Dami Ajayi

Dami Àjàyí (born 1986) is a Nigerian poet, medical doctor, essayist and music critic. He co-founded Saraba magazine in 2008.[1] He is the author of two collections of poetry and a chapbook.

Dami Àjàyí
Born
Damilola Àjàyí

1986 (age 36–37)
Warri, Nigeria
NationalityNigerian
Alma materObafemi Awolowo University
Occupations
Years active2006–present
Known forMusic reviews, poetry and essays;
co-founder of Saraba magazine
Notable workA Woman's Body Is a Country (2017)
Websitewww.damiajayi.com

Biography

Dami Àjàyí was born in Nigeria in 1986. While he was an undergraduate of medicine at the Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, he co-founded Saraba Magazine with another student.[2] He also cofounded media outlets The Lagos Review and YabaLeft Review, with writers Toni Kan and Tunji Olalere respectively.

Àjàyí was featured in the two-part BBC Radio 4 documentary Writing a New Nigeria.[3]

Poetry

In 2011, Àjàyí was listed among the "Eight Young Nigerian Poets Whose Poems Delight" on the Sentinel UK Poetry Blog.[4] His first collection of poems, Clinical Blues, was shortlisted (in manuscript form) for the Melita Hume Prize in 2012.[5][6] It was published by WriteHouse in 2014, and was longlisted for the biennial Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa.[7][8]

In 2017, his second collection of poetry, A Woman's Body is a Country, was published by Ouida Books).[9] Of the work, Àjàyí says: "I wanted my book to show how the noun 'affection' becomes a verb, and in my attempt I was drawing from a personal reservoir, hoping that my experiences are singular as well as universal."[10] He has been described as one who "writes about love like liquor that drowns a person into his or her feelings."[11]

Prose and criticism

Àjàyí has written short stories that have been published in Nigeria and abroad. He currently provides critical reviews about Nigerian music to a number of online publications.[12][13][14][15][16]

He was also one of the editors of the anthology From Limbe to Lagos : NonFiction from Cameroon and Nigeria, which was the result of a writing workshop held in Limbe[2] for young African writers.

Books
  • Clinical Blues (2014)
  • A Woman's Body is a Country (2017)

References
  1. "The Last Good Book I Read... Dami Ajayi (Poet) A Stranger's Pose by Emmanuel Iduma". Daily Trust. 7 September 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  2. "Q&A: Words on the Times – Dami Ajayi". Africa in Words. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  3. "Writing a New Nigeria - Meet the authors". BBC Radio 4.
  4. "Citadel of Life". citadeloflife1.blogspot.com.ng. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  5. "Dami Ajayi". badilishapoetry.com. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  6. "Melita Hume Poetry Prize Shortlist: #11 Dami Ajayi". Eyewear, The Blog. 6 June 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  7. "Nine African poets shortlisted for 2018 Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature", P.M. News, 3 November 2018.
  8. Daily Graphic (19 November 2018), "9 African poets on 2018 Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature list", Graphic Online.
  9. Mbamalu, Socrates (23 October 2017). "A Woman's Body is a Country: Africa's most anticipated poetry collection". This Is Africa. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  10. "Each Collection Dictates Its Own Process: Conversation with Dami Ajayi". This Is Africa Lifestyle. 12 October 2017. Archived from the original on 30 October 2017. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  11. Shoola, Oyindamola (6 November 2017). "Dami Skillfully Conveys Meanings in 'A Woman's Body Is a Country'". WRR Publishers. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  12. Ajayi, Dami (14 July 2017). "Yahoo Boy No Laptop". Chimurenga Chronic.
  13. Ajayi, Dami (25 May 2021). "Nigeria: Afrobeats' unpaid debt to highlife's Crosdale Juba". The Africa Report.
  14. Ajayi, Dami (14 December 2019). "Finding Lagos: A Jazz Tribute to an African City". The Elephant.
  15. Ajayi, Dami (July 2019). "Nigeria's King Sunny Adé: 'I see myself as a freelance'". The Africa Report.
  16. "Nigeria's Ayinla Omowura: The original gangster and patron saint of Abeokuta's working class". March 2021.
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