Ruth Awolola
Ruth Awolola is a Nigerian Jamaican poet, performer, theatremaker and creative facilitator based in Manchester.
She has been writing and performing poetry since 2015 when she was among the winners of the National Youth Slam, Slambassadors UK. She has since performed her work across the UK and internationally, in a variety of different settings including the Hay Literature Festival and the BBC Edinburgh Fringe Slam.
Ruth writes for a variety of different audiences including poetry for children and young people. In 2017 she was one of five contributors to 'Rising Stars: New Young Voices in Poetry' which was highly commended in the Centre for Literacy in Primary Poetry Award 2018. Her poetry has since featured in several anthologies and she has forthcoming contributions in children and young people’s poetry collections in both the UK and the United States.
Ruth is passionate about facilitating workshops for people from all backgrounds, ages and abilities to produce creative writing. She has led poetry and creative writing workshops at primary, secondary and summer schools, universities, football clubs, theatres, galleries, museums, teacher training development days and libraries, working with a wide range of charities and organisations.
She is an Obsidian Foundation Alum and former Roundhouse Resident Artist, where she began development of her performance poetry show 'Gardens + Other Such Tree Places'. She was longlisted for the Rebecca Swift Foundation Women Poets' Prize 2022 and is a contributor to the anthology 'My Heart is a Poem' which is currently shortlisted for the Centre for Literacy in Primary Poetry Award.
Ruth is a member of The Writing Squad's Board and the Learning Officer at Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Metropolitan University. She is currently working on the development of her debut children's poetry collection.
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