Caleb Femi

Caleb Femi
Born1990 (age 35–36)
Kano, Nigeria
Occupations
  • Author
  • Filmmaker
  • Photographer
Notable workPoor (2020)
AwardsFelix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection
Websitewww.calebfemi.com

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

Caleb Femi was born in 1990 in Kano, Nigeria, where he was brought up by his grandmother. When he was seven years old, he moved to join his parents on the North Peckham Estate in London. After leaving school, he studied English at Queen Mary, University of London.

Career

From 2014 to 2016, Femi taught English at a secondary school in Tottenham. In 2015, Femi won the Roundhouse Poetry Slam. In 2016, he was chosen as the first young people's laureate for London. On 30 July 2020, he published his debut poetry collection, entitled Poor, which won the Forward Prize's Felix Dennis Prize for Best First Collection in October 2021. In September 2024 Caleb Femi's second poetry collection, 'The Wickedest', was published by HarperCollins Publishers.

Filmography

Femi has so far made and released five short films, serving as writer/director on each:

Accolades

Femi was named in Dazed magazine's 2021 Dazed100, a list of the next generation shaping youth culture.

References

  1. ↑ McConnell, Justine (21 July 2017). "Caleb Femi". writers make worlds. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Peirson-Hagger, Ellen (28 October 2020). "Caleb Femi: 'Poetry is the art of the people'". New Statesman. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ Flood, Alison (3 October 2016). "Poet Caleb Femi named first young people's laureate for London". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  5. ↑ "Poor by Caleb Femi". The Poetry Book Society. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  6. ↑ Bayley, Sian (25 October 2021). "Kennard, Femi and Sealey win Forward Prizes for Poetry". The Bookseller. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  7. ↑ "The Wickedest". HarperCollins Publishers UK. Retrieved 13 October 2026.
  8. ↑ "Caleb Femi". IMDb. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  9. ↑ "UK Films Database: Giraffe". British Council. Archived from the original on 12 November 2025. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
  10. ↑ Dazed (6 April 2017). "Vote for Caleb Femi on the #Dazed100". Dazed. Retrieved 20 October 2021.