Roger Robinson is a British writer, musician and performer who lives between England and

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

."Roger Robinson" page
at Literature, British Council. His book ''A Portable Paradise'' ( Peepal Tree Press) won the prestigious T. S. Eliot Prize 2019, announced in London in January 2020.Flood, Alison (17 October 1919)
"TS Eliot prize unveils shortlist of 'fearless poets'"
''The Guardian''. He is the second writer of Caribbean heritage to win the prize, the highest value award in UK poetry, after

Derek Walcott Sir Derek Alton Walcott (23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017) was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright. He received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works include the Homeric epic poem '' Omeros'' (1990), which many critics view "as Walcott ...

who won the 2010 prize. Robinson's victory was also seen as an important one for small presses. ''A Portable Paradise'' was only the second book of poetry to win the

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 ...

in May 2020.

Biography

Robinson was born in Hackney, London, to Trinidadian parents, and at the age of four went with them to live in Trinidad, returning to England when he was 19 in the 1980s, He initially lived with his grandmother in Ilford, Essex, before moving to

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th centu ...

, an area of south London that he found more congenial. Armitstead, Claire (16 January 2020)
"TS Eliot prize-winner Roger Robinson: ‘I want these poems to help people to practise empathy’"
''The Guardian''. He describes himself as "a British resident with a Trini sensibility".Davina Morris

''Trinidad and Tobago Newsday'', 17 August 2009. He was chosen by arts organisation Decibel as one of 50 writers who have influenced black-British writing over the past 50 years. A spoken-word performer in London in the early 1990s, he later performed poetry with bands including

Techno Animal Techno Animal is an electronic duo formed in 1990 in London, England by British musicians Justin Broadrick (of the band Godflesh) and Kevin Martin (aka the Bug, of the band God). The duo released six LPs beginning with their 1991 debut '' Gho ...

, Flytronix, The Bug, Attica Blues and Speeka. Robinson is the lead vocalist for musical crossover project King Midas Sound, whose critically acclaimed debut album ''Waiting for You'' was released on

Hyperdub __NOTOC__ Hyperdub is a British, London-based electronic music record label and former webzine, founded by Steve Goodman, a.k.a. Kode9. The label was formed in 2004, and grew out of the UK's early dubstep scene. Artists signed to the label hav ...

Records,"Roger Robinson"
Book Slam. becoming number 10 in the top 50 releases of 2009 in '' Wire Magazine''. His solo album of spoken folk, ''illclectica'', was named by '' Mojo Magazine'' as "number eight in the top 10 electronic albums for that year. In 2015 he released ''Dis Side Ah Town'', which has been described as "an album that lyrically recalls the most incisive and suggestive lyricists in dub and roots reggae". Robinson's poetry on the page has won a wide range of plaudits. In 1999 he was one of 30 poets chosen for the influential New Generation Poets collection at the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

, London. Robinson has toured extensively with the

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 la ...

. His one-man shows ''The Shadow Boxer'', ''Letter from My Father's Brother'' and ''Prohibition'' all premiered at the British Festival of Visual Theatre at

Battersea Arts Centre The Battersea Arts Centre ("BAC") is a performance space specialising in theatre productions. Located near Clapham Junction railway station in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, it was formerly Battersea Town Hall. It is a Grade I ...

. Robinson's commissions have included work for the

Theatre Royal Stratford East The Theatre Royal Stratford East is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with director Joan Littlewood, whos ...

, the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

, London Open House, the

LIFT Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobile ...

and the

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

. His workshops have been a part of a shortlist for the Gulbenkian Prize for Museums and Galleries and were also a part of the Barbican Centre's ''Can I Have A Word''. In 2010 his poetry collection ''Suckle'' won the

People's Book Prize People's, branded as ''People's Viennaline'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt GmbH'', is an Austrian airline headquartered in Vienna. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights mainly from its base at St. Gallen-Altenr ...

. His 2013 collection ''The Butterfly Hotel'' was one of three poetry titles shortlisted for the 2014 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature. Robinson's contribution to the poetry community, as well as his own work, has been notable. As well as performing, he has led workshops and lectured on poetry and performance. Until 2000 Robinson was programme co-ordinator of the performance poetry organisation

Apples and 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. ...

. He is a co-founder of London poetry collective Malika's Poetry Kitchen with fellow poets Malika Booker and Jacob-Sam La Rose. Currently run by Jill Abram, the group has fostered some of the UK's most successful poets and is of note for the diversity of its community.

Bibliography

* ''A Portable Paradise'' (poetry), Peepal Tree Press, 2019. . * ''The Butterfly Hotel'' (poetry), Peepal Tree Press, 2013. * ''Suckle'' (poetry),

Waterways Series A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary b ...

, 2009. * ''Suitcase'' (poetry), Flipped Eye Publishing, 2005. * ''Adventures in 3D'' (short fiction), Lubin & Kleyner, 2001.

Albums

* ''Dog Heart City'' (Jahtari, 2017) * ''Dis Side Ah Town'' (Jahtari, 2015) * ''illclectica'' (Altered Vibes, 2004)

Awards and recognition

for "A Portable Paradise" (2020) * T. S. Eliot Prize (2019)

References

External links

* * Philip Nanton
"Homestyle" (review of ''Suckle'')
''Caribbean Review of Books'', September 2010.
"The Butterfly Hotel – video by Roger Robinson".
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Roger 21st-century British male writers 21st-century British poets Black British writers British performance artists British spoken word artists Living people People from the London Borough of Hackney T. S. Eliot Prize winners Trinidad and Tobago male writers Trinidad and Tobago poets Year of birth missing (living people)