Blank greetings card with envelope featuring:

Lemn Sissay NPG x131827

© Madeleine Waller / National Portrait Gallery, London

by Madeleine Waller

British-born of Ethiopian descent, Sissay said of his time growing up in social care that he was “dehumanised”. Writing poetry for solace, he self-published at 17. Denied access to his files at 18, he was sent a document revealing his true identity and a 17 year old letter from his mother to social services pleading for his return. He staged The Report (2007), in which a psychologist's report about his early life and how it affected him was read out live to him and an... more

Card size: 125mm x 175mm

Images are printed in their original proportions, within a white border.