Patience agbabi has spent over 20 years celebrating the written and spoken word. Funky chaucer reboot by patience agbabi due for april launch books. It was shortlisted for the 2014 ted hughes award and wales book. Patience agbabi, telling tales published by canongate books in 2014. Agbabi covers a wide range of poetic styles and voices, from the rhymed couplets of the prologue to the rap battle of sir thopas vs da elephant and along the way. In telling tales awardwinning poet patience agbabi presents an inspired 21stcentury remix of chaucer\s canterbury tales retelling all of the stories, from the miller\s tale to the wife of bath\s in her own critically acclaimed poetic style. Storytelling in the family is a fascinating guide to the art of gathering and telling stories. Telling tales is a brilliant retelling of chaucers the canterbury tales for the 21st century, from the millers tale to the wife of baths, in a style that captures the performance element of the work as well as its poetry and wordplay. The book appeared in april 2014, and sees the canterbury tales transposed to twentyfirst century britain, in all its multicultural fervour and hubbub. Mar 15, 2018 patience agbabi, performing the poem that would become the prologue to her remix of geoffrey chaucers the canterbury tales, at the english and media centres student conference in october 2012 at the london institute of education. We use cookies to give you the best possible experience. A brilliant reeinterpretation of the canterbury tales for the 21st century tabard inn to canterbry cathedral, poet pilgrims competing for free picks, chaucer.
Patience agbabi the refugees tale refugee tales youtube. Patience agbabi is a poet known for her formal dexterity and live readings. A brilliant reeinterpretation of the canterbury tales for the 21st ce. Patience agbabi, telling tales poetry reading and book signing will be held on monday, november at 5. Telling tales isbn 9781782111559 pdf epub patience agbabi. Patience agbabi is one britains most prominent spoken word poets and a tireless ambassador for spoken word poetry. Click and collect from your local waterstones or get free uk delivery on. Patience agbabi was born in london in 1965 to nigerian parents and spent her teenage years living in north wales.
Her fourth collection is telling tales canongate, 2014, supported by a canterbury laureateship and grant for the arts to write a contemporary canterbury tales. Apr 27, 2014 the poet patience agbabi tells charlotte runcie why she has updated the canterbury tales. Although her poetry hits hard in addressing contemporary themes, it often makes use of strong formal constraints, including traditional poetic forms. In 2004 she was named as one of the poetry societys next generation poets. Patience agbabi performed this poem at the english and media centres student conference in october 2012 at the london institute of education. This contemporary retelling of the canterbury tales is simply brilliant. I was delighted to receive a grant for the arts to write a fulllength poetry collection based on chaucers canterbury tales.
In 2010 she was appointed canterbury poet laureate. Her counterpart in patience agbabi s telling tales summarises her life in five short sentences in her author biography, defining herself not by her trade, nor her thoughts on scholarly and religious matters, but by her five husbands, their places of. Characters talk in dialect, via the song titles of soul records, with experimental typography, blank verse and from a dogs point of view. Telling tales is a live reading set on a londoncanterbury routemaster bus, stopping in several towns en route, where 25 local characters including mc and promoter read or. Her collection, telling tales, written during her time as canterbury poet laureate, was published by canongate in 2014 and was shortlisted for the poetry societys ted hughes award for new work in poetry the same year. She is celebrated for paying equal homage to literature and performance and for work that moves fluidly and nimbly between cultures, dialects, voices. I studied some of chaucer at school and it blew me on to another planet, says patience agbabi. No beautiful poems about violence, a short essay on the great writers inspire at home event with patience agbabi 2019 telling tales slam. Patience agbabi s book celebrates diversity plus books from gareth p. Chaucer would have been proud of what he has inspired helen cooper, professor of medieval and renaissance english, university of cambridge patience agbabis telling tales is a brilliant, virtuosic take on chaucers canterbury tales as spoken by a dazzling list of contemporary characters in a variety of contemporary idioms. Telling tales canongate books, edinburgh, forthcoming april. Author patience agbabi reads the refugees tale from refugee tales. Nov 12, 2017 a dynamic presentation by acclaimed poet and performer patience agbabi whose 2014 work, telling tales, is a compelling, contemporary retelling of chaucers famous canterbury tales concludes the fall lowell humanities series events, on nov. If chaucer spoke into the future, agbabi nods back, leans forward, and spins around madly.
