Dami Ajayi
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Damilola Àjàyí (born 1986) is a Nigerian writer, poet and medical doctor who co-founded '' Saraba'', a Nigerian literary magazine in 2008.


Early life and education

Ajayi was born in 1986, at
Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...
,
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
to parents of Yoruba origin. He attended
Obafemi Awolowo University Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) is a federal university in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The university was founded in 1961 and classes commenced in October 1962 as the University of Ife by the regional government of Western Nigeria, which w ...
(OAU), Ile-Ife, where he studied medicine. While studying as an undergraduate at OAU, he co-founded '' Saraba Magazine'' in 2008, as well as ''
The Lagos Review ''The Lagos Review'' is a Nigerian literary magazine based in Lagos. It was founded by Toni Kan and Dami Ajayi in 2019. History ''The Lagos Review'' was officially launched in September 2019, founded by Nigerian writer Toni Kan and poet D ...
'' and ''YabaLeft Review'', with writers
Toni Kan Anthony Kan Onwordi known as Toni Kan (born 11 June 1971) is a Nigerian writer, editor, public relations senior management executive, and teacher. He is author of the collection of short stories, ''Nights of a Creaking Bed'', noted for explorin ...
and Tunji Olalere respectively. Ajayi was featured in the two-part
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
documentary ''Writing a New Nigeria'', and has been described as one who "writes about love like liquor that drowns a person into his or her feelings."


Career

Ajayi first published his poetry collection ''Clinical Blues'', which was shortlisted while still a manuscript for the Melita Hume Poetry Prize in 2012. It was eventually published in 2014 by WriteHouse. It was longlisted for the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa in 2018, and was first runner-up for Association Nigerian Authors Prize. In 2017, he wrote his second poetry collection, ''A Woman's Body is a Country,'' and was published by Ouida Books in Nigeria.
Bernardine Evaristo Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo (born 28 May 1959) is an English author and academic. Her novel ''Girl, Woman, Other'' jointly won the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood's ''The Testaments'', making her the first Black woman to win ...
praised Ajayi as one that "bravely exposes intimacies and his vulnerable self through poems that are honest and confessional.” ''
Brittle Paper ''Brittle Paper'' is an online literary magazine styled as an "African literary blog" published weekly in the English language. Its focus is on "build(ing) a vibrant African literary scene." It was founded by Ainehi Edoro (at the time a doctora ...
'' called it "an affection brewed by loss", and it was a finalist for the
Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry The Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry is an annual award for a collection of poetry by an African writer. It is the only pan-African prize for a single collection of poetry. It is named for the poet and literary philanthropist Glenna Luschei ...
in 2018. His third collection, ''Affection and Other Accidents'', was published in 2022 by Radi8 Book. It was described by Peter Akinlabi as "an audacious testing of the very limits of self-revelation", where "where the poet’s act of “practicing vulnerability” finds a most heightened articulation of love's complexities and contradictions, and OlongoAfrica describes as "a personal narrative of pain" with "the signature of his poetics by his deployment of accessible language and lapidary details of poems that cross into the poet’s personal life and everyday realities." Between 2013 and 2019, he wrote critical reviews on Nigerian music and has interviewed musicians like
King Sunny Adé Chief Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye (born 22 September 1946), known professionally as King Sunny Adé, is a Nigerian jùjú singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is regarded as one of the first African pop musicians to gain internationa ...
and
Adekunle Gold Adekunle Almoruf Kosoko (born 28 January 1987), known professionally as Adekunle Gold and AG Baby, is a Nigerian Afrobeats singer and songwriter currently signed to Def Jam Recordings. He gained widespread attention after releasing the 2015 hit ...
, Queen Salawu Abeni, Etuk Ubong, Adebantu, and
Somi Somi may refer to: * Gabriel Somi (born 1991), Swedish-born Syrian footballer * Jeon Somi (born 2001), Korean-Canadian singer * Somi (singer) (born 1981), American singer See also

* SomiSomi Soft Serve & Taiyaki, U.S based chain of dessert rest ...
. In 2024,
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describe Dami's music reviews and influences of poetry in his essays. The Sun stated that ''“What sets Dami Ajayi apart in the realm of music criticism is his dual role as a poet. This poetic sensibility infuses his writing with a lyrical quality, elevating the discourse beyond a simple evaluation of beats and lyrics. Ajayi’s reviews often read like nuanced compositions, where each word is carefully chosen to evoke the essence of the music he dissects.”'' He was also one of the editors of the anthology ''From Limbe to Lagos: NonFiction from Cameroon and Nigeria'', which was the result of a writing workshop held in Limbe for young African writers.


Publications (selected)


Books

* ''Affection and Other Accidents (2022)'' * ''A Woman's Body is a Country'' (2017) * ''Clinical Blues'' (2014) Chapbook * ''Daybreak & Other Poems'' (Saraba Magazine, 2013)


Articles

* “Celluloid” in ''On Broken Wings: An Anthology of Best Contemporary Nigerian Poetry'' (New York, DLite Press, 2014) ed. by Unoma Azuah * “Talk to Me” in ''Gambit: Newer African Writing'' (Stories & Interviews) (New York,The Mantle 2014) ed. by Emmanuel Iduma & Shaun Randol * "The Lagos Everyman"; in ''My Africa, My City: An Afridiaspora Anthology'' (Winepress Publishing) ed. by Tolu Daniel, Adeola Opeyemi * “Old Peoples Home” Songhai 12: New Voices in ''Nigerian Literature'' (Port Harcourt, 2014) ed. by Molara Wood & Lindsay Barett * “A Playlist for Mr Ehikhamenor” for Daydream Esoterica (RELE Gallery, 2019) * “Aubade to my Greying” in ''Memento: An Anthology of Contemporary Nigerian Poetry'' edited by Adedayo Agarau (America, Animal Heart Press, 2020) * “Queens”, “Sleeping Beauty (of Borehamwood)”, “Waterstones”, “Ode to a Face Mask”, “Denouement” in Relations: An Anthology of African and Diaspora Voices edited by Nana Brew-Hammond.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ajayi, Dami 1986 births Living people 21st-century Nigerian poets Nigerian magazine editors Nigerian magazine founders Nigerian male poets Obafemi Awolowo University alumni Yoruba poets 21st-century Nigerian male writers