Jenny Mitchell, an Alumna of the University of Sussex, who has earned recognition and multiple awards for her contributions to the world of poetry will be returning to Sussex as a Poet-in-Residence as part of the Black at Sussex project.
Jenny was awarded the Gregory O’Donoghue Prize in 2023 for a single poem. Her second collection, MAP OF A PLANTATION, received the Poetry Book Awards in 2021, and is now part of the syllabus at Manchester Metropolitan University. Jenny’s best-selling debut collection, HER LOST LANGUAGE was featured in the Poetry Wales list of 44 Poetry Books for 2019. Her latest work, RESURRECTION OF A BLACK MAN, has received widespread acclaim, with three prize-winning poems and a feature on the U.S. podcast Poetry Unbound. Jenny recently became a winner of the Bread and Roses Poetry Award 2023, and has performed at the Houses of Parliament.
As a Poet-in-Residence, Jenny will facilitate a series of roundtable discussions with students from schools across the university, staff and members of the public. The series, entitled The Wicked Problems Series, will open up conversations around ‘race’, identities and experiences within the realm of higher education. The series is influenced by the concept of “a wicked problem”, socially or culturally driven problems that have no solution, but can be tackled in ways that mitigate the impact they have.
The Wicked Problems Series will be followed by creative workshops, again facilitated by Jenny, that will bring together the themes of Black Resistance and Agency through the power of language. Participants will be encouraged to dive into the world of poetry, exploring the use of language as a conduit to discuss the themes explored, as well as their own experiences and understandings.
The Wicked Problems Series will launch early March 2024.
Here's Jenny’s most recent poem, The Day Mr Zephaniah Died, commissioned by Culture Matters in 2023, in tribute to the late-British poet Benjamin Zephaniah. The poem is now on the British Literature syllabus at the University of Connecticut.