O-Jeremiah Agbaakin

O-Jeremiah Agbaakin (born 1994) is a Nigerian poet, scholar, and teacher based in Athens, Georgia, where he is a doctoral student of Creative Writing at the University of Georgia.[1] He is the author of The Sign of the Ram (2023), selected as part of the New Generation African Poets Chapbook Boxset by Kwame Dawes and Chris Abani.[2][3]

He is the poetry editor of Yaba Left Review, an online periodical.[4][5]

Early life

Born in Ikire, Osun State, about 100 miles from Lagos, Agbaakin completed his LL.B in Law and Legal Studies at the University of Ibadan in 2018. He then moved to the University of Mississippi for his Master of Fine Art in Poetry where he graduated in 2023.[6]

Writing and recognition

Agbaakin is the author of the Sign of the Ram. His writing has received scholarship and support from Bread Loaf, Tin House,[7] and Key West Literary Seminar. In 2020, he won second place of the Grist Journal ProForma Contest;[8] as well as 2020 finalist for the Black Warrior Review contest,[9] Chad Walsh Chapbook Series (Beloit Poetry Journal), and the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets.[10] His manuscript, The Root of the Word Babble is Babel, was selected by Chris Abani and Kwame Dawes as a finalist of the Sillerman First Book Prize in 2020.[11] His work, Jephthah II: Akinrere's Daughter Pitches a Victory Song was featured in The Global South.[12] O-Jeremiah also contributed to the editorial efforts to Memento: An Anthology of Contemporary Nigerian Poetry edited by Adedayo Agarau.[13]

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ "O-Jeremiah Agbaakin | Department of English". www.english.uga.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  2. ^ "Avid Poetry Series with L. S. McKee and O-Jeremiah Agbaakin". Avid Bookshop. 2023-09-22. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  3. ^ "Avid Poetry Series with UGA English departments' L. S. McKee and O-Jeremiah Agbaakin | Department of English". www.english.uga.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  4. ^ "The Collective – Unserious Collective".
  5. ^ "Masthead – Yaba Left Review". Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  6. ^ awootten (2020-06-25). "Oluwatoyosi Jeremiah (O-Jeremiah) Agbaakin". Department of English. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  7. ^ "Scholars". Tin House. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  8. ^ "Grist Journal". 30 March 2022.
  9. ^ "2020 Contest Results! | BWR".
  10. ^ "Cheswayo Mphanza Wins 2020 Sillerman Best First Book Prize for African Poets, for His Manuscript, the Rinehart Frames".
  11. ^ III, Admin (2020-02-08). "Nigerian emerges finalist in African Poetry Prize". Blueprint Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 2024-02-05.
  12. ^ Agbaakin, O-Jeremiah (September 2022). "Jephthah II: Akinrere's Daughter Pitches a Victory Song". The Global South. 16 (1): 25–26. doi:10.2979/gbs.2022.a900805. S2CID 259332541. Project MUSE 900805.
  13. ^ Agarau, Adedayo Adeyemi (2020). Memento: An Anthology of Contemporary Nigerian Poetry. Animal Heart Press. ISBN 978-1-6781-6155-2.[page needed]
  14. ^ Staff, APBF (2023-08-02). "Chapbook Chats: O-Jeremiah Agbaakin on a Poet's Curiosity, Vision & Sensibilities". African Poetry Book Fund. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  15. ^ "Special Feature: "Tenebrae" by O-Jeremiah Agbaakin - The Cincinnati Review". 2023-08-03. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  16. ^ "The MFA Chronicles: O-Jeremiah Agbaakin • Farafina Books". 2023-11-28. Retrieved 2024-01-27.