Pessimism is for Lightweights: Happy International Translation Day + Happy National Poetry Day

 

Happy International 

Translation Day & 

Happy National Poetry Day!

I'm thrilled to share this new piece of magic

'PESSIMISM IS FOR LIGHTWEIGHTS'

Translated into old English by Emily Cotman

 

To celebrate International Translation Day and bring something magic and new to National Poetry Day 2020, Rough  Trade Books have printed this broadside of a wonderful Olde English translation of ‘Pessimism is for Lightweights’.

Translation is an essential literary endeavour — a means of access into the language, thinking and stories of other cultures, histories and experiences. We believe the act of translation can be a radical rejection of a homogenous literary culture. 

 Enjoy the BBC version on YouTube

This broadside is a gorgeous and collectable piece of work, it features footnotes on how the words and shapes were made. 

The brilliant translation was provided by Emily Cotman, an artist who uses translation as a medium to invoke a more human experience of history. Or, as Emily puts it, “maybe I just want to sing karaoke with my ancestors.” 

Emily holds a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from The Ohio State University, and lives gratefully with her family on Gayogoho:no land.

Emily first encountered Salena’s poem earlier this year, when she saw it being shared on social media. She says “This poem is a healing thing, and given the history of Watling Street (Wæcelinga Stræt), I supposed that an Old English translation might allow that healing to touch new times and spaces.” 

Any purchase of the 'Pessimism is for Lightweights: 13 Pieces of Courage and Resistance' collection from the RTB website from today onwards will include this beautiful translation as an added bonus!! How amazing is that!

Furthermore - In an act of trying to come together and create some small attempt at unity on this planet we’re inviting people from all over the world to translate ‘Pessimism is for Lightweights’ into your chosen language. 

If you fancy giving it a go, please head to the Rough Trade Books Extra Curricular page where you can find the poem as it is displayed at its home at The People’s History Museum, Manchester. We’d especially love it if you could send in a short video of yourself reading your translation...

 

Get inspired to do a translation,

Watch Emily's piece on YouTube

Caught By The River

Pessimism is for Lightweights -

The Life of One Poem 

PESSIMISM IS FOR LIGHTWEIGHTS – A TIMELINE

Summer 2017: John Higgs commissions the poem to be used in a podcast centred around the book Watling Street. The first live performance of the poem takes place at the Kentish Town Forum at a rally for Jeremy Corbyn. 

January 2018: The poem is erected outside the Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol and later on in the same month the poem was read at the Women’s March, Downing Street

March 2018: The poem was read at Trafalgar Square, March 4 Women, introduced by Sue Perkins: Watch on YouTube… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjTVyBcJR7I

June 2018: The poem is published: Pessismism is for Lightweights: 13 Pieces of Courage and Resistance by Rough Trade Books as part of their first series with a launch event to a packed-out crowd at bookshop Shakespeare and Co in Paris.

September 2018:  Nymphs and Thugs release the poem on an EP, Live at Byline Festival - https://nymphsandthugs.net

October 2018: Special-edition letterpress prints of the poem for National Poetry Day go on sale, the poem is now a visual framed object in people’s homes and offices. The poem is read at the Arnolfini and set to music with Tongue Fu, to a standing ovation. Watch on YouTube…  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF4pOauGCCc

December 2018: The pamphlet Pessimism is for Lightweights: 13 Pieces of Courage and Resistance features in the Rough Trade Shops Top 10 Books of the Year.

April 2019: The poem is read at the first Extinction Rebellion rallies in Bristol and London's Parliament Square as well as Desperate Literature Bookshop in Madrid.

May 2019: The pamphlet Pessimism is for Lightweights: 13 Pieces of Courage and Resistance has a 'special mention' in the Saboteur awards.

Summer 2019: The poem continues to be read throughout the summer at various festivals including Faversham Literary Festival, Green Gathering, Port Eliot, Edinburgh Intl Book Festival, Byline Festival, Sea Change, and is featured in various magazines, newspapers, blogs and websites as well as radio shows including Soho Radio, Resonance and BBC’s Poetry Please, Jonathan Ross, Clive Anderson, The Verb.

January 2020: The poem features on BBC Radio 3 Friday poem, using the recording from The Verb.

February 2020: The poem is erected at People’s History Museum in Manchester as a permanent display for their 10^th Anniversary.

September 2020: The poem is translated into Old English by Emily Cotman which kick-starts a campaign to translate the poem into as many languages as possible...

People's History Museum, Manchester 

Opened on September 1st 2020 

#PessimismisforLightweights is on permanent display

You'll find signed books and posters in the shop!

