Hannah Lowe

Lealle

Hannah Lowe was born in Ilford, UK, in 1975. She became known with her 2013 first collection “Chick”, in which she deals with the Chinese/Jamaican father, who was a professional gambler and a glamorous figure in the old East End of London. She started writing poems after his death. Lowe writes about Caribbean migration to the UK, about everyday racism and sexism and about the ambivalent legacy of a father who taught his daughter among other things how many different ways there were to manipulate dice. Lowe’s second collection, “Chan”, takes her back to the China of her ancestors and the world of the London jazz clubs. The illustrious cast of characters in these poems includes the legendary magician Chan Canasta, the alto saxophonist Joe Harriott and Joni Mitchell and Charles Mingus. For “Chan” Lowe was recognised by the Poetry Book Society as one of the 20 best British poets of the next generation, an honour that is given only once in every decade. Lowe’s third collection, “The Kids”, is forthcoming this Autumn.

Publications (selection):
The Kids. Bloodaxe Books, 2021.
The Neighbourhood. Outspoken Press, 2019.
Chan. Bloodaxe Books, 2016.
Long Time, No See. Periscope Books, 2015.
Chick. Bloodaxe Books, 2013.

Awards:
2015: Michael Murphy Memorial Award for the Best First Collection
2013: Short List for the Forward Aldeburgh Prize and the Seamus Heaney Best First Collection Prize

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