Get Over Yourself

Get Over Yourself is a biographical delve into belonging, exclusion, and the relationship between self-awareness and self-delusion, the rejection of social norms, and the ways in which we accept and question implied cultural rules. Using humour, spoken word poetry and storytelling Leanne takes us through the familiar - teenage rebellion, grief, sex, self-esteem and self-discovery in a personal political narrative that always reminds us of the uncertain world we are growing into. The poems in this collection question received wisdom, playfully unravelling the awkward and the bizarre aspects of modern life. Leanne's poetry is an exploration of human failures and resilience, the things that make us angry, and the things that make us laugh.

About the Author :
Leanne Moden is a poet, performer and workshop leader, based in the East Midlands. She performs at events across the UK and Europe, including recent sets at WOMAD Festival, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Sofar Sounds, Stanza Newcastle, the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival, and Bestival on the Isle of Wight, as well as performances at Prima Vista Festival in Estonia and Dia Mundial de la Poesia in Spain. Leanne has also performed at the Fourth Wave Feminist Festival in Hackney Downs, Trinity College Cambridge, the Whitworth Museum in Manchester, and she even did a set as part of the TEDx WOMEN event at UCL in 2016. Leanne is a national Hammer and Tongue Slam finalist, Poetry Rivals finalist, and has competed in the Camden Roundhouse Slam, and the Anti Slam. Leanne was Fenland Poet Laureate in 2013, and has worked on commissions with the National Justice Museum, Nottingham City Council, the Museum of Cambridge, the Ely Folk Festival and with Writing East Midlands, and has provided workshops for Creative North Nottingham, Arts Alive in Libraries, Arts Council England, the Nottingham Poetry Festival, Nottingham Writers' Studio, the Enchanted Waters Project, Arts Speak, the University of Nottingham, and Prima Vista Festival in Estonia. In 2018, she received a Developing Your Creative Practise grant from Arts Council England to work on her first full-length poetry show, Skip Skip Skip. Leanne is also part of the team at Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature. She lives in Nottingham with her partner and their cat, and runs primarily on fizzy pop and cheese sandwiches.

Review :
"Leanne has a razor-sharp eye for detail and a turn of phrase that'll stay with you. These poems are joyous, uplifting and filled with lines that jump out and grab you by the heart." Jess Green; "There's something magical about Leanne. Each time I hear a new poem from her it's like an old friend has come round to visit." Mark Grist; "Leanne's work wraps around your brain like a word hug - it is caring, healing, encouraging, empowering, and full of love. This is a love which is born from an understanding of hurt, struggle and oppression, but greets these forces with wit, wordplay and wisdom. A heartfelt and powerful collection." Dominic Berry; "These are words infused with empathy and wit, with colour and surprise. A compelling debut." Shruti Chauhan