JAMES MASSIAH

MEET THE GRIME-INSPIRED POET TELLING IT LIKE IT IS

Growing up in a Christian family in south London, poet James Massiah’s earliest inspiration was a mix of psalms and Dizzee Rascal. ‘UK grime was a massive influence,’ he explains. ‘The music was so real, and I wanted to marry that with my reading of the King James Bible.’ After attending Brunel University, his beliefs started to shift; he’s now an atheist, but street culture still feeds into his work. His project, 27, out this autumn, is a filmed collection of poems exploring what it’s like to live through a cycle of violence. ‘In 2007, 26 young people were shot or stabbed in London. This story is about the twenty-seventh, the one who evaded it,’ he says. ‘I want people to broaden their notions of what poetry is. I write in a way that’s interesting to read, whether I’m present or not. That’s poetry.’ Visit jamesmassiah.com