Prof is an ex-prisoner, activist and retired academic, who resolves to live a life of darkness after his release from prison. He holes up in his apartment, pushing away friends and family, and embraces his status as an urban legend in the neighbourhood until a knock at the door shakes his existence.

His visitor is Desire, an orphan and final year student, who has grown up idolising Prof, following a fateful encounter in her hometown of Maroko, Nigeria as a child.

Tentatively, the two begin to form a bond, as she returns every night at 9pm to see him. However, the darkness of the room becomes a steady torment, that threatens to drive Desire away for good.

A Small Silence is a layered and beautiful exploration of trauma and its aftermath, and a testament to the enduring power of human connection.

Jumoke Verissimo's profile page

Jumoke Verissimo writes poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. She has published two collections of poetry; I am memory won the Carlos Idzia Ahmad Prize’s First Prize for a first book of Poetry, and The Birth of Illusion was shortlisted for the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) Poetry Prize and longlisted for the NLNG Prize. She has also published a chapbook with Saraba Magazine, titled Epiphanies (2015). Her poetry has been translated into French, Chinese, Japanese, Macedonian and Norwegian. Jumoke is currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program in the Department of English and Film Studies at the University of Alberta, Canada. A Small Silence is her debut novel.