What does love sound like? Which phrases transport us home? What are the sounds that matter to you? From a chorus of seals recorded under arctic ice to speeches that have saved lives, settle in to explore the depths of the British Library sound collection, with author and poet Lemn Sissay and some very special wordsmiths. Together they will discover how language, voice and sound has shaped us, our world and our identities. Press play on a world of sound.
Unlocking Our Sound Heritage is a UK-wide project, made possible by the National Heritage Lottery Fund, that will help save the nation’s sounds and open them up to everyone.
A Pixiu production.
All content for All About Sound is the property of The British Library and is served directly from their servers
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What does love sound like? Which phrases transport us home? What are the sounds that matter to you? From a chorus of seals recorded under arctic ice to speeches that have saved lives, settle in to explore the depths of the British Library sound collection, with author and poet Lemn Sissay and some very special wordsmiths. Together they will discover how language, voice and sound has shaped us, our world and our identities. Press play on a world of sound.
Unlocking Our Sound Heritage is a UK-wide project, made possible by the National Heritage Lottery Fund, that will help save the nation’s sounds and open them up to everyone.
A Pixiu production.
Why is poetry such a powerful lens for exploring truth? From personal truths to shedding light on topics society would rather overlook, performed poetry in particular, has a special ability to communicate experiences and emotions in incredible shorthand. In this episode Lemn Sissay is joined by award-winning writer and performer Vanessa Kisuule to explore this potency. Together they listen to interviews and poetry readings from the British Library Sound Archive, featuring Indigo Williams, Anthony Joseph and David J – as well as discussing parallels in Vanessa’s own work.
Vanessa Kisuule’s poem Hollow went viral in the days after a statue of slave-trader Edward Colston was toppled into Bristol Harbour by protesters in 2020. At the time she was Poet Laureate of Bristol (2018-2020) and has also been the official poet for Glastonbury festival. She has published two collections and won more than ten poetry slam titles.
Recordings in the episode in order of appearance:
Vanessa Kisuule performing her poem 'Hollow' as originally released on Twitter.
Link: https://twitter.com/Vanessa_Kisuule/status/1270011146544783361
Indigo Williams on the importance of poetry as a tool to process emotions and stay 'mentally healthy' – with excerpts from her poem 'The Organist', recorded in 2014 by Hannah Silva in the British Library recording studio.
British Library shelfmark: C1874/3
Lemn Sissay in performance at the National Poetry Centre, London in 1990 and digitised as part of the Unlocking our Sound Heritage (UOSH) project.
British Library shelfmark: C15/440
Anthony Joseph on the act of reading a poem out loud in order to access 'the collective language' as part of the writing process – with excerpts from his poem 'The Art of Ageing', recorded in 2014 by Hannah Silva in the British Library recording studio.
British Library shelfmark: C1874/1
David J, Vocal Pugilist, demonstrating and explaining the origins of his unique sound poetry style, recorded in 2016 by Hannah Silva in the British Library recording studio.
British Library shelfmark: C1874/15
James Berry performing 'New Reading, Like Rebellion' recorded at the 1983 Angels of Fire Poetry Festival at the Cockpit Theatre in Marylebone, London.
British Library shelfmark: C104/6
You can now listen to original recordings from this series, and thousands more, at http://sounds.bl.uk
All About Sound
What does love sound like? Which phrases transport us home? What are the sounds that matter to you? From a chorus of seals recorded under arctic ice to speeches that have saved lives, settle in to explore the depths of the British Library sound collection, with author and poet Lemn Sissay and some very special wordsmiths. Together they will discover how language, voice and sound has shaped us, our world and our identities. Press play on a world of sound.
Unlocking Our Sound Heritage is a UK-wide project, made possible by the National Heritage Lottery Fund, that will help save the nation’s sounds and open them up to everyone.
A Pixiu production.
