Lemn Sissay is a poet, a thinker, a rebel. His mother thought she was putting him into temporary foster care as a baby. But he was swallowed up by the system. Then aged 12, he was sent back into it when his adoptive parents kicked him out. Lemn grew up alone in so many ways. But alongside this pain there was beauty and light in the form of creativity. Lemn has built an impressive career, but more importantly, he’s a truly soulful man. This conversation hit me powerfully – and Lemn is a true Beautiful Misfit. As he says, the question anyone who identifies as “unique” should ask is, “do you give yourself the permission to explore that?”
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"Service. It's a sign of humanity...." with Thomasina Miers
"I had a strong vision..." with Tom Herbert
"Are you kidding? You wouldn't say that to a man" with Trinny Woodall
"Our country is broken because our politics is broken" with Gina Miller
"I'm not sure I want to be called an activist" with Florence Given
"The answer is, there is no answer" with Dr Sharon Blackie
"When trauma happens, we take a lesson from it" with Tarun Gidoomal
"We need to expand what beautiful is" with Ione Gamble
“Then something marvellous happened” with Jasper Conran
“The wind of change is moving” with Jude Kelly
"I had the key all along" with Candice Brathwaite
“We’re far too obsessed with failure” with Julian Metcalfe (Pret A Manger / Itsu founder)
“I felt I could handle it…” with Jane Shepherdson
Introducing Beautiful Misfits - the new series from Mary Portas
TKE: Why purpose is the key to resilience, with Emma Jones (Enterprise Nation)
TKE: Empowering small businesses with Kelly Devine (President, UK & Ireland at Mastercard)
TKE: Repairing clothes and communities, with Patrick Grant, Community Clothing
TKE: Rewriting the rules, with Dale Vince, Ecotricity founder
TKE: Using business to save the planet, with Beth Thoren, Patagonia
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