Brand New Ancients

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I could have done without the first four pages ("The myths in this city have always said the same thing - /about how all we need is a place to belong", etc.

It suggests that this outcome could be avoided – like characters from the Greek mythology she draws upon, we all have the ability to become a hero or to become wicked, but it’s up to us how we choose to use this power. Tommy and Clive, half-brothers who don’t know it remind me a little bit of the half-brother’s in my favourite play, Blood Brothers.

Kate Tempest is a very skilled poet with a knack for language, but I wasn't entirely sold on the 'plot' of this long poem and her juxtaposition of ancient heroes and modern-day Londoners. Kate Tempest connects this very familiar tale of love, disillusionment, violence, betrayal, and personal tragedy with the idea of everyday heroism, which she understands as analogous to ancient Greek myth. Fuck me, but I'd rather be watching "Downton": at least no-one pretends that that anti-socialist fantasy is contemporary. The main story running through the poem, telling the story of a group of young people growing up in modern times, one the product of an affair, one unloved by his father, getting in trouble, their lives spiralling out of control and becoming more violent is brilliantly executed. Kate Tempest is indeed a skilled wordsmith, and Brand New Ancients showcases the full range of her lyrical talent, stylistic repertoire, and linguistic creativity.

I really love the parallels between the storyline of the two generations and the one more abstract about the « gods of the every day». It’s the kind of story that deserves to be read all in one go, preferably with tea, and lose yourself into the world of these characters whose lives intersect in ways that are recognisable to the reader. We can recognise the events which lead to these outcomes, and this could give us the tools and the insight to change the narrative to make the best of what could be a bad situation.Leggerlo in inglese dà un valore aggiunto, permette di carpire tutta la musicalità del testo originale; bella la storia delle persone comuni come noi, che ricordano le antiche divinità. If you're up for a verse novel that's really good - a lot more demanding than this, but well worth it - try Anthony Burgess's "Byrne". And so what you get instead is this artificial geezery ecosystem that kind of people who read poetry can look into as a kind of class sublime: we can thrill a bit to these meaningless pub-n-thud lives before going back to Waitrose. This is just so much better than any piece of Art or performance I've experienced in a very long time, possibly ever. Kate Tempest is also skilled at evoking complete scenes from rather minimalist descriptions and at creating vivid imagery.