Carolann Coleen Leeming (born 27 November 1957) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and Jamaican descent multi-disciplinary artist, writer, singer and musician who is noted for her poetry, plays and musical work. She is best known for her choreopoetry. Leeming's literary work features in ''The Cambridge Companion to British Black & Asian Literature, 1945–2010''.

Early life

File:Carol Leeming MBE Wikipedia Selfie IMG 3090.jpg, Carol Leeming MBE Carol Leeming was born in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, England, to parents from

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

and

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

, who immigrated to the United Kingdom as part of the

Windrush generation British African-Caribbean people or British Afro-Caribbean people are an ethnic group in the United Kingdom. They are British citizens or residents of recent Caribbean heritage who further trace much of their ancestry to West and Central Africa. ...

of the 1950s. Leeming grew up in

, where she attended Alderman Newtons Grammar School (sometimes known as Alderman Newton's School), and grew up partly in

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. Later, in the 1980s, Leeming graduated at

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body ...

(DMU) – then called Leicester Polytechnic – where she was honoured in February 2019 as DMU "Alumna of the month".

Career

Leeming was a

BBC Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

Open Music trainee for the Dream Proms 2022 at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

. Leeming was a

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its lon ...

Reading Round

Lector Lector is Latin for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages it takes various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as , , and . It has various specialized uses. Academic The title ''lector'' may be applied to lecturers ...

(a group leader) in 2013. Leeming is a Writers Mosaic (a division of the Royal Literary Fund)

Leeming is featured i
Writers Mosaic from The Royal Literary Fund Reading Round Lector
(a group leader). In 2017, Leeming was awarded by Women In Management UK, the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (except for North Lincolnshire and North East ...

br>Women's Awards for Women in Art, Media and Music
In 2013, Leeming was a elected Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

according to a letter sent to her by the RSA. In 2021/2022, Leeming was a BBC Open Music Trainee.

Discography

Leeming has performed music as part of the groups Quadelectronic and Qwire. Leeming's recordings include

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

extended plays An extended play (EP) is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 15 to 30 minutes. An EP is usually less cohesive ...

albums An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, compilations, and mixes.

Honours and awards

In 2019, she was appointed an MBE for her work as a poet and playwright and her contribution to

arts and culture. Leeming the Penfold Media Award for the ''Enchanter'' film poem. In 2017, she was given the Ena Young Poetry Award. Leeming was featured in songs by the British

House Music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

Studio project group Staxx of Joy."Staxx — Joy"
Discogs.

References

External links

Community - Royal Literary FundWEM Interviews - Carol Leeming
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leeming, Carol 1957 births 21st-century British women writers 21st-century British writers Alumni of De Montfort University Biographical works Black British women writers English people of Jamaican descent Living people Musicians from Leicester Writers from Leicester __FORCETOC__