Hello, Folks 

What’s happening?  

I’m so excited to FINALLY be able to share this with you all. The process of writing Manorism took longer than expected. In order for the book to do what it’s supposed to do, I needed to feel comfortable within myself first. No lies here folks, I am so proud of this book. I’ve written something that gives voice to all the things that make me who I am.   

Like, how geeked out could I get with this? I wanted mythology, Blackness, popular culture, tradition, history, family, music, the manor, and most importantly I wanted the many pockets of my community to see themselves as they are, rather than as the world chooses to see them. I definitely wanted to f**k with some poetic forms, leaving gems that people might pick up straight away or on the 3rd or even 5th read. I wanted to take the reader on a journey. The experiences shared in the book are central to who I am. I love stories, be it in films, TV series or music. Manorism is my gun finger salute to all of these mediums. A thank you for getting me through the BS along the way. Feel me?   

A question on your mind, and one that even The Chasers can’t answer. What the hell is a Manorism?  Manorisms are certain behavioural traits learned from the areas that people like me grow up in. Something specific to Black people. The feeling you get when you know your name will be pronounced wrong, when a bag will be clutched, when laugher is louder than anyone else in the room, or when a look carries tension. The book explores the code-switching of Black men and boys, how anger is absorbed, and how fear shifts through the body.  

In Manorism, I examine the 17th century painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio and other white people in popular culture/media. There are parallels regarding power, bias, and privilege that are explored throughout the book. Manorism is an opportunity for my voice to be louder than the many people who, while not qualified, openly speak about me, the existence of my community (and in some cases), the struggle, like they know what we go/ have been through. In the third section of the book. I explore vulnerability through the journey of two men as they navigate the loss of their family matriarch. 

The thought of Manorism reaching indie booksellers excites me. The things that are close to my heart are aligned with yours. It’s grassroots and it’s about community. We are both simply daring to dream. GCSE English taught me that there was only one way to understand poems. That is a BOLD faced *coughs* *coughs again* BOLD faced lie, fam. This book and these poems will live. They will speak to people in the same way Caravaggio’s work spoke for the people who saw themselves in his paintings. Work that still lives on today.     

Yomi Ṣode

About the author

Yomi Ṣode is an award-winning Nigerian British writer. He is a recipient of the 2019 Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship and was shortlisted for The Brunel International African Poetry Prize 2021.

His acclaimed one-man show COAT toured nationally to sold-out audiences, including at the Brighton Festival, Roundhouse Camden and the Battersea Arts Centre. In 2020 his libretto Remnants, written in collaboration with award-winning composer James B. Wilson and performed with Chineke! Orchestra premiered on BBC Radio 3.

In 2021, his play, and breathe… premiered at the Almeida Theatre to rave reviews. Yomi is a Complete Works alumnus and a member of Malika’s Poetry Kitchen. He is the founder of BoxedIn, First Five, The Daddy Diaries, and mentorship programme, 12 in 12. Yomi’s debut collection, Manorism is out now via Penguin Press.