Let the Light Pour In

An uplifting poetry collection from the number one bestselling author of My Name Is Why, Lemn Sissay OBE

For the past decade, Lemn Sissay has composed a short poem as dawn breaks each morning. Life-affirming, witty and full of wonder, these poems chronicle his own battle with the dark and are fuelled by resilience and defiant joy. Let the Light Pour In is a collection of the best of these poems, and a book celebrating this morning practice.

'How do you do it?' said night
'How do you wake up and shine?'
'I keep it simple,' said light
'One day at a time'

Review

"I am not sure I've read a more beautiful poetry book" -- FEARNE COTTON

"Wonderful . . . one of these books that just makes you happy to have in your bag" -- JACKIE KAY

"I love Lemn for his hard-won light smashed out of darkness like gold from therock. Simple fast quatrains, dawn-written, day after day, just swallow one like an espresso and go" -- JEANETTE WINTERSON ― New Statesman, Books of 2023

"This wee beauty has me hooked from the preface. We truly have a national treasure in Lemn Sissay" -- PATERSON JOSEPH

"

If you're looking for love
in every day, then find
Let the Light Pour in
by Lemn Sissay

" -- JESSICA HYNES

"A master of words: what he manages to do with language is help us remember that each word is important" -- NIHAL ARTHANAYAKE

"Wonderfully quotable . . . within those four lines, so much is said" -- CLARE BALDING

"The most lovely present" -- ANDI OLIVER

"A delight and a balm" -- ADJOA ANDOH

"Full of resilience, defiance and joy" ― Muddy Stilettos

About the Author

Lemn Sissay is a BAFTA-nominated, award-winning writer and broadcaster. He has authored collections of poetry and plays and his memoir My Name Is Why was a number one Sunday Times bestseller. His Landmark poems are visible in London, Manchester, Huddersfield and Addis Ababa. He has been made an Honorary Doctor by the universities of Manchester, Kent, Essex, Huddersfield and Brunel, and in 2019 he was awarded the PEN Pinter Prize. He received an MBE in 2010 and an OBE in 2021 for services to literature and charity. In 2023, Sissay was awarded the Freedom of the City of London. He is British and Ethiopian.