Jumoke Verissimo (born 26 December 1979 in

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 ...

) is a

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

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 university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

and a bachelor's degree in English literature from the

Lagos State University Lagos State University (LASU) is a state-owned university established by the Lagos State government in 1983. Its main campus is situated at Ojo, Lagos State, Ojo, with sub-campuses at Ikeja and Epe. The university was set up "for the advanceme ...

. 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 Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and ''

NEXT NeXT, Inc. (later NeXT Computer, Inc. and NeXT Software, Inc.) was an American technology company headquartered in Redwood City, California that specialized in computer workstations for higher education and business markets, and later develope ...

''. 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 is registered under the Companies Act of 1968 to publish newspapers, magazines and other periodicals. The newspaper's aim is said to be to "inform, edu ...

'' 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 Wole Soyinka , (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian author, best known as a playwright and poet. He has written three novels, ten collections of short stories, seven poetry collections, twenty five plays and five memoirs. He also wrote two transla ...

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. Verissimo's children book, ''Grandma and the Moon's Hidden Secret'' was longlisted for the 2024 Nigeria Prize for Literature.

Awards and nominations

*2009: Carlos Idzia Ahmad Prize, First Prize for a first book of Poetry. *2009:

Anthony Agbo Anthony O. Agbo was elected Senator for the Ebonyi North constituency of Ebonyi State, Nigeria, taking office on 29 May 2007. He is a member of the People's Democratic Party (Nigeria), People's Democratic Party (PDP). Agbo was educated at Ebon ...

Prize for Poetry, Second Prize for a first book of Poetry *2012: Recipient,

Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; born Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as a central figure of modern African literature. His first novel ''Things Fall Apart'' ( ...

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 someo ...

, 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 ''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 ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Verissimo, Jumoke 1979 births Living people Writers from Lagos 21st-century Nigerian poets Lagos State University alumni Nigerian women poets 21st-century Nigerian women writers University of Ibadan alumni