m. nourbeSe philip
poet, writing full time in toronto • most recently writer-in-residence, university of virginia
a tobago-born poet, novelist, essayist, and playwright who left the practice of law to write. she is best known for zong!, a book-length poem made from the words of a court report. she holds no university post; in september 2026 she was the kapnick distinguished writer-in-residence at the university of virginia.
bio from her own site, and the university of virginia
read
- Poetry and Risk: An Interview with m. nourbeSe philip — toronto review, 2026
- In Conversation: Momtaza Mehri & m nourbeSe philip — granta, 2024
- Zong! — 4columns, 2024
- Poetry as Untelling: A Conversation with M. NourbeSe Philip — world literature today, 2021
- We Can Never Tell the Entire Story of Slavery: In Conversation with M. NourbeSe Philip — the toronto review of books, 2014
watch
- NourbeSe Philip reads Zong — robert majzels, vimeo, 2011
- M. NourbeSe Philip: Zong! and the Black Outdoors — franklin humanities institute, duke
- Vocarium Reading Series: M. NourbeSe Philip & Cecilia Vicuña — woodberry poetry room, harvard, 2020
- M. NourbeSe Philip reads "Discourse on the Logic of Language" — wordsaloud
- NourbeSe Reads from Zong! — youtube
hear
- Episode 84: M. NourbeSe Philip — commonplace, 2020
- m. nourbeSe philip on Kamau Brathwaite's Born to Slow Horses — the windham-campbell prizes podcast, 2024
- M. NourbeSe Philip on the haunting of history — great writers inspire at home, oxford, 2017
- Law, Language and Impossible Things: M. NourbeSe Philip's Zong! — radical writing podcast, 2025
- Song of Zong! — cbc radio ideas, 2021 (link not yet checked)