ADAM

75pp., paperback, Faber & Faber, London, 2024

ISBN: 9780571390403

Gboyega Odubanjo's debut collection of poems, written in response to the discovery of the remains of a young Black boy in the River Thames in London in 2001, was published posthumously.

"Blending English, Pidgin and Yoruba, Odubanjo's language is by turns laser sharp, expansive and indelible: 'there is nothing left to dig a grave / wait and enjoy life / wait and bury me / your touch is life / your gapped teeth please me / the story is yours'. Finishing the book leaves you mesmerised, and keening for what would have come next." Rishi Dastidar, Guardian Best Poetry Books of 2024

'"With Adam, it feels like Gboyega Odubanjo excavates traditions to create a new world with a language and texture completely of its own. Its words somehow spin tragedy into light, Yoruba into cockney, Nigeria into London. Each poem is self-assured and precise, holding a voice that feels both fresh and like it’s existed for centuries. The collection does this all while carefully interrogating the death of a Nigerian boy, claiming him as self rather than other, making him a universe, and miraculously turning a harrowing ending into the beginning." Tife Kusoro, Nigerian-British writer and performer

Gboyega Odubanjo (1996-2023) was born and raised in East London. He is the author of three poetry pamphlets: While I Yet Live, Two stops short of Barking and Aunty Uncle Poems, winner of the Michael Marks Poetry Award and an Eric Gregory Award. A Barbican Young Poet alumnus, Odubanjo was an editor at bath magg journal and Bad Betty Press, co-chair of Magma and a member of the Roundhouse Poetry Collective, after which he later became a Roundhouse Resident Artist. He was a creative-writing tutor on the Creative Future IMPART programme, supporting writers from underrepresented backgrounds. His UK garage single 'LDN GRLS' with Love Remain is out with the Sony Music UK label Black Butter Records. The Gboyega Odubanjo Foundation for low-income Black writers was established in 2023 to honour his legacy.