Caleb Femi


Caleb Femi 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.

Filmography

Femi has so far made and released four short films, serving as writer/director on each:
  • And They Knew Light
  • Wishbone
  • Secret Life of Gs
  • Survivor's Guilt
  • ''Giraffe''

    Accolades

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