Grace Nichols

Poet Grace Nichols was born in Georgetown, Guyana, in 1950. After working in Guyana as a teacher and journalist, she immigrated to the UK in 1977. Much of her poetry is characterised by Caribbean rhythms and culture, and influenced by Guyanese and Amerindian folklore.

Her first collection of poetry, I is a Long-Memoried Woman won the 1983 Commonwealth Poetry Prize. She has written several further books of poetry and a novel for adults, Whole of a Morning Sky, 1986. Her books for children include collections of short stories and poetry anthologies. Her latest work, of new and selected poems, is "Startling the Flying Fish", 2006. Her poetry is featured in the AQA, WJEC(Welsh Joint Education Comitee),andEdexcel English/English Literature GCSE anthologies - meaning that many GCSE students in the UK have studied her work on WWII. Her religion is Christianity after she was influenced by the UK's many religions and multi-cultural society. Her partner is Guyanese poet John Agard.

Bibliography

• Baby Fish and other Stories Published privately, 1983
• I is a Long-Memoired Woman Caribbean Cultural International, 1983
• Me and My Life - 1983
• Leslyn in London Hodder & Stoughton, 1984
• The Fat Black Woman's Poems Virago, 1984
• A Dangerous Knowing: Four Black Women Poets (Barbara Burford, Gabriela Pearse, Grace Nichols, Jackie Kay) Sheba, 1985
• The Discovery Macmillan, 1986
• Whole of a Morning Sky Virago, 1986 safe safe safe
• Hurricane Hits England - 1987
• Black Poetry (editor) Blackie, 1988
• Come on into My Tropical Garden A. & C. Black, 1988
• Lazy Thoughts of a Lazy Woman Virago, 1989
• Can I Buy a Slice of Sky?: Poems from Black, Asian and American Indian Cultures (editor) Blackie, 1991
• No Hickory, No Dickory, No Dock: A Collection of Caribbean Nursery Rhymes (with John Agard) Viking, 1991
• Quartet of Poems (contributor) Addison Wesley Longman, 1993
• A Caribbean Dozen: Poems from Caribbean Poets (editor with John Agard) Walker Books, 1994
• Give Yourself a Hug A. & C. Black, 1994
• Penguin Modern Poets Volume 8 (Jackie Kay, Merle Collins and Grace Nichols) Penguin, 1996
• Sunris Virago, 1996
• Asana and the Animals: A Book of Pet Poems Walker Books, 1997
• We Couldn't Provide Fish Thumbs (contributor) Pan, 1997
• From Mouth to Mouth (editor with John Agard; illustrated by Annabel Wright) Walker Books, 2004
• Paint Me A Poem: New Poems Inspired by Art in the Tate A. & C. Black, 2004
• Everybody Got a Gift A. & C. Black, 2005
• Startling the Flying Fish Virago, 2006
• Island Man, 2008

Awards

• 1989: Commonwealth Poetry Prize I is a Long Memoried Woman
• 1986: Arts Council Writers' Award
• 1996: Guyana Poetry Prize Sunris
• 2001: Cholmondeley Award

Further reading

• 'Grace Nichols', 'Writers and Their Work' Series, Sarah Lawson Welsh (Northcote Press & the British Council: 2007