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Jumoke Verissimo

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Jumoke Verissimo
Born26 December 1979
Lagos, Lagos Island, Nigeria
OccupationWriter

Jumoke Verissimo (born 26 December 1979 in Lagos) is a Nigerian poet and writer. Her first book, I Am Memory, has won some literary awards in Nigeria. Some of her poems are in translation in Italian, Norwegian, French, Japanese, Chinese, and Macedonian.

Life

Jumoke was born in Lagos. She has a master's degree in African studies (performance) from the University of Ibadan and a bachelor's degree in English literature from the Lagos State University. She has worked as an editor, sub-editor, copywriter and a freelance journalist for major newspapers such as Guardian and NEXT. Jumoke currently lives in Canada with her daughter, where she is studying for a PhD.[1]

Writing

The People's Daily[2] describes her collection as "a bold stance of pain and other emotions, filtering through the pores of gross indifference and achieving a communal cry of retrospective protest." The Punch also describes her as, "one of those who will change the face of literature in Nigeria", after her first book, which was well-received across the country. Her works have appeared in Migrations (Afro-Italian), Wole Soyinka ed., Voldposten 2010 (Norway), Livre d'or de Struga (Poetes du monde, sous le patronage de l'UNESCO) and many other prints and online magazines. Some of her poems are in translation in Italian, Norwegian, French, Japanese, Chinese, and Macedonian.

Awards and nominations

  • 2009: Carlos Idzia Ahmad Prize, First Prize for a first book of Poetry[3]
  • 2009: Anthony Agbo Prize for Poetry, Second Prize for a first book of Poetry[3]
  • 2009: Honourable Mention Association of Nigeria (Poetry), 2009
  • 2012: Recipient, Chinua Achebe Centre Fellowship, 2012
  • 2012: Mother Drum Golden Award for Excellence, for poetry
  • 2020: Ondaatje Prize, shortlisted for A Small Silence[4]

Bibliography

  • I Am Memory (Poetry) DADA Books, Lagos, 2008 ISBN No: 978-978-088-065-1
  • The Birth of Illusion (Poetry) FULLPOINT, Nigeria, 2015 ISBN No: 978-978-946-697-9
  • A Small Silence (Novel) Cassava Republic, London, 2019 ISBN No: 9781911115793

References

  1. ^ "Jumoke Verissimo on ResearchGate". ResearchGate. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  2. ^ Interview on People's Daily Newspaper, Nigeria
  3. ^ a b [1]/
  4. ^ "Shortlist for £10,000 Ondaatje Prize announced". Books+Publishing. 21 April 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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