by Hamish and Rebecca, a couple of former teachers who have thrown their heart and soul into their new venture. They have created a haven for writers where they can develop their craft under the guidance of top tutors and away from the bustle of everyday life. The groups are small. There were six on this course plus Hamish who joined most of the sessions. The homecooked food provided by Rebecca is delicious and plentiful and it’s a good thing there is so much countryside around where you can walk it off!
Let There Be Voice! was a five-day residential course in performance poetry led by Lemn at the Garsdale Retreat. This fairly new centre in the Yorkshire Dales is based in a splendid Edwardian house walking distance from Garsdale Station and run by Hamish and Rebecca, a couple of former teachers who have thrown their heart and soul into their new venture. They have created a haven for writers where they can develop their craft under the guidance of top tutors and away from the bustle of everyday life. The groups are small. There were six on this course plus Hamish who joined most of the sessions. The homecooked food provided by Rebecca is delicious and plentiful and it’s a good thing there is so much countryside around where you can walk it off!
The Garsdale Retreat - A haven for writers in the Yorkshire Dales
From the moment Lemn arrived it was clear this would be no ordinary poetry course. His energy, enthusiasm and creativity were infectious. Throughout the week he was our tutor, mentor, entertainer and friend. In our first session he directed us to write about our name. “Where does it come from? How do you feel about it? Did you ever want to be called something else? Do you have a nickname?” The directions became a performance as we began to write and he continued pacing the room. “What does your name mean? Which person made you feel special when they said your name? What stories are attached to your name?”
I found myself writing about the earliest memories of my name, the origins of my surname, the ways people misspell and mispronounce it. I wrote about how my first name David links me to past generations and the confusion caused by being known by my middle name. There was much more I could have written after the exercise finished and later in the week those notes grew into a poem I didn’t know I had in me.
I found myself writing about the earliest memories of my name, the origins of my surname, the ways people misspell and mispronounce it. I wrote about how my first name David links me to past generations and the confusion caused by being known by my middle name. There was much more I could have written after the exercise finished and later in the week those notes grew into a poem I didn’t know I had in me.
"My name is Patrick
The first word to make sense because it was me…"
That evening Lemn gave a reading. The Retreat has a good room for such events but he chose to go al fresco. We took chairs into the field across the road and as night fell he regaled us with poems, digressing into anecdotes, jokes and off the cuff observations. He made use of the space available running into the distance and bellowing poems back at us and coming in close to address us softly. He sometimes changed position two or three times in the same poem. Being present and in the moment is key to performing poetry he told us throughout the week and his well rehearsed poems combined with improvised wit and drama kept us captivated.
Lemn has performed at prestigious venues around the world but this must have been quite a unique performance and it was a privilege to be part of the exclusive audience. Highlights included perhaps his most famous poem Invisible Kisses and The Man on The Moon. As he performed the sun set behind us and the moon rose above the crest of the hill behind him. It was the most atmospheric reading I’ve attended even if part of the atmosphere was flying in my face and crawling in my hair. It was a relief to get inside and escape the cold and midges.
Lemn has performed at prestigious venues around the world but this must have been quite a unique performance and it was a privilege to be part of the exclusive audience. Highlights included perhaps his most famous poem Invisible Kisses and The Man on The Moon. As he performed the sun set behind us and the moon rose above the crest of the hill behind him. It was the most atmospheric reading I’ve attended even if part of the atmosphere was flying in my face and crawling in my hair. It was a relief to get inside and escape the cold and midges.
Lemn Sissay reading in a field near the Garsdale Retreat
The following day, Lemn got us all to explore the idea of taking poetry off the stage by getting us each to perform a couple of poems in a location of our choice. We were encouraged to look at our poems and consider where we might pause, where we might shout or whisper a line, where there was emotion. We then took it in turns to lead the group to our chosen locations and read our work. Poets read behind buildings, sat on the grass, leaning against trees. One woman led us upstairs, indicated that we should remove our shoes then led us into her room where we sat on the floor as she curled up on the bed and read a couple of dreamy, romantic pieces.
As the week progressed Lemn got us to write more and hone our performances. I wrote three new poems during the week and a fourth which hasn’t quite come to fruition but produced a lot of great material. In one session we wrote poems following the structure of Lemn’s poem Let There Be Peace. My poem Let There Be Fire unleashed raw emotion and spirit that my work doesn’t usually contain and was a great vehicle for pushing my performances to new heights.
As the week progressed Lemn got us to write more and hone our performances. I wrote three new poems during the week and a fourth which hasn’t quite come to fruition but produced a lot of great material. In one session we wrote poems following the structure of Lemn’s poem Let There Be Peace. My poem Let There Be Fire unleashed raw emotion and spirit that my work doesn’t usually contain and was a great vehicle for pushing my performances to new heights.
