Jacob Sam-La Rose
As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a writer. I've been playing around with words since I was a kid. I was one of those stereotypical bookworms - in primary school. I loved libraries, devouring stacks of horror, fantasy and sci-fi paperbacks, as well as mythological tales, classic fairy stories - practically anything I could put my hands on. Couldn't wait to get an adult lending card so I could get into some weightier fiction...
I was the kid that used to read by torchlight when it was time for lights out. Now, writing is an occupation. I came to poetry in my mid-teens, and to this day, poetry remains my preferred mode of writing.
Jacob Sam-La Rose is a poet, writer, playwright, performer and educator. A former Poet-in-Residence at BBC London, he is a touring writer with the British Council. His programme of international appearances has taken him as far a field as Kiasma - the Museum of Contemporary Art (Finland), Chicago State University, Mylos Theatre (Greece), the Center of Contemporary Art in Glasgow, and London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. Jacob has performed at a broad range of literature and arts festivals, including an appearance as a ‘distinguished attendee’ at the 2005 Gwendolyn Brooks Writers' Conference in Chicago.
Jacob has taught creative writing internationally. He has facilitated and taught on workshops and extended projects through institutions such as the National Theatre, the Arvon Foundation, Spread the Word, the Roundhouse, the Barbican and Apples & Snakes, as well as a range of schools across England. In 2006, Jacob will also be poet-in-residence for Holland Park School.
Jacob's work has been featured in Velocity: The Best of Apples & Snakes, Sable Litmag and X Magazine, to name a few.
To find out more about Jacob visit his website at www.jsamlarose.com.