New book by primary school teacher based on ‘hard-knock’ childhood
Published: 5 March 2010
by AZZURRA BERTONCINI
LONDON might be a metropolis of opportunity for some but elsewhere in our great city of eight million stories, the smell of money is replaced by the stench of despair.
A new book by Ola Laniyan-Amoako is set in the world of a tough inner city estate based on Lisson Green estate where she grew up.
The 30-year-old, now a headteacher at a primary school in Basildon, Essex, has come a long way since her “hard-knock” childhood.
Spit on the Mic is set on the estate, behind the Marylebone Road, where teenager Jevon Henry was stabbed to death in 2007.
Ola remembers it being tough but it also provided the inspiration to pick up a pen and write.
“Growing up on a council estate in Lisson Green – it wasn’t one of the nicer areas,” she said.
“I was eight when I started making up stories.
“I would draw pictures and make up characters and my older sister Kemi was the only person that would read them.”
With all the willpower in the world not all youngsters growing up on inner city estates have the same chances. So what was Ola’s secret to success? Well, as in so many of such stories, there was a larger than life mother at the head of the family.
“My mum was very supportive in education, but only just up to the point when I finished secondary school – she didn’t really encourage me to pursue reading after. I do hope that parents will buy my books for their kids and support them in education,” said Ola.
“Reading is a wonderful thing, enabling children to escape, to dream and to develop aspirations. Many publishers fail to reach out to black and ethnic minorities. As a child I felt that most books failed to represent me.”
Ola was raised by her mother, who was a nurse in St Mary’s hospital in Paddington, and grew up with Kemi who was five years older than her. She went to Gateway Primary school and then St Augustine’s CE secondary school in Kilburn.
After university and a Masters, Ola began to pursue her dream of becoming a writer on top of a testing career in the classroom.
She has set up a publishing company called Urbantopia Books which she hopes will represent ethnic minority voices in the publishing world.
The story of Spit on the Mic follows 15-year-old Leon who dreams of being a successful rapper. It will be the first in a series called The Lisson Green Chronicles set around the area.
“I think everyone has a story to tell,” said Ola. “I grew up as part of an ethnic minority and ethnic minorities are all over London.
“I wanted to create something that I felt would not only represent me but resemble others also, even people growing up on the Lisson Green estate. It’s important for teenagers to develop dreams and aspirations.”
• Spit on the Mic, by Ola Laniyan-Amoako, is out on March 10, priced at £5.99 and is available from www.urbantopia.co.uk
and Amazon and Waterstones