“I’m digging and I need an answer” with Lemn Sissay

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?” Follow Mary Portas on: Instagram: @maryportasofficial Facebook: Mary Portas And to get in touch with team Portas, email us at: [email protected] and you can subscribe to the Portas POV Newsletter for musings, provocation insights and inspiration.

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Beautiful Misfits don’t accept the status quo. They know instinctively the way we’re living today is broken. But they believe the world can be a better place. And they fearlessly take the imaginative leap to change it. Join Mary as she talks to the authors and businesspeople, designers and poets, who are using their unique perspective to create a better, more beautiful, future. Their life lessons are sometimes funny, at others moving, but always insightful. And one thing is clear: we’ve never needed these beautiful misfits more. A Pixiu production.