// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Caleb Femi a poet? Femi-nally a good writer.
Caleb Femi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1990 (age 35–36) |
| Occupations |
|
| Notable work | Poor (2020) |
| Awards | Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection |
| Website | www |
Caleb Femi (born 1990) is a Nigerian-British author, film director, photographer, and former young people's laureate for London. His debut poetry collection, Poor, was awarded a Forward Prize for Poetry.
Early life
[edit]Caleb Femi was born in 1990 in Kano, Nigeria,[1] where he was brought up by his grandmother.[2] When he was seven years old, he moved to join his parents on the North Peckham Estate in London.[3] After leaving school, he studied English at Queen Mary, University of London.[2]
Career
[edit]From 2014 to 2016, Femi taught English at a secondary school in Tottenham.[2] In 2015, Femi won the Roundhouse Poetry Slam. In 2016, he was chosen as the first young people's laureate for London.[4] On 30 July 2020, he published his debut poetry collection, entitled Poor,[5] which won the Forward Prize's Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection in October 2021.[6]
Filmography
[edit]Femi has so far made and released five short films, serving as writer/director on each:[7]
- And They Knew Light (2017)
- Wishbone (2018)
- Secret Life of Gs (2019)
- Survivor's Guilt (2020)
- Giraffe (2023)[8]
Accolades
[edit]Femi was named in Dazed magazine's 2021 Dazed100, a list of the next generation shaping youth culture.[9]
References
[edit]- ↑ McConnell, Justine (21 July 2017). "Caleb Femi". writers make worlds. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- 1 2 3 Peirson-Hagger, Ellen (28 October 2020). "Caleb Femi: 'Poetry is the art of the people'". New Statesman. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ↑ Armitstead, Claire (30 October 2020). "Caleb Femi: 'Henceforth I'm solely preoccupied with being a merchant of joy'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ↑ Flood, Alison (3 October 2016). "Poet Caleb Femi named first young people's laureate for London". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ↑ "Poor by Caleb Femi". The Poetry Book Society. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ↑ Bayley, Sian (25 October 2021). "Kennard, Femi and Sealey win Forward Prizes for Poetry". The Bookseller. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
- ↑ "Caleb Femi". IMDb. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ↑ "UK Films Database: Giraffe". British Council. Archived from the original on 12 November 2025. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
- ↑ Dazed (6 April 2017). "Vote for Caleb Femi on the #Dazed100". Dazed. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
External links
[edit]| Artists | |
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| Other | |
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- 1990 births
- Alumni of Queen Mary University of London
- Black British filmmakers
- Black British writers
- Living people
- Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom
- Nigerian film directors
- Nigerian photographers
- Nigerian writers
- People from Kano
- People from Peckham
- Writers from the London Borough of Southwark
- 21st-century Nigerian writers
- Nigerian writer stubs
- African poet stubs