Nii Ayikwei Parkes is a Ghanaian-British writer, poet and editor. Born in London, he grew up in Ghana and returned to the UK, where he became a vibrant new voice in British performance poetry. In 2001 he founded flipped eye, an independent publishing house which has played a key role in the development of many black British poets. He is the author of five poetry books, the most recent of which - The Geez (2020) - was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation, described as navigating ‘the blurred lines between age and youth, the real and the imaged; what is seen and what is’. A constant advocate for African writers, Parkes was awarded Ghana’s National ACRAG award for poetry and literary activism. A trustee of the Caine Prize for African Writing, Parkes has also held teaching posts at the University of Southampton and California State University.
