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Brand New Ancients
Brand New Ancients | Kate Tempest
9 posts | 15 read | 18 to read
Yes, the gods are on the park bench, the gods are on the bus, / The gods are all here, the gods are in us. / The gods are timeless, fearless, fighting to be bold, / conviction is a heavy hand to hold, / grip it, winged sandals tearing up the pavement -- / you, me, everyone: Brand New Ancients. Kate Tempest's words in Brand New Ancients are written to be read aloud; the book combines poem, rap, and humanist sermon, by turns tender and fierce. Set in Southeast London, Brand New Ancients finds the mythic in the mundane. It is the story of two half-brothers, Thomas and Clive, unknown to each other -- Thomas the result of an affair between his mother and Clive's father. Tempest, with wide-ranging empathy, takes us inside the passionless marriage of Jane and Kevin -- the man who suspects Thomas is not his son, but loves him just the same -- and the neighboring home of Mary and Brian, where betrayal has not been so placidly accepted. The sons of these two households -- quiet, creative Thomas and angry, destructive Clive -- will cross paths in adolescence, their fates converging with mortal fury. These characters' loves, their infidelities, their disappointments and their small comforts -- these, Tempest argues, are timeless. Our lives and our choices are no less important than those of history and myth. Awarded the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry, Brand New Ancients insists on our importance as individuals -- and asserts Kate Tempest's importance as a talent impossible to ignore.
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vbeav
Brand New Ancients | Kate Tempest
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Mehso-so

A bit of background: I am not a fan of poetry. I‘m terrible at it - whether it be deconstructing, analysing, or composing. I read it because of the mythological aspect.

This was meant to be said out loud (as advised), and while the rhythm and pacing are evident in some parts, I could never get the vigour and emotion on how it was supposed to be spoken. Thus a disconnection between the piece and its audience. The diction of the poem was good.

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14 likes5 comments
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Marchpane
Brand New Ancients | Kate Tempest
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rockpools 💗 8y
vivjm I love Kate Tempest! 8y
86 likes2 comments
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outis
Brand New Ancients | Kate Tempest
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This one's at its best when read aloud. #poetry #seasonsreadings2016

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Marchpane
Brand New Ancients | Kate Tempest
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#photoadaynov16 #orangecovers

I couldn't capture just how neon-bright this cover is ☹️ Trust me it is retina searing in real life 💥

RealLifeReading "Retina-searing" ?? 8y
90 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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CaptainMatt
Brand New Ancients | Kate Tempest
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There's always been heroes
and there's always been villains
and the stakes may have changed
but really there's no difference.
There's always been greed and heartbreak and ambition
and bravery and love and trespass and contrition -
we're the same beings that began, still living
in all of our fury and foulness and friction,
everyday odysseys, dreams and decisions...
The stories are there if you listen.

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Lylah
Brand New Ancients | Kate Tempest
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I read smaller books and kind of squeezed them in where I could, didn't really have time to be conscious of what I was reading so let myself down for the POC count again. Favorite was As I Darken for sure.

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Chessa
Brand New Ancients | Kate Tempest
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Holy flurking snit. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Laalaleighh That good? 8y
Chessa @Laalaleighh I read almost no poetry, so maybe this is a sign that I should read more? But I loooooved it! It's kind of like a novella-poem hybrid, which I wasn't expecting. She weaves a bunch of threads together at the end that felt pretty amazing. I also just loved the rhythm of this poem - I could really feel it. 8y
Laalaleighh I'm ordering this. It sounds fantastic. 8y
45 likes7 stack adds3 comments
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brendanmleonard
Brand New Ancients | Kate Tempest
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Here's my Friday Fun for @Liberty ! I got to see Kate Tempest at Housing Works earlier this spring and wow, was it amazing! She's such a great poet - Brand New Ancients is a book everyone who likes modern myths should read. And I got to tell her how much her work has meant to me! It was wonderful.

25 likes2 stack adds