S14, Ep6 How To Fail: Warsan Shire

Explicit content warning

06/15/22 • 58 min

1 Listener

TW // eating disorders
I'm biased but oh my goodness, I love this guest and this episode SO much. Ahead of Refugee Week, which runs 20-26th June, it is my honour to welcome the poet Warsan Shire to the podcast. Warsan was born in Kenya to Somali parents. She migrated with her family to the UK at the age of one and her powerful poem Home - which opens with the line ‘no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark - has become the unofficial anthem to raise awareness of the refugee crisis. She's also a frequent collaborator with Beyonce - her poems are featured in the singer's seminal visual album, Lemonade. Now, at the age of 33, Warsan’s first full length collection, Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head, has just been published to critical acclaim.
Warsan joins me to talk about her failures in everything from breastfeeding to maths. We also talk about her eating disorder and her 'failure to control it'. We discuss what 'home' really means and what it is to be a refugee. And yes, we OBVIOUSLY talk about Beyonce.
Warsan is a beautiful, powerful communicator and this interview made me think and understand better. I hope you like it as much as I do.
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Warsan's poetry collection, Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head, is available to order here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1119216/bless-the-daughter-raised-by-a-voice-in-her-head/9781784743703.html
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted by Elizabeth Day, produced by Naomi Mantin and Chris Sharp. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Warsan Shire: @warsanshiree

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Previous Episode

S14, MID-SEASON BONUS! How To Fail: Caroline Stanbury

Look, anyone who knows me knows of my love for reality TV. And anyone who knows anything about reality TV realises that when you get the chance to interview a bona fide Real Housewife, you jump at it. Which is why today's special bonus episode is with Caroline Stanbury.
Now, if you're not versed in your Bravo TV herstory or your pre-Selling Sunset heritage, you might not have heard of Caroline. She first appeared on our screens in 2014 as one of the cast members of the (sadly) short-lived Ladies of London. Viewers were either riveted by her ice-maiden ways or really quite scared. I was one of the latter, but I couldn't stop watching.
This is a woman born into privilege and old English money who went on to make her name in a completely different - and some might say, antithetical - world. Now she's back on our screens as part of The Real Housewives of Dubai.
I've never interviewed anyone quite like Caroline. She is impressive almost *because of* her lack of self-reflection: she just dusts herself down and gets on with it. Which is kind of hilarious when your podcast is all about failure. But it also caused me to reflect on how rare it is to see a woman inhabit this emotional space. And I came away thinking I had things to learn from her about inner strength. This is a long way of saying: it's not a typical HTF episode. But it is a wildly entertaining one as we talk about everything from surviving divorce (and then getting married to a much younger man), failing to go to university, the loss of her first business, IVF, boarding school, the power of manifestation and yes, of COURSE, the highs and lows of reality television.
Thank you Caroline - you're one in a billion.
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Caroline's podcast Divorced Not Dead is available to listen to here: https://dearmedia.com/shows/divorced-not-dead/
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted by Elizabeth Day, produced by Naomi Mantin and Chris Sharp. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Caroline Stanbury @carolinestanbury

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Next Episode

S14, Ep7 How To Fail: Benjamin Zephaniah

Benjamin Zephaniah was the author of the first poetry collection I ever owned. For many of us, he was the chronicler of our youth: a novelist and poet who made language exciting and funny and told stories full of action and hilarity.
I was so excited to get to speak to him for today's episode, and he didn't let me down. We talk about his failure as a 'gangsta' - and his early brushes with the law (he served a prison sentence for burglary) as well as what being incarcerated taught him. We talk about his failures at school, his dyslexia and leaving mainstream education at the age of 13. And, in one of the most emotional conversations I've ever had on the topic, we talk about his failure to have children and his own journey with male infertility. It's the first time I've spoken about fertility struggles with a male guest, and it's a conversation I'll never forget. Just a note to say: we both get emotional and if you're feeling in a fragile space yourself because you're going through something similar, you might understandably want to come back to this episode later. On the other hand, it might be exactly what you need to remind you that you're not alone.
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This episode is airing on Windrush Day in the UK, 22nd June, a legacy Zephaniah explores in his latest book for children, We Sang Across the Sea: The Empire Windrush and Me, available to order here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/we-sang-across-the-sea-the-empire-windrush-and-me/benjamin-zephaniah/onyinye-iwu/9780702311161
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How To Fail With Elizabeth Day is hosted by Elizabeth Day, produced by Naomi Mantin and Chris Sharp. To contact us, email [email protected]
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Social Media:
Elizabeth Day @elizabday
How To Fail @howtofailpod
Benjamin Zephaniah @BZephaniah

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