I was drawn to this narrative poem by the cover – Ancient Greeks toting briefcases and smart phones. They received the Ted Hughes Award for their long-form narrative poem Brand New Ancients and the Leone D’Argento at the Venice Teatro Biennale for their work as a playwright. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. I really love the parallels between the storyline of the two generations and the one more abstract about the « gods of the every day».

Tempest ci racconta la vita, l'amore, la monotonia, la banalità e il male in una chiave inedita e irresistibile. 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. It's a modern "Under Milkwood" and I am playing it to everyone who visits and will be using it with my students at school and I'm playing it over and over again. Tempest is an accomplished musician as well as a poet, and this short book has a lyrical, musical quality.effective - speedy and punchy; at others, it seemed to me, it's lazy, and the contents a bit preachy. I read this in a single sitting, and that final line was a complete gut punch - I had to let out an audible breath when I finished!

The scope is epic, but the drama has the sort of exquisite fragility that only comes from brilliant writing about the most ordinary of souls. I got this and a 'Slam poetry' audio CD at the same time, and its been a brilliant combination of the ancient and the modern. The story within is not a bad one, the female character solves her own problem rather than getting saved. I really like Greek Mythology and loved how Kate played around with it, finding examples of ancient God’s in everyday people.

I read this out loud in its entirety (sitting outside on the porch, lying on a bed, waiting for the potatoes to boil in the kitchen, sitting on the couch after dinner), and parts of the poem made me raise my voice and speed up, unintentionally.

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. Divinità antiche incontrano e si fondono con l'uomo e la donna comune, che sono le divinità contemporanee. 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. I'm well impressed with this one, reminds me at times of Ginsberg's Howl, the short lines, long lines and repetition give you a feeling of constantly changing direction.The long poem chronicles the story of two families in south London and explores everyday heroism, family life, working-class life, the human condition, and myth. You would never know, reading this, that London was an international city; the prospect of multiple cultures never darkens this doorstep. It took a bit of adjusting to Kate's voice, but its a helluva story - really poignant in places, and a bit upsetting at the climax. Our blog is written by many different voices and, although everything we share is in line with our values, some of the views expressed are personal and do not necessarily reflect the wider views of GWL.