Author of poetry collections including eyes of a boy, lips of a man (1999) and M is for Madrigal (2004), UK-born, Ghana-raised Nii Ayikwei Parkes is a writer, performer, socio-cultural commentator and teacher.

Nii is a two-time winner of the "Best Overall Poetry Performance Award” from Farrago Poetry and received an Arts Council England award for his 2003 novel, The Cost of Red Eyes. In 2005 he was guest author and commentator on BBC Radio 3 where he focused on African writing. In addition to his published poetry Nii has recorded two spoken word CDs, Incredible Blues and Nocturne of Phase which show evidence of West African speech patterns and jazz rhythms.

Nii has performed in Europe, the United States and Africa, in venues as diverse as The Royal Festival Hall in London and the Nuyorican Poetry Cafe in New York. In addition to presenting his work internationally Nii conducts writing and performance workshops to educate a variety of audiences on creative poetry writing.

A strong advocate for African literature, Nii established The Writer's Fund Ghana, an organization which raises money to provide writing opportunities to young Ghanaians. Proceeds from his self-published poetry collection shorter (2005) contribute to this fund.

In 2001 Nii Parkes along with Courttia Newland (both British Council UK Writers-in-Residence in 2007) formed the London arts organization Tell Tales. Dedicated to engaging the public with the literary form of short stories, Tell Tales combines music and storytelling to provide audiences with interactive experiences. In addition to public events, Tell Tales also produces several compelling anthologies by diverse groups of contemporary UK writers.

Nii is an editor of X Magazine, a collection of creative, daring new poetry and writings with contributions from authors of diverse backgrounds and styles. As resident poet at Borders bookstore, Charing Cross Road, London he hosts a monthly open mike night. He can often be found performing at Poetry Cafe or hosting one of its special events like Aromapoetry Stage.   

Nii's latest poetry collection, The Making of You, is forthcoming. You can feel the flow and check out past examples of Nii's poetry online.