Dorothea Smartt

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	Photo: © Sherlee Mitchell

Biography

Dorothea Smartt was born and brought up in London and is of Barbadian heritage. She worked for many local groups and Black/Women’s co-operatives in London while writing, then began to perform her work and contribute to poetry anthologies.

She was Poet in Residence at Brixton Market and Attached Live Artist at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, where she was also awarded her first commission to create the collaborative perfomance from you to me to you. Her solo performance work, Medusa, combining poetry and visuals, was named an 'Outstanding Black Example' of British Live Art. In 2000 she was commissioned to write her first play, Fallout, which toured primary schools.

Her first poetry collection, Connecting Medium, was published in 2001, and contains many poems exploring her Barbadian heritage and her experience of growing up in London. The Caribbean Times describes her voice as one which 'coils up your feelings, around granite chips of truth ... unwinds solace, in the most soothing volleys.' 

Dorothea Smartt is an experienced workshop leader, a former part-time lecturer in Creative Writing at Birkbeck College and Leeds University, and one of the poetryclass team of poets. She regularly mentors aspiring poets and goes into London schools as a visiting or resident poet. She is poetry editor for Sable LitMag, was visiting writer at Florida International University, and has most recently given readings in countries including Hungary, Denmark, The Netherlands, Solvenia, Bahrain, USA, Egypt, and Jamaica.

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Genres (in alphabetical order)

Poetry

Bibliography

Intimate Wilderness   (contributor)   Eighth Mountain Press (USA), 1991

Words from the Women's Café   (editor with Bernadette Halpin)   Centreprise, 1993

Moving Beyond Boundaries   (contributor)   Pluto Press, 1995

Burning Words, Flaming Images   (contributor)   SAKS Publications, 1996

Bittersweet   (contributor)   Women's Press, 1998

Love Shook My Senses   (contributor)   Women's Press, 1998

The Fire People   (contributor)   Payback Press, 1998

Voice Memory Ashes   (contributor)   Mango Publishing, 1999

IC3: The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain   (contributor)   Penguin, 2000

Mythic Women/Read Women   (contributor)   Faber and Faber, 2000

Connecting Medium   Peepal Tree Press, 2001

The Forward Book of Poetry   (contributor)   Forward/Faber and Faber, 2002

A Storm Between Fingers   (contributor)   Flipped Eye, 2007

Read about books by Dorothea Smartt at encompassculture.com - the British Council's book database and global online book club

Buy books by Dorothea Smartt at Amazon.co.uk

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Contact information

Publisher (General enquiries) Peepal Tree Press 17 Kings Avenue Leeds  LS6 1QS England Tel: +44 (0)113 245 1703 E-mail: contact@peepaltreepress.com http://www.peepaltreepress.com

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Related links

http:/ / www.britbornbajan.com

http:/ / www.peepaltreepress.com

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