Michelle Scally Clarke is a performance poet based in Leeds. Her turbulent early life was recounted in I Am, a memoir written when she was 30 years old. Her first full collection She Is was published in 2003. Both books are published by Route and contain CDs of Michelle in performance with musical accompaniment.
Michelle Scally Clarke
Listen
Michelle Scally Clarke - Tracks from I Am
Two tracks from Michelle Scally Clarke's CD I Am. Featured here are 'Tribute' (3:53) and 'Ghetto Girl' (4:59)
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Tribute
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Ghetto Girl
Michelle Scally Clarke - Tracks from She Is
Two tracks from Michelle Scally Clarke’s CD She Is. Featured here are ‘Safe’ (4:23) and ‘Letdown’ (4:24)
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Letdown
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Safe
Books
She Is
She Is plays close witness to a life unfolding. Together these poems and autobiographical asides journey through love and lust; through grief and pain, through growing up, of getting closer to understanding the nature of the woman inside.
‘I felt like I wanted to wrap Scally Clarke up in cotton wool by the end of the book and my first pint, but by the time I got home and played the CD, it made me smile again.’ – Nik Pearson
I Am
Autobiography and poetry from performance poet Michelle Scally Clarke, which takes us through her difficult formative years. A performance CD comes with the book, with Michelle accompanied by her band.
‘Every now and again individuals come along who breathe new life into performance poetry. Michelle Scally Clarke is one such individual. Her intelligence, her verbal agility and her passion means that poetry is alive once more.’ – Benjamin Zephaniah
Next Stop Hope
Route (14) Next Stop Hope was the first title in the Route Series of Contemporary Stories to appear in book form, the previous 13 issues had been newspapers. This full anthology contains new work from all the regular contributors to the Route newspaper, plus two further collections edited by M Y Alam and Anthony Cropper.
‘Your next stop should be the book shop.’ – Leeds Guide