LORNA CALLERY-SITHOLE
POETRY
Writer | Artist | Educator
PUBLICATIONS
PIGEON WITH WARBURTONS
Debut poetry collection (Speculative Books 2019), accompanied by an original artwork, the Artists' Band Aid.
‘Her work occupies the grey areas between visual art and poetry… Her new collection Pigeon with Warburtons showcases her approach, mixing photography with poems to produce often amusing, always memorable insights. When she isn’t writing about works of art, she writes about urban scenes; dank pen portraits dipped in sick and kebab sauce as seen in the poem ‘prelude to 24-hour alcohol licensing.’
– The Scotsman, 2019
‘Her debut poetry collection, pigeon with Warburtons, is interactive and visual; an absolute pleasure to pace through, complete with the poet’s own visual accompaniments.’
– The Skinny, 2019
https://www.speculativebooks.net/shop/pigeon
COLOUR THEORY
Colour Theory won the Dreich Full Collection Award in May 2022 and was subsequently published by Dreich in October 22.
Colour Theory begins with Fierce, the last poem in Callery-Sithole’s debut collection Pigeon with Warburtons, (Speculative Books, 2019), which documents her eldest daughter’s first experience of racism at the age of two. This was a turning point in her work, igniting an exploration of her Scottish-Zimbabwean family’s experiences of everyday racism and microaggressions.
In this collection, Callery-Sithole plays with form including free verse, narrative poems, crosswords and found poetry using paint samples and protest text from the Black Lives Matter movement.
This is a unique perspective written against the backdrop of the Covid 19 pandemic and the BLM movement from a mother painting a poetic memoir of her family, as well as documenting intricate layers of prejudice and discrimination, Colour Theory is a celebration of cultural diversity in all its forms.
#BLM
You can buy your copy here:
COLOUR THEORY Lorna Callery-Sithole | Hybriddreich Ltd
Endorsements for Colour Theory:
‘A fierce and intelligent collection for our times and times to come. Lorna Callery-Sithole shows us a world that must be changed. Her poems remind us that together, we have the power to change it.’
- Louise Welsh, Author
‘Colour Theory is a poetic tour de force; a raw and beautifully observed collection about Lorna’s Scottish-Zimbabwean bi-racial family. She brings readers in close to reveal the tensions (as well as the joys) of navigating her family’s nuanced sense of difference and otherness. Lorna’s visual artistry always imbues her poetry and in this collection, she turns her gaze upon colour and its power to frame and restrict meanings and perceptions both locally and globally. This is a unique poetic memoir woven together with unforgettable imagery and a deft talent for storytelling. It’s also life-affirming in its evocation of a loving family.’
- Wendy Miller, Poet and Playwright
‘Lorna writes from a place of pure love, armed with strength and power. A narrative that will settle in your heart and stick in your throat. To be read and reread with urgency.’
- Victoria McNulty, Poet
‘These poems are a stirring conversation between a poet and the form, between an inner swirl and a caring outlook, between a mother and her loves, between a necessary voice and a fearless spirit, Colour Theory skilfully and thoroughly wrestles away from the haze of tints and shades. What the poet offers is an urgent reminder to the shimmering possibilities of our honest selves.’
- Tawona Sithole, Ganyamatope, Poet and Playwright