fbpx

KidsKonnect

Bernardine Evaristo Facts & Worksheets

Bernardine Evaristo is a British author who has written twelve novels and a large number of additional works.

Search for Worksheets

Worksheets /Social Studies /Bernardine Evaristo Facts & Worksheets

Premium
Not ready to purchase a subscription? Click to download the free sample version   Download sample

Bernardine Evaristo is a British author who has written twelve novels and a large number of additional works in fiction, non-fiction, verse fiction, radio drama, short fiction,  poetry,  stage play, journalism, essays, and literary criticism.

See the fact file below for more information on Bernardine Evaristo, or you can download our 23-page Bernardine Evaristo worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE AND CAREER

  • Bernardine Evaristo was born on May 28, 1959, the fourth of eight children born in Woolwich, southeast London to a Nigerian father of Nigerian and Brazilian ancestry and an English mother with English, Irish, and German ancestry. Her mother was a teacher, and her father worked as a welder and local Labor councilor.
  • When Evaristo was twelve years old, she went with one of her sisters to a youth theater class held in a deconsecrated church and immediately fell in love with acting. She made friends with the drama kids and wore handmade multicolored socks, scarves, and sweaters. 
  • She decided to pursue acting when she was fourteen, but she was repeatedly rejected. She applied to the National Youth Theater but was rejected; as a result, she obtained a position in the café and hung around with applicants. 
  • From 1970 to 1977, Evaristo attended Eltham Hill Grammar School for Girls. In 1972, she started performing at Woolwich’s Tramshed after joining Greenwich Young People’s Theatre.
  • Following her studies at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama, Evaristo went on to co-found the Theatre of Black Women in 1982. Her attention subsequently changed from performing to writing, and she has since published eight books of poetry and prose in addition to earning a PhD in creative writing from Goldsmiths, University of London. 

A WRITER

  • Bernardine Evaristo became one of Britain’s most gifted, creative, and successful contemporary writers during the 1990s. Writing in rhyme and prose with skill, her work defies easy classification in a way that also reflects how her characters reject being put into a box and given a single identity. 
  • With the aid of a modest press, Evaristo released her debut book, a collection of poems titled “Island of Abraham,” in 1994. 
  • In addition, she had started writing “Lara,” a novel that fictionalized Evaristo’s own family history, including the tale of her parents’ mixed-race union.
  • However, Evaristo’s white maternal grandmother, an Irish-born dressmaker, had strong feelings against the union. 
  • She has adapted the genre of the “verse novel” to suit herself, drawing on her past theater and performance training to give her writing a rhythm, tone, and voice that blurs the lines between the written and spoken word. 
  • The work of Evaristo crosses boundaries of genre, ethnicity, culture, history, and sexuality and frequently explores what she has referred to as “the hidden narratives of the African diaspora.” 
  • From “The Emperor’s Babe” (2001), which takes place in multiethnic Roman London in the third century CE, to the semi-autobiographical “Lara,” which follows its course across seven generations and three continents, Evaristo’s work reimagines overlooked history in vivid, compelling ways.
  • Since 2019, Evaristo has written numerous book introductions, including one for Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” for its Vintage UK and international edition. She has been on the Editorial Board of the African Poetry Book Fund (USA), where she has also served as a judge for numerous literary competitions. 

AN EDITOR

  • Bernardine Evaristo has edited various other publications and served as a guest editor for the UK “Sunday Times Style” magazine in July 2020. 
  • Numerous national newspapers and publications, including the “Guardian,” “Times Literary Supplement,” “Observer,” “Times, Independent,” “New Statesman,” “Vogue,” ‘Harper’s Bazaar,” and “Conde Nast Traveller,” have published her literary criticism and other works. 
  • She also served as guest editor of Offending Frequencies, the Winter 2012 issue of “Poetry Review,” the top poetry journal in Britain.
  • This issue was filled with many female, radical, experimental, and outspoken voices as well as more poets of color than had ever before been published in a single issue of the journal. 
  • Bernardine co-edited a 2009 Wasafiri magazine special edition titled “Black Britain: Beyond Definition” that celebrated and reevaluated the black literary community in the country. She also served as guest editor of “Mslexia,” the top-selling writing magazine in the country, for its autumn 2014 issue.

