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Manorism by Yomi Sode

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Manorism

Author
Yomi Sode
Narrator
Yomi Sode
Publisher
Penguin Books Ltd
Publish Date
6 October 2022
Run Time
2 hours 39 minutes
Format
Audiobook

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

Impassioned, insightful, electric, Manorism is a poetic examination of the lives of Black British men and boys: propped up and hemmed in by contemporary masculinity, deepened by family, misrepresented in the media, and complicated by the riches, and the costs, of belonging and inheritance. It is also an exploration of the differences of impunity afforded to white and Black people, and to white and Black artists.

Caravaggio - originally, unexpectedly - looms large: as a man who moved between spheres of exalted patronage and petty criminality; as a painter who, amid the elegant conventions of late Mannerism, forged his own style of visceral dark and light; and as an individual whose recognized genius was allowed to legitimate and excuse his violence.

In this profound and moving debut, Yomi Sode asks: what does it mean to find oneself between worlds - to 'code-switch', adapting one's speech and manners to widely differing cultural contexts? Who is, and who isn't, allowed to be more than their origins? And what do we owe each other? What do we owe ourselves?

The audiobook includes archival recordings with friends and family, and music by Nutty P.


'A wonder of a collection' Caleb Azumah Nelson
'Thrilling ... once-in-a-generation' Jackie Kay
'Genius ... tells a thousand stories in stunningly crafted verse' Nikita Gill
'Remarkable, textured ... Yomi Sode is a beautiful storyteller' Candice Carty-Williams
'Heartbreaking ... This debut is the living heart and soul of contemporary poetry' Pascale Petit
'Vivid, beautiful and deeply moving' Rt Hon Diane Abbott MP
'Yomi Sode writes with clarity, anger and love' Andrew Graham-Dixon
'Searing, shimmering, brilliant' Yrsa Daley-Ward
'A must for all lovers of poetry and its power' Roger Robinson
'Manorism is a classic' Caleb Femi

©2022 Yomi Sode (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

  • Manorism is a wonder of a collection. Yomi writes into the space where silence has been enforced, with language so dexterous it sings, with an honesty that is as sure as it is vulnerable. Throughout the collection, he gives language to grief, acute and enormous. He speaks not only to the moments we might falter in the face of our mourning but also to how we might rebuild, how we might not only survive those who pass, but thrive. What a joy it is to hold these words

    Caleb Azumah Nelson, author of OPEN WATER

  • The mandem, mourning, mores and manners - Yomi Sode's Manorism is a thrilling new world to inhabit. Tender, lyrical, questioning, fierce, these poems make you think about the world we live in and how we treat the black men in it . . . This is one of those books that comes along once in a generation and influences generations to come

    Jackie Kay, author of RED DUST ROAD and former Makar of Scotland

  • Yomi Sode writes with clarity, anger and love. Manorism reminds me of the paintings of Caravaggio. Empathy and chiaroscuro. More shadow than light. But that is the way of the world

    Andrew Graham-Dixon, author of CARAVAGGIO: A LIFE SACRED AND PROFANE

  • Vivid, beautiful and deeply moving. Yomi Sode is a gifted storyteller who pours everything into this sharp and brilliant exploration of Black British masculinity in all its complexity

    Rt Hon Diane Abbott MP

See more reviews
  • Searing, shimmering, brilliant. As hard to swallow as it is to put down.

    Yrsa Daley-Ward, author of THE HOW

  • A remarkable, textured education in what it means to be made up of different parts, of light and dark places, and of worlds that we know, and that we don't. Yomi Sode is a beautiful storyteller who pieces it all together

    Candice Carty-Williams, author of PEOPLE PERSON

  • I don't think I've ever read such a heartbreaking collection as this angry but deeply vulnerable and tender portrait of Black masculinity. Manorism rages, yet plays with its urgent themes, mixing Yoruba with colloquial speech in a luscious mix of registers and references, from Caravaggio to Mr Marcus, inventing new ways to describe generational trauma and what it's like to endure racism. This debut is the living heart and soul of contemporary poetry

    Pascale Petit, author of TIGER GIRL

  • In his juxtapositions of paintings, black urban life and media, he makes us think of what poetry can be: that the book itself is the poem, and each topic a stanza in a bigger epiphany ... A must for all lovers of poetry and its power

    Roger Robinson, author of A PORTABLE PARADISE

  • When I speak of justice and anger written with luminous genius, I will forever be speaking of Yomi Sode's Manorism, a glorious, furious collection that tells a thousand stories in stunningly crafted verse. A triumph that everyone should read

    Nikita Gill, author of GREAT GODDESSES and WILD EMBERS

  • Manorism is a stunning debut collection. Yomi Sode's poems examine the various lenses observing the black body in Britain, the implications of its passage between class, cultural and racial spaces. His words are indelible . . . rich with images that shake your core and a sharpness in its technicality. Manorism is a classic

    Caleb Femi, author of POOR

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Details

Author
Yomi Sode
Narrator
Yomi Sode
Duration
2 hours 39 minutes
Release Date
6 October 2022
ISBN
9780241634028
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Penguin Books Ltd
Genre
Poetry by individual poets, Modern and contemporary poetry (c 1900 onwards), Sociolinguistics, Racism and racial discrimination / Anti-racism, Bilingualism and multilingualism, Coping with / advice about death and bereavement

Synopsis

Brought to you by Penguin.Impassioned, insightful, electric, Manorism is a poetic examination of the lives of Black British men and boys: propped up and hemmed in by contemporary masculinity, deepened by family, misrepresented in the media, and complicated by the riches, and the costs, of belonging and inheritance. It is also an exploration of the differences of impunity afforded to white and Black people, and to white and Black artists.Caravaggio - originally, unexpectedly - looms large: as a man who moved between spheres of exalted patronage and petty criminality; as a painter who, amid the elegant conventions of late Mannerism, forged his own style of visceral dark and light; and as an individual whose recognized genius was allowed to legitimate and excuse his violence.In this profound and moving debut, Yomi Sode asks: what does it mean to find oneself between worlds - to 'code-switch', adapting one's speech and manners to widely differing cultural contexts? Who is, and who isn't, allowed to be more than their origins? And what do we owe each other? What do we owe ourselves?The audiobook includes archival recordings with friends and family, and music by Nutty P.'A wonder of a collection' Caleb Azumah Nelson'Thrilling ... once-in-a-generation' Jackie Kay'Genius ... tells a thousand stories in stunningly crafted verse' Nikita Gill'Remarkable, textured ... Yomi Sode is a beautiful storyteller' Candice Carty-Williams'Heartbreaking ... This debut is the living heart and soul of contemporary poetry' Pascale Petit'Vivid, beautiful and deeply moving' Rt Hon Diane Abbott MP'Yomi Sode writes with clarity, anger and love' Andrew Graham-Dixon'Searing, shimmering, brilliant' Yrsa Daley-Ward'A must for all lovers of poetry and its power' Roger Robinson'Manorism is a classic' Caleb Femi©2022 Yomi Sode (P)2022 Penguin Audio

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