Anthony Joseph (born 12 November 1966 in

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

, Trinidad and Tobago) is a British/Trinidadian poet, novelist, musician and academic. In 2023, he was awarded the

T. S. Eliot Prize The T. S. Eliot Prize for Poetry is a prize that was, for many years, awarded by the Poetry Book Society (UK) to "the best collection of new verse in English first published in the UK or the Republic of Ireland" in any particular year. The Priz ...

for his book ''Sonnets for Albert''.

Biography

Joseph was born in

, Trinidad, where he was raised by his grandparents. He began writing as a young child and cites his main influences as calypso,

surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

, jazz, the spiritual Baptist church that his grandparents attended, and the rhythms of

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

speech. Joseph has lived in the United Kingdom since 1989. In September 2004 he was chosen by Renaissance One and

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

as one of 50 Black and Asian writers who have made major contributions to contemporary British literature, appearing in the "A Great Day in London" photograph and performing at the event at the British Library. In April 2005, he served as the British Council's first poet-in-residence at California State University, Los Angeles. Joseph holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Goldsmiths College, University of London. He has taught at London Metropolitan University,

University of Surrey Roehampton The University of Roehampton, London, formerly Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, is a public university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Roehampton was formerly an e ...

, South Thames College, and

Birkbeck College Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a public university, public research university, located in Bloomsbury, London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the federal Universit ...

. Joseph is the author of the poetry collections '' Desafinado'' (1994), ''Teragaton'' (1997), ''Bird Head Son'' (2009) and ''Rubber Orchestras'' (2011). His debut novel, ''

The African Origins of UFOs ''The African Origins Of UFOs'' is a book by Anthony Joseph published in October 2006 by Salt Publishing. The text is an experimental, time shifting narrative in poetic prose and poetry that contains elements of afro futurism, metafiction, s ...

'', was published by Salt Publishing in November 2006. Described as an "afro-psychedelic-noir, a poetic work of metafiction, mythology and afro-futurism", the book was endorsed by

Kamau Brathwaite The Honourable Edward Kamau Brathwaite, CHB (; 11 May 1930 – 4 February 2020), was a Barbadian poet and academic, widely considered one of the major voices in the Caribbean literary canon.Staff (2011)"Kamau Brathwaite." New York University, D ...

, Linton Kwesi Johnson, and Lauri Ramey, who hailed it in her introduction as "a future fiction classic". Reviewing the book, Ali Alizadeh called Joseph "both a faithful heir and an agnostic rebel; a Black poet haunted by Africa's past as well as a bilingual post-modernist amused by the possibilities of the future. Contemporary literature doesn't come a lot more sophisticated and intriguing than this." Joseph received an Arts Council award to conduct a reading tour of the UK in support of the book. In 2007, the tour continued to Europe with a 10-city tour of Germany and readings in the US. Joseph also performs and records as a spoken-word vocalist. His debut album with

The Spasm Band Anthony Joseph & The Spasm Band were a band led by Trinidadian poet, novelist and lecturer Anthony Joseph. The band was formed in London in 2005 as an offshoot of his then novel-in-progress The African Origins of UFOs. The band's musical infl ...

band Leggo de Lion was released in April 2007 by Kindred Spirits. His collection of poetry, ''Bird Head Son'', was published by Salt Publishing in February 2009, coinciding with the release of his album ''

Bird Head Son ''Bird Head Son'' is a 2009 album by poet Anthony Joseph & The Spasm Band. It was recorded in just two days in March 2008 in Meudon, France, and produced by Antoine Rajon. It is the band's sophomore studio album following 2007's '' Leggo de Lion'' ...