AN EDUCATOR

  • Evaristo, a steadfast and longtime supporter of the inclusion of writers and artists of color, has started a number of fruitful initiatives to assure greater participation in the creative professions. 
  • She has held positions as Visiting Professor and Writing Fellow at universities including Barnard College and Columbia University in New York, the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town, and the University of East Anglia. 
  • Along with the novelist Glenn Patterson, she also represented Britain on the Literature Xpress Europa 2000, a train trip that transported 105 European authors from Portugal to Berlin via Belgium, the Baltics, and Russia over the course of six weeks.
  • Evaristo and her husband reside in London, where she teaches creative writing at Brunel University.

AN AWARD WINNER

  • In addition to 10 novels, Professor Bernardine Evaristo has written a large number of other works. She was awarded the 2019 Booker Prize, the most prestigious literary award in the world, for her work “Girl, Woman, Other.”
  • The British Book Award for Best Fiction and Author of the Year were both won by it. The book was nominated for and won numerous other accolades in addition to the Indie Book Award. 
  • She established the Brunel International African Poetry Prize and has also judged other awards. She served as the jury chair for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2012. 

“What matters most to me, is that I know how I feel, and the rest of the world might catch up one day, even if it’ll be a quiet revolution over longer than my lifetime if it happens at all.”

— Bernardine Evaristo —

  • Less than 1% of all published poetry is written by poets of color, according to a report by Spread the Word writer development organization that was financed by the Arts Council and presented in 2006 as part of Evaristo’s initiative.
  • Evaristo has received numerous awards, including being elected the second woman of color to serve as President of the Royal Society of Literature in 2022, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2006. 
  • In 2016, she joined the Royal Society of Literature’s governing council, and in 2017, she was elected vice chair as well as a fellow of the English Association. She became a Fellow of Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance in 2018. In 2021, she served as the Women’s Prize for Fiction jury’s chair.

Bernardine Evaristo Worksheets

This fantastic bundle includes everything you need to know about Bernardine Evaristo across 23 in-depth pages. These ready-to-use worksheets are perfect for teaching kids about Bernardine Evaristo, a British author who has written twelve novels and a large number of additional works in fiction, non-fiction, verse fiction, radio drama, short fiction,  poetry,  stage play, journalism, essays, and literary criticism.

Complete List of Included Worksheets

Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.

  1. Bernardine Evaristo Facts
  2. Summary of Evaristo’s Life
  3. Fields of Expertise
  4. Words from “ The Emperor’s Babe”
  5. Writing Tips
  6. National Poetry Month
  7. Writing for Women
  8. Story in Pictures
  9. Think Like Bernardine
  10. Writing Creativity
  11. Reaching your Goals

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Bernardine Evaristo?

Bernardine Evaristo is a British author, academic and literary critic. She was born in London in 1959 to a Nigerian father and an English mother. She is known for her writing which often explores themes of race, gender, and identity.

What has Bernardine Evaristo written?

Bernardine Evaristo has written several books, including “Blonde Roots” (2008), “Mr Loverman” (2013), and “Girl, Woman, Other” (2019). “Girl, Woman, Other” won the Booker Prize in 2019, making Evaristo the first Black woman to win the award.

What is “Girl, Woman, Other” about?

“Girl, Woman, Other” is a novel that follows the interconnected lives of twelve different characters, most of whom are Black British women. The book explores themes of race, gender, sexuality, and identity, and is known for its unique structure and style.

What has Bernardine Evaristo said about diversity in publishing?

Bernardine Evaristo is an outspoken advocate for diversity in publishing. She has spoken out about the lack of diversity in the industry, both in terms of the authors who are published and the people who work in publishing. She has also called for more support and recognition for writers from marginalized communities.

What awards has Bernardine Evaristo won?

In addition to the Booker Prize, Bernardine Evaristo has won several other awards and honors for her writing, including the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize, the EMMA Best Novel Award, and the Arts Council England Writers’ Award. She was also awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in 2009 for services to literature.

Link/cite this page

If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.

Link will appear as Bernardine Evaristo Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, May 1, 2023

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

Related Resources