Brand New Ancients

By: Kae Tempest

Narrated by: Kae Tempest

Kate Tempest is one of the most exciting and innovative performers to have emerged in spoken-word poetry in many years; her dramatic poem Brand New Ancients won the prestigious Ted Hughes Prize for innovation in poetry. Tempest’s wholly unique blend of street poetry, rap and storytelling – combined with the spellbinding delivery of an open-air revivalist – has won her legions of followers all over the UK. Her remarkable stage presence is wholly audible in this poem, a spoken story written to be told with live music.

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.

Critic reviews

breathe[s] new life into old classic forms . . . a long poem about us and the gods that's all high-kicking verve and long-range understanding. I loved its vision, powerful and merciful. (Ali Smith, Books of the Year)

Stunning, like a "namaste" to Alfred J. Prufrock

Delighted that by instinct, I bought both book and audio--everything lives in this poem, whether divine, spirit, or mundane. Slight differences from print crop up in performance, but these feel organic. The music behind Tempest's voice suited, but two-and-a-half minutes street noise up front felt a bit excessive, otherwise, the audio is brilliant and provoking.

A whole new (he)art

Must must must listen. True. Piercing. Full. I hope this is the whole new future of heartfelt poetry.

An extraordinary experience

What made the experience of listening to Brand New Ancients the most enjoyable?

More -- much more -- than a reading or a narration, Kate Tempest has produced, along with her musicians, audio performance art of a kind unique in the annals of audible.

What other book might you compare Brand New Ancients to and why?

Is it rap? Is it chant? Is it a song? It is epic and so rightly musical and mythic. As the title suggests, this book is Homeric.

Which character – as performed by Kate Tempest – was your favorite?

We are meant to love Tommy and Glory . . . And I did.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It's been a long time since I have bothered to write a review at audible -- not that I haven't enjoyed most of the volumes in my library. But Brand New Ancients demanded I make my reaction public. It is the single best audio book I have ever heard.

They are beautiful

Kae's talent to connect with us (me) everysingle time I hear them speak a or read a line that they have written.

Amazing new talent

This girl has something to say and I feel so deeply moved and honored to have the privilege to listen. I will not see the world the same having listened -- that is true art; that is what makes us gods.