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 |
Isabelle Baafi is an English writer and editor, noted for her poetry.
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]
Baafi 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]