Jumoke Verissimo
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Jumoke Verissimo presently resides in Canada. She is the author of the poetry collections, I am memory and The Birth of Illusion, and the novel, A Small Silence, which won the Aidoo-Synder Prize (2020) and was shortlisted for the Ondaatje Prize (2020). She is also the author of the children's book, Àdùké, Grandma and the Moon's Hidden Secret (2022).
Jumoke is an Assistant Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University and is on the board of NeWest Press.
Author Photo: Cornelia Faith
A Small Silence
2019
A Small Silence is an intimate and evocative debut charges us to look again at the alienating effects of trauma and the power of solitude and darkness to ignite the imagination.
*Praise
*An intriguing...intimate debut" - Leila Aboulela
"A compelling and compulsive story" - Helon Habila
"A Small Silence feels like an act of literary disruption. Hypnotic, expertly crafted and full of subtle power, it challenges cultural norms around silence, darkness and solitude, leaving the reader changed in ways that are hard to define." - Irenosen Okojie, Guardian
‘The atmosphere of this book was the first thing that drew me in. A feeling of disquiet and tension, even in the quotidian. It manages beauty and lyricism and at the same time as restraint, an impressive line to walk. It left me feeling like I had witnessed a spell of some kind.’ - Evie Wyld (Judge, Ondaatje Prize 2020)
