# A child of the state

- Institution: TED
- Department: TEDxHousesOfParliament
- Speaker: Lemn Sissay
- Year: 2012
- Level: For everyone
- Language: English
- Subjects: Literature and writing
- Source: [TED](https://www.ted.com/talks/lemn_sissay_a_child_of_the_state)
- Licence: [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) (Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions.)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

Literature has long been fascinated with fostered, adopted and orphaned children, from Moses to Cinderella to Oliver Twist to Harry Potter. So why do many parentless children feel compelled to hide their pasts? Poet and playwright Lemn Sissay tells his own moving story.

## Lectures

1. [A child of the state](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/ted/lemn_sissay_a_child_of_the_state/57cb2602148c), 15 min (TED's player)