Here are ten facts about Valerie Bloom, the poet and children’s writer.
Some of these facts you might know already, but hopefully some of them will be new to you.
- Valerie Bloom was born in Clarendon, Jamaica in 1956. She had eight brothers and sisters.
- Valerie had written lots of stories when she was a child, but only started writing poetry when she was a teenager. She had her first poem published when she was just eighteen years old.
- She moved to England in 1979 and went to the University of Kent, Canterbury.
- Valerie has had many collections of her poems published. One of her favourites is called Fruit – a counting poem for younger children that includes the names of some of the Caribbean fruits.
- Many of Valerie’s poems are influenced by her Caribbean origins. She writes in English, but she often includes Jamaican patois, too.
- Valerie writes the first drafts of her poems very quickly in pen. She edits and shapes them and then types the final version on a computer.
- Her poems have appeared in over 100 anthologies.
- Valerie Bloom’s performances of her poetry are really popular. She has read her work on TV and radio many times.
- She was made a MBE in 2008.
- Valerie doesn’t just write poems. She also writes novels. Her first published novel was called Surprising Joy.
