Publications: Light Made Solid
Originally hailing from Hitchin in Hertfordshire, Ben Mellor has since migrated north to Manchester, from where he performs and teaches at theatres and festivals, schools, colleges and universities, throughout the UK and internationally. In 2008 Ben performed his first solo spoken word/theatre piece - an ecologically-themed, bicycle-powered show called Voices of Dissent, produced under the banner of his company Moksha. In the same year he won the Manchester Literature Festival slam and the Diké Omeje Slam Poetry Award, the prize for which was a year-long residency at Commonword. He went on to become the BBC Radio 4 Poetry Slam champion in 2009. Ben is a founder member of the spoken word hip hop theatre collective Pen-ultimate, whose acclaimed debut show A Night on the Tiles (a play written entirely in verse and exploring the seedy underworld of high-stakes gangster Scrabble) premiered in 2010 at Manchester’s Contact Theatre before embarking on a national tour.
www.benmellor.net

Light Made Solid
Debut collection from the BBC Radio4 Poetry Slam champion
Poetry | ISBN 9780955509285 | pb | 96pp | Book £7.50 / CD £4.00 / Book + CD deal £10.00

 

"I am light made solid.
I'm the register of all your lives,
From the most angelic
To the most squalid..."

- from On Paper

 

Poet and performer, theatre-maker and activist, Ben Mellor was the BBC Radio 4 Poetry Slam champion 2009. Bristling with the wit and wisdom and the energy he brings to the stage, Light Made Solid is his debut collection for the page and features many of the award-winning poems which have propelled him to prominence. A CD of the same name, featuring tracks from the book, is also available.

 

"A pure undiluted talent. Concentrated" - Lemn Sissay MBE, poet
"Ben has presence and poise combined with linguistic and intellectual agility" - Patrick Neate, Whitbread Prize-winning novelist
"Poetry with soul. Ben Mellor knows What's Goin' On" - Tony Walsh, poet

 

 

Book contents: Poetry Begins...; On Paper; I.P.O.D.; Hippycrits; World Service; Nursery Rhymes; Juan And The Beanstalk; Little Red Riding Hoody; Random Reference; Television Will Not Be Revolutionised; Just Passing By; S&M Food; Torsion; Love Drug; Bioculturaldiversity; Hiroshima, My Love; Sláinte; For The English To See; God Is Dead...; Trident: A Three-Pronged Attack; Mad In Herds; Terror Inside; Faster Than A Speeding Poem; Conshuss; Goat's Song; All The World

 

CD contents: Poetry Begins...; On Paper; Faster Than A Speeding Poem; Little Red Riding Hoody; Love Drug; For The English To See; Hiroshima, My Love; S&M; Conshuss; Television Will Not Be Revolutionised

 

Cat no. FPCD002. Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 9 produced & mixed by Adam Menczykowski; tracks 7, 8 & 10 produced & mixed by Dan Steele. Mastered by Adam Menczykowski at Unit Studios, www.unitstudios.co.uk. All tracks written, performed & co-produced by Ben Mellor. Reproduction by Disc Wizards www.discwizards.com.

Ben's book is available from the online shop [via PayPal or cheque payable to Flapjack Press], Cornerhouse in Manchester, News From Nowhere in Liverpool, David's Bookshop in Letchworth, Amazon & through major bookstores' online ordering systems.

 

CD available from the online shop [via PayPal or cheque payable to Flapjack Press].
Book + CD deal exclusive from the online shop [via PayPal or cheque payable to Flapjack Press].

 

ã Flapjack Press, 2011