BOOK REVIEW: Performance poetry that is more than just a load of old rap

Movement: Performance Poetry Written Down, by Callum Brazzo, Spergy Books, Out Now

Long Sutton “performance poet” Callum Brazzo has put the last 13 years of his life in a 194-page book of rap, rhyme and rhetoric.

Movement: Performance Poetry Written Down, is a revelatory journey through one man’s struggles with autism, family fortunes, education and relationships that gravitates from hip hop to Sir John Betjeman-esque discourse.

The first set of poems captures a young and angry Callum, aged between 11 and 14, where anything and everything gets in the firing line.

This is best summed up in the poem “Shouting Out to G” where Callum directs his angst at God with the lines “All this worship is a waste of time and that’s why I chose the life of rhyme”.

But from the ages of 15 to 24, Callum suddenly turns into a remarkable wordsmith, with his searing observations about life, love and liberty.

I love addressing perceptions, manifesting acceptance, access and progression, and proclaiming success is a spectrum

For example, in his poem “Who Cares for the Carers?”, Callum asks: “Are we giving the thanks to those on minimum wage and zero hours?”

Even as a 16-year-old, Callum wrote in his rap “Manipulative Media”, “I just question the election of hypnotists for leaders”, proof that Callum is a one-man Movement.

Review by Winston Brown

Long Sutton performance poet celebrating artistic autistics

Long Sutton poet reflecting concerns of wider world