Agbabi s poems both stand well on their own and offer sometimes breathtaking reinterpretations of chaucers tales. Telling tales patience agbabi 9781782111559 netgalley. Im just eighteen and newly wed my husbands old and crap in bed, crows robyn miller, the reimagined protagonist of the millers tale. Buy telling tales by patience agbabi from waterstones today. Apr 03, 2014 agbabi really claims the canterbury tales for herself here and puts a modern twist on the centuriesold collection of tales. Poet patience agbabi to read from her book, telling tales. Patience agbabis telling tales is a brilliant, virtuosic take on chaucers canterbury tales as spoken by a dazzling list of contemporary characters in a variety of. This acclaimed book by patience agbabi is available at in several formats for your ereader. Jones, kristin roskifte, yoko tanaka and noelle smit. Patience agbabi s most recent collection, telling tales was a radical revoicing of chaucer and the canterbury pilgrims, ablaze with the rum ram ruf and rym of modern london. A dynamic presentation by acclaimed poet and performer patience agbabi whose 2014 work, telling tales, is a compelling, contemporary retelling of chaucers famous canterbury tales concludes the fall lowell humanities series events, on nov. Telling tales patience agbabi tabard inn to canterbury cathedral, poet pilgrims competing for free picks, chaucer tales, track by track, its the remix and were keeping it real, reminisce this.
Telling tales by patience agbabi canongate books she has described herself as both bicultural and bisexual. Agbabis telling tales retells each of chaucers pilgrims stories, with the author dreaming up new takes on the characters, from a ladette miller to a hoodie canons yeoman, rapping parson and. In telling tales awardwinning poet patience agbabi presents an inspired 21stcentury remix of chaucers canterbury tales retelling all of the stories, from the millers tale to the wife of baths in her own critically acclaimed poetic style. Get me a pint of southwark piss, it all took place in a pub like this. There is just so much to discover while reading agbabi s poems, i highly recommend this to any students that have read the canterbury tales or are currently reading the canterbury tales like i am. They are so different, and yet so similar to the originals. Telling tales is a wonderfully pacy, energetic revitalization.
Like chaucers original, telling tales was primarily a book written to be read, but also listened to and viewed live. I was canterbury laureate from july 2009 to december 2010. The uk is the only country in europe that detains people indefinitely. In march 2015, the poetry society announced agbabi as one of five poets shortlisted for the 2014 ted hughes award for new work in poetry, for her book telling tales. The poet patience agbabi tells charlotte runcie why she has updated the canterbury tales. Talking chaucer with patience agbabi and mark watson the. Patience agbabis latest collection, telling tales, has transplanted the original pilgrims stories into deepest darkest modernity, replete with street talk, sweet talk and melodies. Telling tales by patience agbabi overdrive rakuten. Patience agbabi s telling tales is a brilliant, virtuosic take on chaucers canterbury tales as spoken by a dazzling list of contemporary characters in a variety of contemporary idioms.
Oh my gosh it was amazing, and having bored my boyfriend and friends sick telling them about it, ive decided to bore you too. Funky chaucer reboot by patience agbabi due for april launch. In telling tales awardwinning poet patience agbabi presents an inspired 21st century remix of chaucers canterbury tales retelling all of the. Patience agbabi, telling tales 2014 this book is a reworking of the canterbury tales, in which each poem presents a contemporary version of one of chaucers stories. This book captialises on her strong background in spoken word, and fuses it perfectly with her indepth understanding of form and literary history to create an edgy, youthful and at times confrontational reworking of chaucers canterbury tales.
Chaucer tales, track by track, says the prologue, heres the remix. Written by three renowned storytellers, telling tales includes personal stories, howto tips and extensive resource lists. In telling tales awardwinning poet patience agbabi presents an inspired 21stcentury remix of chaucer s canterbury tales retelling all of the stories, from the millers tale to the wife of baths in her own critically acclaimed poetic style. A reimagining of the canterbury tales with sex, sass and grime rhythms.
