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Jerry Chiemeke (born 1 May 1991) is a Nigerian writer, lawyer, journalist, and film critic. Chiemeke won the 2017 Ken Saro-Wiwa Prize for Criticism.
Jerry Chiemeke was born on 1 May 1991 in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria, to Stephen Chiemeke, a civil servant with the Federal Ministry of Environment, and the late Veronica Chiemeke, who worked as a teacher. [1]
He developed an early interest in literature, reading the works of writers such as Chinua Achebe, Cyprian Ekwensi, Charles Dickens, H. Rider Haggard and James Hadley Chase. [1] He was also exposed to film at a young age and grew up watching films featuring actors including Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jackie Chan, Cynthia Rothrock and Sean Connery. [1]
Chiemeke attended Lumen Christi International High School, Uromi, Edo State, completing his secondary education in 2007. He subsequently studied law at the University of Benin, graduating in 2012 with a Second Class Upper Division degree. [1] He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2013 after completing his training at the Nigerian Law School. [1]
Chiemeke began publishing his writing publicly in 2013, initially sharing short fiction and essays on social media before launching a personal blog later that year. The blog served as an early outlet for his short stories and flash fiction, some of which were submitted to literary contests. [1]
In 2017, he won the Ken Saro-Wiwa Prize for Criticism for his work in literary and cultural commentary. [2] [3] He was later shortlisted for the Diana Woods Memorial Award in 2019. [1] [3]
Alongside his creative writing, Chiemeke has worked as a journalist and film critic. He was the pioneer editor-in-chief of Afrocritik, a culture and entertainment publication. He has represented Nigeria at international film festivals including the Sundance Film Festival, Berlinale, Blackstar Film Festival, and the Durban International Film Festival. [1]
From 2019, he has also worked in media and marketing roles, alongside his continued involvement in writing and cultural criticism. [1]
His poetry collection The Colours in These Leaves (2017) was reviewed by Ikechukwu Nwaogu in P.M. News as a reflective work concerned with loneliness, heartbreak, and emotional uncertainty. The review noted the book's division into metaphorical sections, described as "Rooms", which function as frames for examining different emotional states. [4] Timi Odueso writing for The NEWS described the collection as an exploration of adulthood, noting its contemplative tone and focus on internal conflict. [5]
Notes for Nnedimma (2019) was the subject of several reviews that focused on its examination of romantic relationships and emotional vulnerability. Writing in This Day , Michael Chiedoziem Chukwudera observed that the collection explores love and intimacy through poems that move between vulnerability and reflection. [6] Ayodele Ibiyemi writing in Nigerian Tribune similarly commented on the emotional intensity of the work, noting its emphasis on passion, longing, and solitude. [7]
Chiemeke's short story collection Dreaming of Ways to Understand You (2020) was reviewed in Business Day , which described the book as a cohesive collection marked by narrative consistency and stylistic restraint. [8] [9] Critical response to Dreaming of Ways to Understand You has also been noted in The Lagos Review . Olukorede Yishau described the collection as immediately engaging, observing that the opening line draws readers in before transitioning into stories that combine emotional range with cultural commentary. [10]