Register to visit the museum: https://phm.org.uk

 

www.roughtradebooks.com

www.nymphsandthugs.net 

Great NEW books for autumn 2020

 

Hey hello, how are you my friends,

I hope you are well and safe and sound. I hope you are wearing your seat belt and able to weather this roller-coaster of immense shifts and changes in season, changes and shifts in the planet and the ongoing story of us changing and shifting and making a better tomorrow. 

Somehow it is now already September and somehow already these are the last of these warm and golden days. Somehow we are now about to enter a second wave of this Coronavirus pandemic in the UK. All the news is bad, the numbers are escalating, all of it so terrible and terrifying. I write this trying not to sound panicky, anxious, trying not to show my fear. I write this holding onto my faith and hope for better times ahead, that change is here and change is inevitable and change is good.

Today I'd like to share some books with you as we hurtle into October and orangey autumn world. Here are some book-shaped, brightly coloured and powerful things to brighten up your inbox. I'm honoured and excited to have work included in two of these books, She Will Soar and How To Be More Pirate, both seem to come from a powerful intention, both contain messages of empowerment and community and courage, themes we all can use right now...

Take care out there my friends, 

stay safe and stay human 

Xxsg

SHE WILL SOAR

 ANA SAMPSON

Published 17.09.2020 

With poems from classic, well loved poets as well as innovative and bold modern voices, She Will Soar is a stunning collection and an essential addition to any bookshelf. From the ancient world right up to the present day, it includes poems on wanderlust, travel, daydreams, flights of fancy, escaping into books, tranquillity, courage, hope and resilience. From frustrated housewives to passionate activists, from servants and suffragettes to some of today’s most gifted writers, here is a bold choir of voices demanding independence and celebrating their hard-won power. Immerse yourself in poems by Carol Ann Duffy, Christina Rossetti, Stevie Smith, Sarah Crossan, Emily Dickinson, Salena Godden, Mary Jean Chan, Charly Cox, Nikita Gill, Fiona Benson, Hollie McNish and Grace Nichols to name but a few...

Treat yourself, order a copy HERE

 

 How To: Be More Pirate 

Sam Conniff and Alex Barker

published 24.09.2020

HOW TO: BE MORE PIRATE is a celebration of an eclectic mix of individual and organisations’ stories which show how small actions or shifts in thinking can have a huge positive impact on society and the world. The overarching idea that anyone can make a different and affect change for good, coupled with inspirational stories and practical tips makes this the book that everyone needs in their life.” it is described as a work that "comprises real peoples’ lives and testimonies: their moments of bravery and revelation, their missteps and mischief. It is a testament to the transformational power of a movement and a practical manifesto for aspiring pirates".

Treat yourself, order a copy from OWN IT! HERE 

Let's hear it for. . .  

Zora Neale Hurston 

Ships At a Distance: 

A Celebration of Zora Neale Hurston

Save the date: Wednesday October 28th

Don't miss out, book yourself a ticket here

‘There are years that ask questions 

and years that answer.’ — Zora Neale Hurston 

Hosted by Black Girls' Book Club co-founders 

Natalie Carter and Melissa Cummings-Quarry 

RSL Director Molly Rosenberg and The British Library 

in conversation with Salena Godden and Jackie Kay

discussing the life and legacy of the great Zora Neale Hurston

This event is part of the British Library’s exhibition ‘Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women's Rights’, which explores how feminist activism in the UK has its roots in the complex history of women’s rights. 

Dorothy Koomson interviews 

Salena Godden

 

Thank you Dorothy!

Read the full piece here

The Girl and the Goddess is a mesmerising poetic tale 

of where we come from, how we grow 

and how we become who we are... out soon!!

"SIX MODERN POETS 

YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT"

Author Nikita Gill writes about her six favourite poets

Dean Atta, Sophia Thakur, Shivanee Ramlochan,

Fatimah Asghar, Trista Mateer, Salena Godden

Read all about it here

 

 

Thank you to John Lee Bird

I'm honoured to own an amazing original test print and latest book 

IDLE LOVE 2 

I love this so much and will treasure it forever

My pictures don't do this work justice...

Please visit John's website and check out this latest work

http://johnleebird.com

  

Coming up: Amah-Rose and Matt and I are preparing to record the 10th episode of Roaring 20's Radio and this show will be broadcast LIVE on air on Soho Radio on Saturday September 26th 2020. This will be our first time back in the actual Soho Radio studio since winter and we have a very special show lined up! More about that later, follow us on twitter and insta for news... Thank you to everybody that has been tuning in so far and throughout lockdown. Find our latest shows as podcasts in all of the usual places via http://anchor.fm/roaring20sradio

Thank you for the first reviews and tweets..

Published by Canongate: January 28th 2021

Debut novel now available to pre-order 

Read books! Stay safe! Stay sound!

Click here to pre-order at Amazon

Click here to pre-order at Waterstones