I have bought her play "Wasted" which is also brilliant and I'm waiting for the new album which I have already heard so much of on Radio 6. I've never, in some seriousness, felt the absence of international socialism, or failing that just some vision or abstraction or sense of possibility, more.

Most impressive though is how it tells a story, draws you in and makes you forget that you are reading a poem.Kae Tempest is one of the most exciting and innovative performers to have emerged in spoken-word poetry in many years; their dramatic poem Brand New Ancients won the prestigious Ted Hughes Prize for innovation in poetry. Tempest’s remarkable stage presence is wholly audible in this poem, a spoken story written to be told with live music.

Un poema che nasce per essere letto a voce alto e che fa della musicalità un elemento fondante e fondamentale del racconto. A modified version of this poem, with actors but also the poet performing an abridged/revised version of the poem, is available in an almost 12 minute film in YouTube. An ancient god’s name here, a examination of modern godhood there, but overall much of this analogy, and especially of Tempest’s ancient inspirations, remained unexplored. Kate Tempest is indeed a skilled wordsmith, and Brand New Ancients showcases the full range of her lyrical talent, stylistic repertoire, and linguistic creativity. Tempest ci racconta la vita, l'amore, la monotonia, la banalità e il male in una chiave inedita e irresistibile.The story within is not a bad one, the female character solves her own problem rather than getting saved. I really wanted to like this idea but couldn’t help being a bit disappointed in the end because I felt that the two sides of it – the ancient myths and the variations of modern-day heroism – were only loosely connected. 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. One note up front - while I am sure that the prose is powerful on the page alone, I listened to the audio production. Their books have been translated into eleven languages and published to critical acclaim around the world.

Un'umanità, quella di Tempest, primordiale e barbara che ha forti legami con l'arcaico e con l'antichità. Kate Tempest’s Brand New Ancients pushes the idea of what poetry can be, telling a complete story through verse rather than serving as a collection of individual poems.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. Tempest’s work as a rapper is clear, and I think Brand New Ancients works best read aloud to really appreciate the work that has gone into crafting this poem. I really like Greek Mythology and loved how Kate played around with it, finding examples of ancient God’s in everyday people.

It’s truly impressive how much story and characterization get packed into such a small number of pages. The blurb for Brand New Ancients praises Kate Tempest as one of the UK’s most innovative spoken word poets, and for once that praise seems both absolutely genuine and completely appropriate. Brand New Ancients is the tale of two families and their intertwining lives, set against the background of the city and braided with classical myth.Here, Tempest shows how the old myths still live on in our everyday acts of violence, bravery, sacrifice and love – and that our lives make tales no less dramatic and powerful than those of the old gods.