Aduke lives with her grandparents in Ibadan and Grandma is her favourite person in the world. She loves when Grandma sings to her, and gives her treats from her stall. But one day, Aduke comes home from school and can't find Grandma anywhere! Aduke doesn't understand why Grandma can't come back, but then her aunt Yimika tells her a secret. Can she really see Grandma if she squints up at the moon?

Imprisoned for ten years for his rage against society, activist and retired academic Prof resolves to live a life of darkness after his release from prison. He holes up in his apartment, pushing away friends and family, and embraces his status as an urban legend in the neighbourhood until a knock at the door shakes his new existence. His new visitor is Desire, an orphan and final year student, who has grown up idolising Prof, following a fateful encounter in her hometown of Maroko as a child. Tentatively, the two begin to form a bond, as she returns every night at 9pm to see him. However, the darkness of the room becomes a steady torment, that threatens to drive Desire away for good. A Small Silence is an intimate and evocative debut that charges us to look again at the alienating effects of trauma and the power of solitude and darkness to ignite the imagination.

Àdùké lives with her grandparents in Ibidan and Grandma is her favourite person in the world. She loves when Grandma sings to her, and gives her treats from her stall. But one day, Àdùké comes home from school and can’t find Grandma anywhere! Àdùké doesn’t understand why Grandma can’t come back, but then her aunt Yímiká tells her a secret. Can she really see Grandma if she squints up at the moon?

Aduke lives with her grandparents in Ibadan and Grandma is her favourite person in the world. She loves when Grandma sings to her, and gives her treats from her stall. But one day, Aduke comes home from school and can't find Grandma anywhere! Aduke doesn't understand why Grandma can't come back, but then her aunt Yimika tells her a secret. Can she really see Grandma if she squints up at the moon?

I AM MEMORY by Jumoke Verissimo Published November 2008 ISBN: 9789780880651 Format: 195 x 135mm Extent: 64 pages Illustrations: 4 nos. POETRY A themed collection of poems arranged in four movements and centered on the broad theme of remembrance, expressed mainly through emotions of loss, dispossession and despair. I am memory highlights the human condition as remembered in lucid moments, aided with a measured control of line and verse by a poet of promising abilities. Addresses universal issues and issues specific to Nigerian realities. Powerful and evocative poems in readable language. Contains four memorable illustrations that precede each movement. A slim volume packed with poignant poetry, to be read and re-read. Short listed with honourable mention for the 2009 ANA 2009 Winner: T.M. Aluko Prize for First Book of fiction & 2nd Prize, Ibrahim Tahir Prize for fiction, Abuja Writers Forum Literary Contest Jumoke Verissimo has worked as a printer's clerk, assistant sub-editor, editor, performance poet, copywriter and journalist with different organizations including Farafina, Rosabel Advertising and The Guardian. She is a graduate of the English Department at the Lagos State University. Her poems and short stories have appeared in several magazines like Chimurenga, Bathtub Gin, Canopic Jar, Eclectica, Sentinel, African writing-online, Boyne Berries, Farafina, Kwani and several anthologies. 'I am memory' is her first book. She is currently working on her first novel and a second collection of poems. "Jumoke Verissimo's poetic voice is imbued with a consciousness of African history and an awareness of the socio-economic realities of modern Nigeria with its legacy of colonial plunder, its pathetic attempts at self-governance and the brutality of its military dictatorships. She balances the despair she sees all around her with a degree of stubborn hope and an enchanting lyricism which echoes the style of oral African poetry." -Funso Aiyejina (Critic, Poet and Professor of Comparative Literature) "Confident, passionate, sensual...a gripping collection...a powerful debut. I was hooked from the first page to the last." -Biyi Bandele (Author, Burma Boy) "In this her first collection of poems, Jumoke Verissimo, remakes language beyond mere lyricism to uncover the roots of pain and the passion that will heal it. She addresses communal hurt as a personal fate that awaits an assured balm....This poet will travel." -Odia Ofeimun (Poet and critic, author The Poet Lied) Jumoke Verissimo is a Nigerian poet and writer. Her first book, "I Am Memory," has won some literary Awards in Nigeria. Some of her poems are in translation in Italian, Norwegian, French, Japanese, Chinese, and Macedonian. The "People's Daily" describes her collection as "a bold stance of pain and other emotions, filtering through the pores of gross indifference and achieving a communal cry of retrospective protest." The Punch also describes her as, 'one of those who will change the face of literature in Nigeria, ' after her first book, which was well-received across the country. Her works have appeared in "Migrations" (Afro-Italian) Wole Soyinka ed., "Voldposten 2010" (Norway), "Livre d'or de Struga" (Poetes du monde, sous le patronage de l'UNESCO) and many other print and online magazines. Awards and nominations: 2009: Carlos Idzia Ahmad Prize, First Prize for a first book of Poetry 2009: Anthony Agbo Prize for Poetry, Second Prize for a first book of Poetry 2009 Honourable Mention Association of Nigeria Authors (Poetry) Prize 2009 2012: Recipient, Chinua Achebe Centre Fellowship 2012 2012: Mother Drum Golden Award for Excellence, for poetry