Valerie Bloom

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 1956)Jeffrey Wainwright
''Poetry: The Basics''
(2004), 2nd edition, Routledge, 2011, p. 21. is a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n-born

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and a

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

based in the UK."Valerie Bloom"

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

— Literature.

Early life

Born in

Clarendon Parish, Jamaica Clarendon is a parish in Jamaica. It is located on the south of the island, roughly halfway between the island's eastern and western ends. Located in the county of Middlesex, it is bordered by Manchester on the west, Saint Catherine in the eas ...

, Bloom moved to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1979. She attended the

University of Kent at Canterbury A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

and earned an honours degree, and was later awarded an honorary

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

. She has been living in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

ever since.

Works

Bloom has published several collections, the most recent of which is ''Whoop an' Shout!'' Her first collection was ''Touch Mi, Tell Mi'', published by

Bogle-L'Ouverture Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications (BLP) is a radical London-based publishing company founded by Guyana, Guyanese activists Jessica Huntley (publisher), Jessica Huntley (23 February 1927 – 13 October 2013)Margaret Busby"Jessica Huntley obituary" '' ...

in 1983, and this was followed by ''Duppy Jamboree'' (

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, 1992), ''Let me Touch the Sky'', ''The World is Sweet'' and ''Hot like Fire''. She has also edited a number of collections, including ''One River Many Creeks '' and ''A Twist in the Tale''. Bloom has written lyrics for world jazz ensemble

Grand Union Orchestra Grand Union Orchestra, also known as The Grand Union, is a multicultural world jazz ensemble based in London. It has been performing, touring and recording large-scale shows for over 30 years and is well known for its educational work. Biography ...

, including "Can't Chain Up Me Mind" on their 1989 live show and album, ''Freedom Calls.'' The show featuring Bloom's lyrics was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in January 1990. Her first novel was ''Surprising Joy'' (2003). Her next novel, ''The Tribe'', was published by

Macmillan Children's Books MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMi ...

in 2007. She writes poetry both in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Jamaican patois Jamaican Patois (; locally rendered Patwah and called Jamaican Creole by linguists) is an English-based creole language with West African influences, spoken primarily in Jamaica and among the Jamaican diaspora. A majority of the non-English wo ...

(and has been referred to as "a successor to

Louise Bennett Louise Simone Bennett-Coverley or Miss Lou (7 September 1919 – 26 July 2006), was a Jamaican poet, folklorist, writer, and educator. Writing and performing her poems in Jamaican Patois or Creole, Bennett worked to preserve the practice of p ...

"). Many of her performances include a "crash course" in patois for audience members unfamiliar with the language. She has performed widely throughout the UK and abroad and has appeared on many radio and TV programmes. In 2005, she made a series of three programmes focusing on Jamaican poetry for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

entitled ''Island Voices''.

Awards and honours

She was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours.

Selected bibliography

Poetry

* ''Touch Mi! Tell Mi!'' (Bogle-L’Ouverture Press, 1983; revised edition 1990, )

For children — poetry and picture books

* ''Duppy Jamboree'' (Cambridge University Press, 1992, ) * ''Ackee, Breadfruit, Callaloo: An Edible Alphabet'', illustrated by Kim Harley (Bogle-L’Ouverture and Macmillan Caribbean, 1999, ) * ''Fruits'', illustrated by David Axtell (Macmillan Children's Books, 1997, ; 2000) * ''Let Me Touch The Sky: Selected Poems for Children'' (Macmillan Children's Books, 2000, ) * ''When Granny'' (Macmillan Children's Books, 2000) * ''The World Is Sweet: Poems'' (Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2000, ; paperback ) * ''New Baby'', illustrated by David Axtell (Macmillan Children's Books, 2001, ) * ''Hot Like Fire and Other Poems'' (Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2002, ; paperback ) * ''Whoop an’ Shout: Poems'' (Macmillan Children's Books, 2003, ; paperback ) * ''Jaws and Claws and Things With Wings: Poems'', illustrated by Matt Robertson (HarperCollins, 2013, ) * ''Mighty Mountains, Swirling Seas'', illustrated by Alessandra Cimatoribus (HarperCollins, 2015, )

Novels

* ''Surprising Joy'' (Macmillan Children's Books, 2003; paperback ) * ''The Tribe'' (Macmillan Children's Books, 2007, ; paperback )

Anthologies (edited)

* ''On a Camel to the Moon, and Other Poems About Journeys'' (Belitha Press ow Chrysalis Books 2001, ) * ''The River, Many Creeks: Poems from All Around the World'' (Macmillan Children's Books, 2003, ; paperback ) * ''A Twist in the Tale: Surprising poems chosen by Valerie Bloom'' (Macmillan Children's Books, 2005, )

Guides

* ''On Good Form – Poetry Made Simple'' (

Apples & Snakes Apples and Snakes, based at the Albany Theatre in Deptford, south-east London, is an organisation for performance poetry and the spoken word in England. It has been described as the main organisation promoting performance poetry in Britain. Se ...

, 2005)

References

External links

Official website
* ttp://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/singlePoem.do?poemId=2814 ''Granny Is''br>A Journey Through the Senses
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bloom, Valerie 1956 births Living people Women anthologists 20th-century Jamaican poets Alumni of the University of Kent Black British women writers Children's poets British women poets English people of Jamaican descent Members of the Order of the British Empire British women children's writers 21st-century Jamaican poets 21st-century British novelists