''. The album was recorded over two days in Meudon, France, with guests Keziah Jones, Joseph Bowie, and vibraphonist David Neerman. Joseph's album ''Rubber Orchestras'' was released in August 2011. His poetry collection, also entitled ''Rubber Orchestras'', was published by Salt Publishing in November 2011. ''Time'', his first solo album, was released on 3 February 2013. It was produced by American bassist and singer Meshell Ndegeocello. He has also guested on albums by Mop Mop and Adam Pierończyk. In 2012, Joseph represented Trinidad and Tobago at the

Poetry Parnassus The 2012 Cultural Olympiad was a programme of cultural events across the United Kingdom that accompanied the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics. The Olympic Charter, the set of rules and guidelines for the organization of the Olympi ...

Festival on London's South Bank Centre. He has also performed with Jerry Dammers' Spatial AKA Orchestra. ''Caribbean Roots'' was released in June 2016 by Strut Records and Heavenly Sweetness. In 2018 Peepal Tree Press published his novel ''Kitch: A Fictional Biography of a Calypso Icon''. ''Kitch'' was shortlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize, the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

's Encore Award, and long listed for the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature. In 2019, his third novel, ''The Frequency of Magic'' was published, also by Peepal Tree Press. In 2022, Joseph's collection ''Sonnets for Albert'' was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection. In 2023, he was awarded the

for ''Sonnets for Albert'', judged by

Jean Sprackland Jean Sprackland (born 1962) is an English poet and writer, the author of five collections of poetry and two books of essays about place and nature. Biography Originally from Burton upon Trent, Jean Sprackland studied English and Philosophy at th ...

(chair),

Hannah Lowe Hannah Lowe (born 1976) is a British writer, known for her collection of poetry ''Chick'' (2013) and family memoir ''Long Time, No See'' (2015) and her research into the historicising of the Empire ''Windrush'' and postwar Caribbean migration to ...

and Roger Robinson, who described the book as "a luminous collection which celebrates humanity in all its contradictions and breathes new life into this enduring form". Joseph is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at King's College London.

Awards and honours

* Paul Hamlyn Foundation Composers Award –2020 * Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship – 2019 * Arts Council of England Touring Grants – 2007, 2019 & 2020 * Arts and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Research Award – 2007 *

, for ''Sonnets for Albert'' – 2023 * OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature - Poetry Category - for ''Sonnets for Albert'' – 2023

Discography

* ''Leggo de Lion'', 2007 * ''

'', 2009 * ''Rubber Orchestras'', 2011 * ''Live in Bremen'', 2013 * ''Time'', 2014 * ''

Caribbean Roots ''Caribbean Roots'' is the sixth album overall, and second solo album by Trinidadian poet Anthony Joseph. Track listing # "The Kora" # "Jimmy, upon that bridge" # "Neckbone" # "Mano a Mano" # "Brother Davis (Yanvalou)" # "Drum Song" # "Our ...

'', 2016 * ''People of the Sun'', 2018 * ''The Rich Are Only Defeated When Running for Their Lives'', 2021

Bibliography

* ''Desafinado'', Poison Engine Press, 1994, * ''Teragaton'', Poison Engine Press, 1997, * ''

'', Salt Publishing, 2006, * ''

'', Salt Publishing, 2009, * ''Rubber Orchestras'', Salt Publishing, 2011, * ''Kitch: A Fictional Biography of a Calypso Icon'', Peepal Tree Press, 2018, * ''The Frequency of Magic'', Peepal Tree Press, 2019, * ''Sonnets for Albert'', Bloomsbury, 2022

References

External links

* *
Anthony Joseph & The Spasm Band music videoAnthony Joseph music video for "Slinger"
*Mark Lyndersay
"The grounding of Anthony Joseph"
''Trinidad & Tobago Newsday'', 10 August 2018. Review of ''People of the Sun''.
Anthony Joseph
at David Higham. {{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Anthony 1966 births Living people 21st-century British male writers Academics of Birkbeck, University of London Academics of London Metropolitan University Afrofuturist writers Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Black British academics Black British writers British male novelists British male poets British poets British science fiction writers Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United Kingdom Trinidad and Tobago male writers Trinidad and Tobago musicians Trinidad and Tobago novelists Trinidad and Tobago poets The Spatial AKA Orchestra members T. S. Eliot Prize winners