Nii Ayikwei Parkes

Raised in Ghana, equatorial sun stanzas and the breaks of coastal waves are immediately evident in Nii Ayikwei Parkes' words. Jazz, images of Africa and songs of love, injustice and pain all lurk in poetry that has been described as "by turns sharp, reflective, evocative and transfixing".

As a performance poet he has toured the US, Europe and Africa and has appeared on radio and television in the United Kingdom, Ghana and the United States. He is also a much sought after host of poetry events in London.

He has one collection of poetry; "eyes of a boy, lips of a man" and a CD "Incredible Blues". He is working on his first novel.