Culture
“Outside of wrongness and rightness, there is a field. I will meet you there” — Rumi
The word never stands alone…
it needs breath and space. It thrives through collaboration and interaction, weaving together a myriad of art, music, community, social and political contexts.
This year sees me working once again with Leeds Lieder (now known as Leeds Song). I’m delighted to have been offered a year-long contract with this fantastic team of opera singers and musical artists. I will be collaborating with Leeds Song as a creative writer, songwriter, and spoken word artist, working across a diverse range of schools in Yorkshire to celebrate the world of opera, song, and storytelling.
Division - An new programme of work
Marking Leeds’ 400th anniversary, Michelle new project will tackle division head on. See the Division webpage for full details.
Educational work @ Leeds Song Festival
Over the past three weeks, our team—Michelle Scally Clarke, poet, and creative practitioner, alongside Neil Balfour, award-winning baritone, voiceover artist and sound artist, and Rachel Fright, collaborative pianist and Junior Fellow in Accompaniment at the Royal Northern College of Music—has been working with schools across Leeds, introducing Years 7–9 students to Lieder (Art Song).
Students have explored the stories behind the music, performed the songs themselves, and developed their own songwriting—unlocking their poetic potential through original lyrical responses. These ideas have been shaped and brought together into a shared performance narrative.
The project has championed creative thinking—encouraging students to take risks, trust their ideas, and recognise that there’s no single “right” answer in the creative process. They’ve also experienced what it means to work as an ensemble, where every voice matters.
Ubunye’s “Tell me the truth or don’t tell me anything” Album Launch
Michelle performs as a guest artist Ubunye’s new album.
The Essay - BBC Radio 3
This is “Both Arms” — an essay I wrote for BBC3 in 2024.
“Both Hands” pays homage to the sons of Leeds
to my late adopted father, Michael Scally,
to Simon Armitage,
and to Nelson Mandela.
Marching
Following on from the Essay, This piece is a response, a reflection, a continuation, a year on. Watch Michelle’s performance with saxophonist Leon Johnson or select the drop down arrow to read.
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This is where I’m born and raised The streets of yesterday seem so far away, yet the sky feels redder with each new day— Red with empathy, red with shame, Red in remembrance of war games. And as the years go speeding by, I breathe it all in—how time flies searching for fragments of yesterday, In My mind
You see, these are the streets of yesterday— worn with stories, bold and grey. They built me, broke me, made me rise, ’tis Yorkshire truth under northern skies.
China, marbles, holes in the ground, Blackberries and raspberry prickly bramble Cuts and scratches on arms and legs, The days when dock leaves, where’s a kids best friend
The tadpoles, and returning frogs, the chains of daisies and forget me nots, the white sheets hanging up and down the streets,
the rag bone man, egg and chips and, Yorkshire tea
When nature was our greatest adventure— We’d be out 'til tea was called, heroes of our stories, in the fields in the falls
an’ I always swore I’d never be One of those who look back and say, “Oh, it was better in my day.” In some ways it was, in others, it wasn’t— But my pride in Yorkshire has never forgotten
These are the streets of yesterday— worn with stories, bold and grey. They built me, broke me, made me rise, “Tis my Yorkshire truth under northern skies.
This is where I’m born and raised . Born in St. James, placed into care, Yorkshire-born, mixed-race—belonging nowhere. Then I found my voice through pen and page, and what I said began to matter.
In this spoken word patter, See Leeds felt united,
Yorkshire people seemed to care,
and look out for each other
And we marched for the pits, we marched against bombs, we marched for Mandela, for peace, for all. Every creed, every colour, every human life— We raised our voices and stood up right . We spoke for the persecuted, racially divided, and fought for women’s rights—though they still denied it.
an danced for gay pride, and equal rights
Fought for the NHs and Black Lives Matter . We marched for the homeless, the lost, and the betrayed. We marched for the future, for lessons relayed.
These are the streets of yesterday— worn with stories, bold and grey. They built me, broke me, made me rise, Tis my Yorkshire truth under northern skies.
Now the sun is gone, the moon hangs high, and the BBC stops telling the whole truth. Why won’t the government listen? To all its marching people,? Every creed, every colour, every human life deserves to be equal . We raised our voices and united
Two steps forward, ten steps back— The shadow of fascism creeping into fact.
Behind the smoke screen, silent screams rise— Missing people, refugees, grieving cries. Why do they always lead with fear and attack? These politics of demons who won’t look back. Men who hold hungry bellies hostage, Raise our taxes, hoard their wealth— Billionaires in high towers, Power mad with all that wealth. We are made mentally ill, and divided Strapped for cash yet Trident ready . Egos and gatekeepers of an old world that has long lost its soul., To power, greed and Gold.
These are the streets of today — worn with stories, bold and grey. They built me, broke me, made me rise, Yorkshire truth under northern skies.
So, I sit in now and seed for joy,
For times harvest, will yield or deny . There is dew on the grass, and the sky is blue . I go back to the forests and parks of my youth . I go back to Yorkshire blunt
its beauty, its truth i Nature,
Build me, or break me and out of my Pitts,
we shall rise
Tis our Yorkshire truth under northern skies
© Michelle Scally Clarke
Leeds Moving Together
Michelle Scally Clarke worked with Forum Central to produced a poem and film drawing on information collected through the Communities of Interest Network. The poem communicates the challenges experienced by Leeds’ people and communities during the pandemic.
BBC Contains Strong Language
Performance of “Clear out your Closet” footage from BBC Contains Strong Language
Lantern
A beautiful tribute marking a year since the first Covid lockdown. Huddersfield Literature Festival’s Lockdown Lantern installation created by local artist Angie Boycott-Garnett, with Michelle Scally Clarke’s heartfelt poem ‘Love and Light’ inscribed on the artwork.
Click on the drop down arrow to read.
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ou see in this time
We need
love and light
Kindness and smiles
To enter life
And banish the shadows
of yesterday fight
the fear inside
and so, I let go……
Blossom and grow
Heal and flow
nurtured in love
I choose to be this
This is my choice
It will benefit me
And so, benefit you
I need to feel the state of inner self
full of joy gratitude and heaven
For the many atoms that I could have become
This one is steeped with passion
Not quite ready to take my last breath
For now, here is my present
To love, give light and smile
Give thanks
And flow with empathy and compassion
I want that kind of wealth
Its rich abundance fruit of love
harvesting for it daily
to find an honest truth
If I choose to be this
This is my choice
It will benefit me
So, benefit you
And we will be free to dance, rejoice a new Moon.
©Michelle scally Clarke
Email or call Michelle if you would like to talk more about collaborations.