Princess Fatima’s Palace
Lemn Sissay
A hand-drawn sign is stuck to the inside of a cubicle door of one of our long-term patients. It reads: Fatima’s Palace. The sign caught the eye of award-winning British poet and performer Lemn Sissay, who was poet-in-residence on children’s wards in Autumn 2011.
Lemn worked with young patients in the hospital schoolroom and one-to-one with children in isolation to create a collection of poems. The collection was performed and recorded, and a CD of all recordings sent to those involved. Lemn gave a special recital to patients, parents and staff, to mark National Poetry Day on October 6th.
Graphic designer, Morag Myerscough, will use the poetry collection in a series of workshops with young patients – extracting words and phrases to transform social spaces in the new Royal London Children’s Hospital through text and colour.
