Somerset Maugham Award
4 appearances
-
Edition 0 (2019) Winner
Raymond Antrobus
れいもんど・あんとろばす
Reimondo Antorobasu
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1986-11-01 （Hackney, London, England）
- Nationality
- British
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Hackney, London
Career
- Occupations
- poet, educator, writer
- Active Years
- 2007-
- Affiliations
- Royal Society of Literature
- Memberships
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
- Influenced By
- William Blake, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Evan Jones, Malika Booker
- Nominations
- Forward Prize for Poetry shortlist 2019, T. S. Eliot Prize shortlist 2024
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goldsmiths, University of London | — | Spoken Word education | MA | — | United Kingdom |
Goldsmiths, University of London
Spoken Word education
Degree:
MA
Country:
United Kingdom
one of the first recipients of an MA degree in Spoken Word education
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Ted Hughes Award | The Perseverance | — | — | winner |
| 2019 | Rathbones Folio Prize | The Perseverance | — | — | winner |
| 2019 | Somerset Maugham Award | The Perseverance | — | Society of Authors | winner |
| 2019 | Sunday Times/University of Warwick Young Writer of the Year Award | The Perseverance | — | — | winner |
| 2017 | Geoffrey Dearmer Award | Sound Machine | — | Poetry Society | winner |
| 2021 | Member of the Order of the British Empire | — | — | — | 受章者 |
| 2021 | Ezra Jack Keats Book Award | Can Bears Ski? | — | — | honouree |
Ted Hughes Award
2019
Work:
The Perseverance
Result:
winner
Rathbones Folio Prize
2019
Work:
The Perseverance
Result:
winner
Somerset Maugham Award
2019
Work:
The Perseverance
Organization:
Society of Authors
Result:
winner
Sunday Times/University of Warwick Young Writer of the Year Award
2019
Work:
The Perseverance
Result:
winner
Geoffrey Dearmer Award
2017
Work:
Sound Machine
Organization:
Poetry Society
Result:
winner
Member of the Order of the British Empire
2021
Result:
受章者
Ezra Jack Keats Book Award
2021
Work:
Can Bears Ski?
Result:
honouree
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
The Perseverance
2018 poetryAn immensely moving book of poetry which uses his deaf experience, bereavement and Jamaican-British heritage to consider the ways we all communicate with each other.
deafnessbereavementheritagecommunication
Can Bears Ski?
2020 picture bookPicture book written after being unable to find children's titles with a deaf protagonist.
deafnesschildren
Adaptations
- [TV] CBeebies Bedtime Story (2022)
All The Names Given
2021 poetrySigns, Music
2024 poetryBibliography
- Shapes & Disfigurements of Raymond Antrobus (2012)
- To Sweeten Bitter (2017)
- The Perseverance (2018)
- Can Bears Ski? (2020)
- All The Names Given (2021)
- Signs, Music (2024)
- The Quiet Ear: An Investigation of Missing Sound: A Memoir (2025)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- searchinginsightfulfrankintimateconversational
- Recurring Motifs
- deafnessidentityheritagelosscommunication
Health
-
deafness幼少期（6歳で発見）Initially thought to have learning difficulties until discovered at age six; central theme in his poetry.
Legacy
Acclaimed for innovative poetry exploring deafness, heritage, and communication; winner of Ted Hughes Award, Rathbones Folio Prize, and others; Fellow of RSL; MBE; poems on GCSE syllabus.
In Popular Culture
- CBeebies Bedtime Story signed in BSL
- Poems added to UK GCSE syllabus
Quotes
-
My dad had a really deep voice, so I never struggled hearing him. His presence was a huge thing for me – being able to lie on his chest and feel his vibrations as he would read the story...
Source: The Guardian interview (2019)
Trivia
- First poet to win Rathbones Folio Prize
- Deaf poet
- Jamaican-British heritage