Jackie Kay

The poet and writer Jackie Kay was born in Edinburgh in 1961 to a Scottish mother and a Nigerian father. She was adopted by a white couple and brought up in Bishopbriggs, a suburb of Glasgow.

Related Topics:
Poet - Edinburgh - 1961 - Bishopbriggs - Glasgow

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Initially harbouring ambitions to be an actress, she decided to concentrate on writing after Alasdair Gray read her poetry and told her that writing was what she should be doing. She studied English at Stirling University and her first book of poetry (The Adoption Papers) was published in 1991, winning the Saltire Society Scottish First Book Award. Other awards include a Somerset Maugham (for Other Lovers) and the Guardian Fiction Prize (for Trumpet), and she writes extensively for children, stage and screen. She has a son, Matthew, and lives in Manchester with the poet Carol Ann Duffy.

Related Topics:
Alasdair Gray - English - Stirling University - Guardian - Manchester - Carol Ann Duffy

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~