Jumoke Verissimo (born 26 December 1979 in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

poet, novelist, children's writer and critic.

Life

Jumoke was born in

. She has a master's degree in African studies (performance) from the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public research university in Ibadan, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1948 as University College Ibadan, one of many colleges within the University of London. It became an independent university in 196 ...

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 ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and ''

NEXT Next may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Next'' (1990 film), an animated short about William Shakespeare * ''Next'' (2007 film), a sci-fi film starring Nicolas Cage * '' Next: A Primer on Urban Painting'', a 2005 documentary film Lit ...

''. Jumoke now lives in Canada with her daughter and works as an Assistant Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University .

Writing

The '' Peoples Daily'' 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 ''The Punch'' is a Nigerian daily newspaper founded On August 8, 1970. Punch Nigeria Limited was registered under the Companies Act of 1968 to engage in the business of publishing newspapers, magazines and other periodicals. It was designed to i ...

'' 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 Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...

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.

Awards and nominations

*2009: Carlos Idzia Ahmad Prize, First Prize for a first book of Poetry. *2009: Anthony Agbo Prize for Poetry, Second Prize for a first book of Poetry *2012: Recipient, Chinua Achebe Centre Fellowship, 2012 *2020:

Ondaatje Prize The Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize is an annual literary award given by the Royal Society of Literature. The £10,000 award is for a work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry that evokes the "spirit of a place", and is written by someon ...

, shortlisted for '' A Small Silence' *2020: Winner of the Aidoo-Snyder Book Prize for best original creative work.

Novel

*'' A Small Silence'' Cassava Republic, London, 2019 ISBN No: 9781911115793

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

External links

Review of ''A Small Silence''
at ''

''
Review of ''A Small Silence''
at '' Brittle Paper'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Verissimo, Jumoke 1979 births Living people Yoruba women writers Writers from Lagos 21st-century Nigerian poets Lagos State University alumni Yoruba poets Nigerian women poets 21st-century Nigerian women writers