Category Archives: Uncategorized

Over the last couple of months, I’ve been doing some work at the Hull History Centre, trying to track down a Nigerian poet, Minji Ateli (neé Karibo) who was at the University of Ibadan  in the 1960s. Karibo contributed several poems to The Horn, a Nigerian student poetry magazine edited by J.P. Clark and modelled on Poetry and Audience (Leeds). Karibo’s […]

The African Studies Association UK biennial conference took place at the University of Birmingham, 11-13 September. Jarad Zimbler and I ran a stream called “African Literature: Communities, Collaborations, Crafts & Crossings”. The aim of this stream was to consider the ways in which literary works and their authors have moved within, across, into and out […]

My new poetry pamphlet, Moon Milk, is now available to buy. We launched the book on a lovely sunny morning in Sheffield at Haggler’s Corner last week. Moon Milk was listed as one of the Yorkshire Post’s ‘Top 5 Pick of the Best Books’ last week, and on Friday, I chatted to Rony Robinson at […]

Come and join us next Thursday morning (19th July) at Hagglers Corner for the baby-friendly launch of Moon Milk – my new pamphlet published by Valley Press. There will also be a guest reading from the wonderful poet Kate Garrett-Nield. We’ll be in the beautiful courtyard at Haggler’s if the weather is nice! Come and try some […]

‘Foaling‘, from my forthcoming Valley Press pamphlet (Moon Milk), was published today by And Other Poems. Head over to And Other Poems to read the full poem, to sign up for their Friday Poems or to browse their archives of excellent poetry.

I’m excited that my new poetry pamphlet, ‘Moon Milk’ is now available to pre-order with Valley Press! The poems seek to explore the complex, and often hidden, experiences of pregnancy, birth and early childhood. More details about the launch to follow. ‘Moon Milk blew me away. I love the mythologizing, the variety of form, the […]

This is the proof of my review of Pheng Cheah’s What is a World?, recently published in a special issue of Seminar (54.2. Pheng Cheah’s What is a World? argues for the “world-making” power of literature. Taking on the might of recent debates in world literature, Cheah argues that literature has the capacity to redefine (rather than […]

I was delighted to hear that my poem, ‘Postnatal Ward’ was awarded fourth prize last weekend in the York Literature Festival Poetry Prize 2018, judged by Andrew McMillan. Hannah Copley’s brilliant poem, ‘Haworth 1855’, won a well-deserved first prize in the competition. All of the winning and commended poems have now been published on the […]

This is the proof of my review of Vahni Capildeo’s Measure of Expatriation, published in the most recent issue of Stand Magazine 216, (Vol. 15.4, 2018) Capildeo, Vahni. Measures of Expatriation. Manchester: Carcanet, 2016. ISBN: 978 1 784101 68 8  128pp This stunning collection by Vahni Capildeo has been rightly celebrated for its complex exploration of migration, exile, […]

One hundred years ago, on 6 February 1918, the Representation of the People Act 1918 was passed, which allowed property owning women over the age of 30 the right to vote. Over the last few weeks there have been many events to mark the centenary of some women getting the vote. There have also rightly […]

I was delighted to have a few of my poems included in the Flambard Prizewinners’ Anthology 2017. Here is “Fruit”, “Stones” and “Track”: