“This is a poet…who really knows what she is doing.”
— The Poetry Review
“Each poem is a step into a new universe, and the journey is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking.”
— The Poetry Book Society
“This is an exciting debut. (How to resist a collection that includes wrestling, Amy Winehouse, and jellyfish?) These are tender and astute poems that grapple with love, grief, ghosts, and motherhood...”
— Rachel Long
“…a deft, wise & exciting new voice in British poetry.”
— Rebecca Tamás
“Janine’s poetry is full of beauty and ache and humour.”
— Charlotte Shevchenko Knight
hello.
I’m Janine and I write poems and essays. I’m a BBC New Generation Thinker and I teach at the University of York where I’m a Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Writing and Culture.
My debut poetry pamphlet, Sometimes Real Love Comes Quick & Easy, was published by ignitionpress in 2024 following an international call for submissions. It explores the sentimental politics of girlhood, motherhood, popular culture, and romantic love. The Poetry Book Society selected it as their Autumn 2024 pamphlet choice.
My research interests are really (reeeeally) broad-ranging and inform my poetics and teaching. I draw upon literary studies, critical university studies, black humanities, film and TV, creative writing, the creative industries, and American studies in my work. I have a PhD in African American women’s writing. My essays on Grace Jones, passing-for-white, pro-wrestling, Zora Neale Hurston, and Dave Chappelle have been published by Bloomsbury, Palgrave Macmillan, Routledge, and the Guardian.
I’ve been a repeat guest on BBC Radio 3 and 4, contributing to the programmes Woman’s Hour, Free Thinking, The Essay, and Great Lives.
Reach out if you’re interested in collaborating with me (my work has been commissioned by organisations including the Young Vic Theatre, Wrestling Resurgence, and most recently, by the Yorkshire and North East Film Archive/York St John University for their film Women in York).
I occasionally spill my thoughts on the Substack newsletter One Word at a Time.
Sometimes Real Love Comes Quick & Easy
Poetry Book Society
Autumn 2024 Pamphlet Choice
Available to purchase from