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Kei Miller

ケイ・ミラー

Kei Miller

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1978-10-24 （Kingston, Jamaica）
Nationality
Jamaica
Languages
English
Residence History
Kingston, Jamaica → United Kingdom (Glasgow / Exeter etc.)

Career

Occupations
poet, novelist, essayist, professor of creative writing, blogger
Active Years
2006-
Affiliations
University of Exeter (Professor), University of Glasgow (formerly Reader), Royal Holloway (profile / past affiliation)
Memberships
Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)
Influenced By
Mervyn Morris, Michael Schmidt

Education

University of the West Indies
English (left before graduation) / English
Period: 在学中に中退
Country: Jamaica
Began publishing while enrolled; reported to have left before graduating.
Manchester Metropolitan University
MA Creative Writing (The Novel) / Creative Writing
Degree: MA
Period: 2004–2005（在籍／修了）
Year of Graduation: 2005
Country: United Kingdom
Studied under poet and scholar Michael Schmidt.
University of Glasgow
English Literature (PhD) / English
Degree: PhD
Country: United Kingdom
Has completed a PhD in English Literature; exact year uncertain.

Awards

Forward Prize (Poetry)
2014
Work: The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Zion
Category: Poetry
Organization: Forward Arts Foundation
Result: Winner
OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature
2017
Work: Augustown
Category: Fiction
Organization: Bocas Lit Fest
Result: Winner
OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature
2014
Work: Writing Down the Vision: Essays & Prophecies
Category: Non-fiction
Organization: Bocas Lit Fest
Result: Winner
Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Award for Excellence (Arts & Letters)
2018
Category: Arts & Letters
Organization: Anthony N Sabga Foundation
Result: Winner
Silver Musgrave Medal
2009
Organization: Institute of Jamaica
Result: Winner
Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde
2017
Work: By The Rivers of Babylon (French translation of Augustown)
Organization: Prix Carbet
Result: Winner
Prix Les Afriques
2018
Work: By The Rivers of Babylon (French translation of Augustown)
Organization: Prix Les Afriques
Result: Winner
Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction
2021
Work: Things I Have Withheld
Category: Non-fiction
Organization: Baillie Gifford Prize
Result: Shortlisted
Jhalak Prize
2022
Work: Things I Have Withheld
Organization: Jhalak Prize / Jhalak Trust
Result: Shortlisted
Dylan Thomas Prize
2014
Work: The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Zion
Organization: Dylan Thomas Prize
Result: Shortlisted
John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
2010
Work: A Light Song of Light
Organization: John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
Result: Shortlisted
Phillis Wheatley Book Award
2013
Work: The Last Warner Woman
Organization: Phillis Wheatley Award
Result: Shortlisted
International Writer's Fellowship
2007
Organization: University of Iowa
Result: Fellowship

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Fear of Stones and Other Stories

2006 Short stories

A collection of stories exploring tensions in Jamaican society, including themes of homophobia.

social tensionidentitydiscrimination

Kingdom of Empty Bellies

2006 Poetry

Early poetry collection addressing island life, poverty and memory.

povertyplacememory

There Is an Anger That Moves

2007 Poetry

A collection of poems expressing social anger and personal feeling.

angerpoliticsindividual and society

The Same Earth

2008 Novel

A first novel set in Jamaica, depicting local stories and individual fates.

communityfatehistory

The Last Warner Woman

2010 Novel

A story about family and memory; shortlisted for awards.

familymemoryhistory

A Light Song of Light

2010 Poetry

Poems dealing with light, spirituality and personal experience.

religionlightintrospection

Writing Down the Vision: Essays & Prophecies

2013 Essays

A collection of essays on culture, history and literature; won the OCM Bocas Prize (Non-fiction).

cultural criticismhistoryliterary criticism

The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Zion

2014 Poetry

A poetry collection focused on Jamaican place-names and memory; winner of the Forward Prize.

place-namesmemorytopography

Augustown

2016 Novel

A novel where community, religion and history intersect; winner of the OCM Bocas Prize. French translation titled 'By The Rivers of Babylon'.

communityreligionhistory
Translations
  • By The Rivers of Babylon (French translation)

Things I Have Withheld

2021 Essays

A collection of personal and cultural essays; shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize and the Jhalak Prize.

memoirculturepersonal history

Bibliography

  • Fear of Stones and Other Stories (2006)
  • Kingdom of Empty Bellies (2006)
  • There Is an Anger That Moves (2007)
  • The Same Earth (2008)
  • The Last Warner Woman (2010)
  • A Light Song of Light (2010)
  • Writing Down the Vision: Essays & Prophecies (2013)
  • The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way to Zion (2014)
  • Augustown (2016)
  • Things I Have Withheld (2021)
  • Editor: New Caribbean Poetry: An Anthology (2007)

Translations of Works

  • By The Rivers of Babylon (French translation of Augustown)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
lyrical and socially engaged style incorporating Jamaican dialect and vernaculartopographical imagery using metaphors and place-names
Recurring Motifs
place-names and geographymemory and historyreligion and community

Health

  • ADHD (mentioned)
    生涯（公表された言及あり）
    He has spoken about ADHD affecting his productivity and creative process.

Legacy

An important contemporary writer bridging Jamaica and the UK; highly regarded for poetry, fiction and essays, with numerous international awards and nominations.

Academic Societies

  • Royal Society of Literature

In Popular Culture

  • Frequent participant at literary festivals and poetry readings.

Quotes

  • “My productivity is linked to what could be called a disability.”
    Source: The Guardian (interview) (2014)

Trivia

  • Left the University of the West Indies before graduating and then pursued publishing.
  • Named one of the Poetry Book Society's 'Next Generation Poets' in 2014.
  • Divides his time between Jamaica and the UK while writing and teaching.