Linton Kwesi Johnson

Defiant, humorous, empathetic and insightful, 'Not Quite Right For Us' pierces through the hierarchical mechanics of class, race, gender. A celebration of outsiderness and an ode to otherness, 'Not Quite Right For Us' is a singular collection of stories, essays and poems by a dynamic mix of established and surging voices alike, edited by Sharmilla Beezmohun and including Linton Kwesi Johnson, Aminatta Forna, Xiaolu Guo, Johny Pitts, Rishi Dastidar, Tim Wells and Rafeef Ziadah. This remarkable anthology marks the tenth anniversary of the live-literature organisation co-founded by Sharmilla, Speaking Volumes. Part cri du coeur, part warning shot, part affirmation, this is the book we need now.

‘Key to understanding Black British history’ – The Sunday Times‘Sharp and still relevant’ – Zadie SmithOne of the great poets of modern times, and a deeply respected political and cultural activist and social critic, Linton Kwesi Johnson is also a prolific writer of non-fiction. In Time Come, he selects some of his most powerful prose – book and music reviews published in newspapers and magazines, lectures, obituaries and speeches – for the first time. Written over many decades, these works draw on Johnson’s own Jamaican roots and on Caribbean history to explore the politics of race that continue to inform the Black British experience. Ranging from reflections on the place of music in Caribbean and Black British culture as a creative, defiant response to oppression, to penetrating appraisals of novels, films, poems and plays, and including warm tributes paid to the activists and artists who inspired him to contribute to the struggle for racial equality and social justice, Time Come is a panorama of an exceptional life. Venturing into memoir, it underscores Johnson’s enduring importance in Britain’s cultural history and reminds us of his brilliant, unparalleled legacy. With an introduction by Paul Gilroy, author of There Ain’t No Black in the Union Jack.‘A mosaic of wise, urgent and moving pieces’ – Kit de Waal‘As necessary as ever’ – The Observer‘A book to be savoured and re-read’ – Derek Owusu‘An outstanding collection’ – Caryl Phillips‘A necessary book from a writer who continues to inspire’ – Yomi Sode‘Incisive, engaging, fearless’ – Gary Younge

A Financial Times Music Book of the Year 2023'Key to understanding black British history' - Sunday Times'Sharp and still relevant' - Zadie SmithRecognized as one of the great poets of modern times, and as a deeply respected and influential political and cultural activist and social critic, Linton Kwesi Johnson is also a prolific writer of non-fiction. In Time Come, he selects some of his most powerful prose – book and record reviews published in newspapers and magazines, lectures, obituaries and speeches – for the first time. Written over many decades, it is a body of work that draws creatively and critically on Johnson’s own Jamaican roots and on Caribbean history to explore the politics of race that continue to inform the Black British experience. Ranging from reflections on the place of music in Caribbean and Black British culture as a creative, defiant response to oppression, to his penetrating appraisals of music and literature, and including warm tributes paid to the activists and artists who inspired him to find his own voice as a poet and compelled him to contribute to the struggle for racial equality and social justice, Time Come is a panorama of an exceptional life. A collection that ventures into memoir, it underscores Johnson’s enduring importance in Britain’s cultural history and reminds us of his brilliant, unparalleled legacy. With an introduction by Paul Gilroy, author of There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack'A mosaic of wise, urgent and moving pieces' - Kit de Waal'As necessary as ever' - The Observer'A book to be savoured and re-read' - Derek Owusu'An outstanding collection' - Caryl Phillips'A necessary book from a writer who continues to inspire' - Yomi Sode'Incisive, engaging, fearless' - Gary Younge

Now including an afterword and new poems by the author and an introduction by Gary YoungePioneering poet Linton Kwesi Johnson has revolutionized English literature with his electrifying fusion of oral verse, Jamaican speech, radical politics and reggae rhythms. This new edition of a vital selection of poems covers over four decades and includes classic early poems such as 'Inglan is a Bitch', 'New Craas Massakah' and 'Sonny's Lettah', as well as compelling recent work.'Linton Kwesi Johnson's impact on the cultural landscape over the last half-century has been colossal and multi-generational . . . His political ferocity and his tireless scrutiny of history are truly Pinteresque, as is the humour with which he pursues them' Guardian'A warrior wordsmith whose couplets take no prisoners' The Times'Linton Kwesi Johnson's body of work - the sheer length, breadth, depth, politics, performance, rhyme and reason of it - bears witness to a lifetime of lending lyrical form to a condition that Britain has proved unable or unwilling (or both) to name' Gary Younge

"Few poets of the last thirty years have approached his diversity of formal innovations; few have communicated so intensively via performances and recordings, as often as not with integral musical settings; and few have proved so effective politically... a living modern classic for real." --London Magazine "You can just hear the reggae drumbeat as his verse vacillates among fire, anger, fear, profound loss, and victory." --Savoy Magazine, January 2007"The man writes some of the most moving poetry to be found in popular music.--David Bowie in Vanity Fair "His observations are the rich fruits of both a lyrical childhood on a Jamaican farm, and his bottled anger on the streets of London. During his teenage years in Brixton, Johnson witnessed serial episodes of racial abuse and joined the Black Panthers movement in protest. There, he learned his history and culture, but found his own outlet."--Caroline Frost, BBC FourLinton Kwesi Johnson is the most influential black poet in Britain. The author of five previous collections of poetry and numerous record albums, he is known worldwide for his fusion of lyrical verse and reggae. Much of his work is written in the street Creole of the Caribbean communities in which he grew up in England. Mi Revalueshanary Fren includes all of his best-known poems, which concern racism and politics, personal experience, philosophy, and the art of music, among other things. Contains a full-length CD of Johnson reading.

A selection of Linton Kwesi Johnson's best poems over three decades. Ranging from protests against police brutality to eulogies for departed friends and playful celebrations of urban life, Johnson's use of Jamaican dialect to tackle distinctly British subjects contributed to a revolution in the notion of literary English. This Selected Poems charts the unique literary talent of one of Britain's most influential poets and social critics.