Stirred all together, they make telling tales a compelling collection of storyportraits, at once contemporary and timehonoured. Funky chaucer reboot by patience agbabi due for april. In 2004 she was named as one of the poetry book societys next generation poets. Im teaching it along with chaucers work in my graduate course this semester, and many of the poems just blow me away. Last years tour comprised mostly solo readings but on may 21 at the albany in deptford on the original londoncanterbury route, apples and snakes and renaissance one hosted a staged slam featuring several poems from the. Telling tales was published in 2014 and shortlisted for the ted hughes prize 2015. Mar 28, 2016 patience agbabis most recent collection, telling tales was a radical revoicing of chaucer and the canterbury pilgrims, ablaze with the rum ram ruf and rym of modern london. Jan 23, 2014 funky chaucer reboot by patience agbabi due for april launch this article is more than 6 years old the awardwinning poets modern take on the canterbury tales to come complete with ladettes. In telling tales awardwinning poet patience agbabi presents an inspired 21stcentury remix of chaucers canterbury tales retelling all of the. The university of lincolns school of english and journalism invites you to join us for an evening with one of the uks foremost poets, patience agbabi, who will read from and talk about her collection telling tales, a modern adaptation of one the popular british medieval texts, geoffrey chaucers the canterbury tales.
However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Poughkeepsie, ny patience agbabi, telling tales poetry reading and book signing will be held on monday, november at 5. If telling tales is not one of the books of the year or in line for a major prize it will be proof the world has grown very dull indeed. Apr 16, 2015 chaucer tales were an unfinished business. Discover book depositorys huge selection of patience agbabi books online. The poems of patience agbabi background gradesaver.
Last years tour comprised mostly solo readings but on may 21 at the albany in deptford on the original londoncanterbury route, apples and snakes and renaissance one hosted a staged slam featuring several poems from the book. This is an extract from telling tales, which was shortlisted for the ted hughes award in 2014. Agbabis telling tales retells each of chaucers pilgrims stories, with the author dreaming up new takes on the characters, from a ladette miller. Telling tales ebook by patience agbabi rakuten kobo. Patience agbabi, performing the poem that would become the prologue to her remix of geoffrey chaucers the canterbury tales, at the english and media centres student conference in october 2012 at the london institute of education.
Characters talk in dialect, via the song titles of soul records, with experimental typography, blank. Like chaucers original, telling tales was primarily a book written to be read, but also listened. In 2017 agbabi was elected as a fellow of the royal society of literature. Mar 19, 2018 her counterpart in patience agbabis telling tales summarises her life in five short sentences in her author biography, defining herself not by her trade, nor her thoughts on scholarly and religious matters, but by her five husbands, their places of origin. Her use of received and improvised form is masterly, a great entertainment in itself, her wit and sense of poise remarkable. She has restyled chaucers medieval text as telling tales, a collection of poems in the.
Agbabis poems both stand well on their own and offer sometimes breathtaking reinterpretations of chaucers tales. Patience agbabi prologue to the canterbury tales, the. This is a collection of poems, each voice representing a modern version of a character in the canterbury tales. Telling tales by patience agbabi paperback 9781782111573 published by canongate 16 april 2015. Patience agbabi captures the riotous tall tales of chaucers imagination, and breathes fresh life into an already pulsing narrative. Patience agbabi frsl born 1965 is a british poet and performer who gives particular emphasis to the spoken word. Agbabi began working on telling tales during her time as canterbury poet laureate in 2009. Patience agbabis telling tales is a brilliant, virtuosic take on chaucers canterbury tales as spoken by a dazzling list of contemporary characters in a variety of contemporary idioms.
Mar 27, 2014 iconiconlast night i went to an oxford literary festival talk on chaucers canterbury tales and why they still resonate with people which had the poet patience agbabi and the comedian mark watson as key speakers. Patience agbabi dichter verenigd koninkrijk poetry. A brilliant reinterpretation of the canterbury tales for the 21st century, from one of. Awardwinning poet patience agbabi presents an inspired remix of chaucers canterbury tales retelling all of the stories, from the millers tale to the wife of baths in her own critically acclaimed poetic style. The wife of bath and the wife of bafa cardiff booktalk. A brilliant reinterpretation of the canterbury tales for. Her text is an untamed report of the times, a human menagerie of pain, longing and taking a piss, as the english say, and a fullyformed impression of our eras hearts and minds. She has restyled chaucers medieval text as telling tales, a collection of poems in the voices of. Her use of received and improvised form is masterly, a great entertainment in. Telling tales isbn 9781782111559 pdf epub patience. Apr 16, 2015 patience agbabi is one of the most powerful, inventive and challenging voices working within in contemporary british poetry.
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