The rhythms and stories of an urban city.
Kate Tempest’s Let Them Eat Chaos is a narratorial poem that follows the lives of seven individuals who’s paths cross when London is hit by a storm. Tempest’s political and hip hop conscious poetry is sonically brought together in the epic’s studio album performance. The opening page of the book tells the reader that the work is “made to be read aloud”, and I completely agree. I started by reading the poem first, and followed it by listening to Tempest’s recording, and it’s clear their intention is to write poetry that is made for performance. The choice of words are purposefully matched with a complimentary use of rhythm, voice, and diction. In light of this, I would recommend listening to the album before reading. Tempest is an exciting poet for the modern age, they return to poetry’s oldest form of reception. It is evident they have a performance based background therefore understands the power of the living and breathing text. hythm and story of a city
If you are one of those people who always receive an eye roll when you say “I like poetry”, this is the book to suggest to those misconceived readers. Tempest tears down the barriers of pretension and reminds the listener; poetry’s power is in its audibility.
Written by Stephanie Ornithari Roberts
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