Jumoke Verissimo
Born (1979-12-26) 26 December 1979
Lagos, Lagos Island, Nigeria
NationalityNigerian
EducationUniversity of Alberta (PhD)University of Ibadan (MA), Lagos State University (BA)
OccupationPoet. Novelist. Academic.
Known forWriting A Small Silence, I am memory

Jumoke Verissimo (born 26 December 1979 in Lagos) is a Nigerian poet, novelist, children's writer and critic.

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 The Guardian and NEXT. Jumoke now lives in Canada with her daughter and works as an Assistant Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University .[1]

Writing

The Peoples 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. Veissimo's 2019 novel, A Small Silence (Cassava Republic) was selected as the winner of the Aidoo-Snyder Prize for best original creative work. According to the awards committee, A Small Silence is impressive for several reasons: its moving portrait of post-traumatic stress disorder, its believable point of view, its connections to real-world problems, its engaging depictions of everyday life, its lyrical style, and its sense of humor.[3]

Awards and nominations

  • 2009: Carlos Idzia Ahmad Prize, First Prize for a first book of Poetry.[4]
  • 2009: Anthony Agbo Prize for Poetry, Second Prize for a first book of Poetry[4]
  • 2012: Recipient, Chinua Achebe Centre Fellowship, 2012
  • 2020: Ondaatje Prize, shortlisted for A Small Silence[5]
  • 2020: Winner of the Aidoo-Snyder Book Prize for best original creative work.[6]

Novel

Poetry

  • I Am Memory DADA Books, Lagos, 2008 ISBN No: 978-978-088-065-1
  • The Birth of Illusion FULLPOINT, Nigeria, 2015 ISBN No: 978-978-946-697-9

Edited Work

  • Co-editor,Sọ̀rọ̀sóke: An #Endsars Anthology (Noirledge, Nigeria, 2022 ISBN No: 9789785874693

Children's Book

  • Grandma and the Moon's Hidden Secret, 2022 Cassava Republic, London, 2019 ISBN No: 9781913175351
  • Àdùkẹ́, Ìyá Àgbà Àti Àṣírí Òṣùpá (Yoruba), 2022 Cassava Republic, London, 2019 ISBN No: 9781913175382

References

  1. ↑ "Jumoke Verissimo on ResearchGate". ResearchGate. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  2. ↑ "Interview on People's Daily Newspaper, Nigeria". Archived from the original on 8 July 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  3. ↑ News, BrittlePaper (25 November 2020). "Jumoke Verissimo Wins the Aidoo-Snyder Prize for Best Creative Work". BrittlePaper. Retrieved 2 May 2021. {{cite news}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  4. 1 2 "Obiwu: AWF 2009 LITERARY CONTEST SHORT LIST". Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  5. ↑ "Shortlist for £10,000 Ondaatje Prize announced". Books+Publishing. 21 April 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  6. ↑ "Aidoo-Snyder Book Prize". 21 October 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.