Poetry review – Hold Your Own by Kate Tempest

hold-your-own coverTaking the myth of the blind prophet Tiresias, Tempest sets out her own thoughts about identity, love, sexuality and growing up, and sets them alight.

Tempest is no newcomer to the UK’s poetry scene. A regular at London’s rap battles from the age of 16 (she’s now 28), her work has since expanded and shifted poetry-wards with performances at London lit night Bookslam, before taking Wasted, and then the award-winning spoken word performance Brand New Ancients on the road, and across the Atlantic. Oh, and this year her first album, Everybody Down, was nominated for a Mercury Prize. Kate’s goal, you might agree, is self-expression by any and every means possible.

She self-published her first poetry collection Everything Speaks In Its Own Way before coming to the attention of Picador, who have brought out her coming of age collection stapled to the tale of the gender-shifting prophet. Continue reading