Isabelle Baafi is an English writer and editor, noted for her poetry.
Isabelle Baafi | |
|---|---|
| Born | London, England, U,K, |
| Alma mater | University of Kent University of Oxford |
| Occupation(s) | Writer and editor |
| Notable work | Ripe (2020); Chaotic Good (2025) |
| Awards | Somerset Maugham Award |
| Website | isabellebaafi |
Her writing has appeared in publications, including the Times Literary Supplement, London Magazine, The Poetry Review, Oxford Poetry, and Magma Poetry.[1][2] She is the reviews editor of Poetry London.[3]
Background
editBaafi was born in London, England,[2] and is of Jamaican and South African descent.[3]
She studied at the University of Kent, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in comparative literature and film.[4] She also earned a postgraduate degree in creative writing from the University of Oxford.[5]
She was the winner of the 2019 Vincent Cooper Literary Prize,[6] and was shortlisted for the 2019 Oxford Brookes International Poetry Competition, presented by the Oxford Brookes University.[7]
Baafi's 2020 debut pamphlet, Ripe, won a Somerset Maugham Award and was the Poetry Book Society Pamphlet Choice for Spring 2021.[7][2] Baafi was also shortlisted for the 2020 Bridport Prize and the 2021 Brunei International African Poetry Prize.[8]
Baafi has served as a Ledbury poetry critic, an Obsidian Foundation Fellow, and a board member at Magma.[9][10] In 2023, Baafi was the winner of the Winchester Poetry Prize (presented by the Winchester Poetry Festival held in Winchester) for her poem "The Path of Least Resilience".[11]
Her first poetry collection Chaotic Good, published by Faber & Faber, was selected as a Poetry Book Society Recommendation for Summer 2025.[12]
Publications
edit- Ripe (Ignition Press, 2020)
- Chaotic Good (Faber and Faber, 2025, ISBN 9780571390953)
References
edit- ^ "Isabelle Baafi". Faber & Faber.
- ^ a b c McCartney, Greg (September 2024). "Features | Isabelle Baafi | An Interview". The Honest Ulsterman. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- ^ a b "About us". Poetry London. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- ^ "Poets". Oxford Brookes University. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- ^ "Isabelle Baafi". Curtis Brown. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
- ^ "The Caribbean Writer Announces Volume 33 Prize Winners". The Caribbean Writer (Press release). 13 January 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
- ^ a b "Meet Isabelle Baafi". Poetry Book Society. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- ^ "The African Poetry Prize | Winners, Shortlists & Judges". Brunei International African Poetry Prize. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- ^ "Tutors | Isabelle Baafi". Arvon Foundation. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- ^ Baafi, Isabelle (2 February 2021). "Interview with Nick Makoha about the Obsidian Foundation". Magma Poetry. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- ^ Atkinson, Christopher (24 October 2023). "Latest Winchester Poetry Festival Declared a Success by Organisers". Hampshire Chronicle. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
- ^ "Chaotic Good by Isabelle Baafi | Poetry Book Society Recommendation Summer 2025". Poetry Book Society. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
External links
edit- isabellebaafi
.com, Baafi's official website - "An interview with Isabelle Baafi about her ignitionpress pamphlet Ripe", Radar, Oxford Brookes University, 2020.
- Isabelle Baafi, "Double Vision", The Essay, BBC Radio 3, 28 September 2022.
- "Isabelle Baafi & Lavinia Greenlaw: Chaotic Good" (podcast), London Review Bookshop, 9 April 2025.