Gboyega Odubanjo (30 January 1996 – August 2023) was a British-Nigerian poet.

Early life and education

Gboyega Odubanjo was born on 30 January 1996,[1][2] in London, where he also grew up.[3]

Odubanjo attended the University of East Anglia between 2014 and 2019.[4] He earned his Bachelor's degree in English and Philosophy in 2017, and his Master's degree in poetry in 2018.[5] He was studying for a PhD in creative writing at the University of Hertfordshire at the time of his death.[3][4]

Career

Odubanjo's first pamphlet , While I Yet Live, was published in 2019 by Bad Betty Press.[5] This was followed by Aunty and Uncle poems which won the Poetry Business Competition. After his death, Faber announced that Adam, a first full length collection, would be published in 2024. The book revisits the unsolved murder of an unidentified black boy whose body was discovered in the Thames in 2001, [6]

Odubanjo was a board member and former guest editor of Magma Poetry.[5] He was the editor of bath magg, an online magazine of poetry, and an editor at independent publisher Bad Pretty Press.[3][4]

Disappearance and death

On 26 August, Odubanjo attended the Shambala Festival in Northamptonshire, where he was scheduled to perform on 27 August.[7] Several of his friends reported his disappearance following his failure to show up to his poetry set on 27 August, and local police were called in to mount an investigation.[4][7]

His body was found near Kelmarsh on 31 August. According to police, there were "no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death".[4] He was 27. Odubanjo's family and close friends criticized how authorities conducted the search, saying they had moved slowly, as well as the Shambala Festival, saying there had not been enough safeguards in place to protect attendees.[7][8]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Family and friends of Gboyega Odubanjo issue statement following discovery of body in search for “inimitable” missing poet
  2. ↑ "Gboyega Odubanjo, poet acclaimed for his 'brutal honesty' and 'side-splitting humour' – obituary". The Telegraph. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Moses, Claire (1 September 2023). "Body Is Found in Search for Missing British Poet". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Tributes to 'incomparable' poet Gboyega Odubanjo". BBC News. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Gboyega Odubanjo wins Michael Marks Poetry Award". www.newwriting.net. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  6. ↑ Obituaries, Telegraph (28 September 2023). "Gboyega Odubanjo, poet acclaimed for his 'brutal honesty' and 'side-splitting humour' – obituary". The Telegraph.
  7. 1 2 3 "Family and friends of Gboyega Odubanjo issue statement following discovery of body in search for "inimitable" missing poet". Crack Magazine. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  8. ↑ Chappell, Seren Hughes | Peter (1 September 2023). "Gboyega Odubanjo: family criticise police search after body found". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  9. ↑ "Gboyega Odubanjo: Aunty Uncle Poems". Michael Marks Awards. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
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