Biography:

Ghanaian writer Nii Ayikwei Parkes is an unusual breed. Respected internationally both as a performer and a published writer, he has performed and run workshops all in Africa, The Americas and Europe.

His work is described as "passionate and painful", "by turns sharp, reflective, evocative, and transfixing.

Nii writes mainly in English, but occasionally in French and his native Ga, and has performed his poetry to audiences in Paris, London, Accra, Manchester, Bristol, Chicago, Connecticut, North and South California and New York. He is widely published in magazines and literary journals and has appeared on radio and television in Ghana, Washington DC, Connecticut and London.

In performance, he has a unique voice that engages and challenges in equal measure. His skillful interweaving of his own breath and silences, with the words he utters, creates a unique web within which he enchants.

His first collection of poetry "eyes of a boy, lips of a man" was published in 1999 and a CD of his performance pieces "Incredible Blues" was released in July 2002. He has since published a collection of jazz-inspired poems M is for Madrigal (tall-lighthouse, 2004), edited an anthology of poetry, (fourteen two (flipped eye, 2004), co-edited an anthology of short stories, Tell Tales Volume 1 (Tell Tales, 2004) and been featured in the Poetry Society's special 2004 National Poetry Day publication, Poetry on a Plate (Salt, 2004). In 2003, Nii was the recipient of an Arts Council Award for his just completed novel, The Cost of Red Eyes.

Books:

eyes of a boy, lips of a man (flipped eye, 1999)
M is for Madrigal (tall-lighthouse, 2004)
fourteen two (flipped eye, 2004) - editor
Tell Tales Volume 1 (Tell Tales, 2004) - co-editor
Poetry on a Plate (Salt, 2004) - contributor

Audio:

Incredible Blues (sound flipped, 2002)

Residencies & Performances:

Bassline, Accra - Resident 2001
The Golden Tulip Hotel (Jazz Club), Accra
Union Square, Merrick, NY
The Poetry Cafe, London - Resident 2003
The Bristol Poetry Festival 2002 (UK)
Bethel Arts Junction, Connecticut
The Paddington International Poetry Festival 2002 (UK)
The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London
The Royal Festival Hall, London
The Frog & Bucket Comedy Club, Manchester
The Nuyorican Poets Cafe, New York
St. Pauls Carnival, Bristol 2003
Martin Luther King Library, Washington DC
The Green Mill, Chicago
The Blue Cat Cafe, Manchester
Apples & Snakes @ The Battersea Arts Centre, London
speakeasy @ the green room, Manchester
The Austin International Poetry Festival 2003 (Texas, USA)
The Glastonbury Festival 2003 (Somerset, UK)
V&A Museum, London - Commission 2003