"Let there be fire
so flames leap from buildings to streets to cities across borders"
We practised performing individual lines of poems concentrating on giving a strong delivery and trying new ways to perform them whether that was how we spoke or how we moved or positioned ourselves on stage. It was useful to focus on giving my all to one line rather than trying to give powerful delivery to a whole poem. It was impressive to hear how the exercise transformed other members of the group who took on different postures, changed the tone of their voices and delivered lines with such impact that many felt like complete poems. The exercise provided a strong foundation for when we moved onto performing full poems later in the day. Lemn was as much of a pleasure to perform to as he was to watch. His face cracked open into a broad smile regularly when I was reading and he said he’d like to hear me do a full set.
We had the opportunity to hear another performance poet Ben Mellor, who showed great lyrical wit and vocal range. He has also explored different ways of performing through collaborating with musicians. He used a loop station on several poems to create loops of his vocals to accompany his readings.
After a couple of days of workshops and performances we were immersed in poetry drawing inspiration from Lemn and each other to enrich our writing and performances. The exercises Lemn set were quite simple yet they got me looking at my writing and the stage in a new way. One day we started by writing a prayer which didn’t have to be religious. I don’t know what inspired me to write a prayer for super heroes but I soon had pages full of notes and was buzzing from the thrill of writing something new and unexpected.
We had the opportunity to hear another performance poet Ben Mellor, who showed great lyrical wit and vocal range. He has also explored different ways of performing through collaborating with musicians. He used a loop station on several poems to create loops of his vocals to accompany his readings.
After a couple of days of workshops and performances we were immersed in poetry drawing inspiration from Lemn and each other to enrich our writing and performances. The exercises Lemn set were quite simple yet they got me looking at my writing and the stage in a new way. One day we started by writing a prayer which didn’t have to be religious. I don’t know what inspired me to write a prayer for super heroes but I soon had pages full of notes and was buzzing from the thrill of writing something new and unexpected.
"Be blessed this day whether you are Batman, Banana Man
or that guy on the telly who embeds playing cards in shop windows."
It is easy to start drifting from one open mic to the next reading new poems off the page or doing old poems the same old way. Just following the old rhythms and not really being present. One of the most powerful techniques Lemn shared was to pause before reading and look the audience in the eye. It helps focus, get the audience’s attention and give a confident and unique delivery of each poem. He also encouraged pausing during poems. I was doing this already but thinking about where to pause and really holding it made the pauses become silent words within the poems.
Lemn also offered advice on doing gigs. He stressed the importance of getting to know venues before you perform and being aware of the lighting, the microphone, where the audience is, finding out if there are any issues that might affect your performance and getting them fixed or working round them. He emphasised that it is always the poet’s responsibility to deliver a good performance even if the PA’s dodgy or the MC is in it for self-promotion.
Lemn also offered advice on doing gigs. He stressed the importance of getting to know venues before you perform and being aware of the lighting, the microphone, where the audience is, finding out if there are any issues that might affect your performance and getting them fixed or working round them. He emphasised that it is always the poet’s responsibility to deliver a good performance even if the PA’s dodgy or the MC is in it for self-promotion.
 Some of the food served during the week and an impromptu portrait of our tutor. |   |
Before long it was the last day. We submitted poems written during the week and Hamish produced booklets for us to take away. It was wonderful to read other participants’ work. I had heard a lot of it during the week and it was a treat to read it back and absorb it fully. One participant who was back for the second time wrote a poem about the retreat which captured the week perfectly.
Storm clouds as we prepare for our reading
There was a blood moon and total lunar eclipse set to occur on Friday night so we decided to combine it with the end of course reading. We drove uphill to find a good viewing spot and performance space. We pulled up at the side of the road but alas there was thick cloud overhead. As we searched in vain for a chink in the clouds a thunderstorm began rumbling in the distance. Light rain started to fall and lightning flashed across the valley. An owl swooped across fields and one by one we stepped forward and spoke to the wind, rain and our companions huddled by the roadside. It was a perfect setting to exploit everything we had learnt. We could choose where to stand and move around. It was intimate enough to whisper poems and so remote you could shout them from the hillside at full volume. It was a finale to the week beyond anything I could have imagined.
I left with new friends, new poems and a greater confidence and passion for performance which I look forward to bringing to the stage. The rare opportunity to work with a poet of Lemn Sissay’s calibre and the hospitality of the Garsdale Retreat was a dream experience for any writer.
www.thegarsdaleretreat.co.uk
www.lemnsissay.com
I left with new friends, new poems and a greater confidence and passion for performance which I look forward to bringing to the stage. The rare opportunity to work with a poet of Lemn Sissay’s calibre and the hospitality of the Garsdale Retreat was a dream experience for any writer.
www.thegarsdaleretreat.co.uk
www.lemnsissay.com
 Reading on a Yorkshire hillside. Picture by Sheryl McMahon |  Lemn Sissay possibly trying to part the clouds and reveal the lunar eclipse |
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