About the Author

Lemn Sissay is an award-winning writer and popular broadcaster as well as being the author of five poetry books. He was made an Honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of Huddersfield and the University of Manchester. He was awarded an MBE by the Queen for services to literature. He was the official poet for the London 2012 Olympics. He has worked throughout the world and is patron of the Letterbox Club, supporting children in care. His work in the Arctic has featured at the Royal Academy and in galleries throughout the world. His Landmark poems can be found in London, Manchester, Huddersfield and Addis Ababa. In 2015 he was appointed Chancellor of the University of Manchester. He is British and Ethiopian.

Reviews

Lemn Sissay is a passionate and powerful voice whose performances are humbling and exhilarating
*KAE TEMPEST*

Hugely enjoyable, inventive, funny and touching
* * Guardian * *

One of the most original, challenging poets writing in Britain today, and his extraordinary, heart-breaking, courageous life story is the stuff of legend . . . The collection showcases his breadth, his passion, his anger and his humanity . . . Full of light and hope . . . A prodigious talent
* * Daily Mail, Poetry of the Year * *

A tremendous selection of his poetry . . . His gift as a writer - of plays, poetry, documentaries - is for turning life's base metal into gold
* * Observer * *

This volume of selected and new poems traces [Sissay's] path from gifted adolescent to accomplished poetic voice, railing with passion and prowess against the "quiet violence of the day-to-day"
* * Financial Times * *

A collection of the poet's best-loved works . . . The performative element to his poetry is evident but no vibrancy or emotion is lost on paper, where his honesty, charm and humour prevail . . . Gold from the Stone maps Sissay's development as a poet and writer but also his many personal triumphs, even when the odds were stacked against him ****
* * The List * *

A literary institution
* * Big Issue * *

A lyrical genius
* * The Voice * *

His name is magic, his poems are songs on the street
* * Independent * *