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Poet's Talk

Poets Talk: 5 Questions with Jakky Bankong-Obi

I like forests because they are full of mystery and are mystical. I love that they are full of life and yet quite secretive. If you’ve ever lived near a forest, you get that sense of latency, something just coiled and waiting, a sense of fullness even when you don’t see anything but the trees. It’s like a hum, a ...

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Poets Talk: 5 Questions with Odu Ode

Poets Talk: 5 Questions with Fatima Adamu

Poets Talk: 5 Questions with Ruth Mwanza

From Our Columnists

In The Poetry of Life: Things I Remember About My Grandmother | Nasiba Babale

I remember my grandmother by a lot of things, and when I picture myself in old age, I see myself in her image. Tall, lean, with a slightly curved back, a head full of gray hair that tangles and covers my eyes when being loose. Rheumy eyes set on a dark lean face, hands that are ever generous, and a serious demeanor that resets naughty grandchildren back to their default setting.

The Question of Hybrid in Deaf Birds & Frozen Frames || Salamatu Sule

Alabi likens this to the little value we place on what we used to have that is free but never allowed ourselves to explore at a new place where we can no longer enjoy that freedom but are happy to explore.

In The Poetry of Life: The What-Ifs | Nasiba Babale

In a lot of ways, ending a year is like ending a poem. Like a poet approaches a finished poem in scrutiny, going over and reading it again, sometimes reading it out loud to hear the rhythm and make sure it flows smoothly, so too do we go over the events of an ending year. But unlike a poem, we cannot remove the words or the lines we feel are obstructing the flow of a year spent. There is no going back to remove a word or insert a new one. There is no changing the events of any moment. There is no altering the flow. There are only the what-ifs.

In The Poetry of Life: The Last Stanza | Nasiba Babale

But life isn't always like poetry, it hardly ever starts from the last stanza. Sometimes, you have no idea if there will be a last stanza at all, or if it will continue in long lines that do not have an end. Like the cliffhangers at the end of thrillers. And these cliffhangers of life... these events that continue to infinity like a recurring decimal, are the parts of life I struggle to deal with. My mind shifts and fidgets endlessly when it goes on a journey that does not seem to have an end. 

Black Poets

Black Poets: Véronique Tadjo.

Véronique Tadjo is a renowned Ivorian novelist, poet, and writer. At 69, her work stands as a powerful testament to her rich heritage and the influence of the French language, in which most of her writing is rooted and written. Her work has been translated into over 20 languages, but as English author Samuel Johnson observed, “the beauties of poetry cannot be preserved in any language except that in which it was originally written.

Black Poets: Bassey Ikpi.

Black Poets: Chika Jones.

Black Poets: Kofi Awoonor.

Where is the Ocean? – #Andrea

What we see in the world depends much on the perspective – the world view – of the observer. Therefore: Where is the ocean? It is in the wink of your eye.

Poetry Meets Sciences – #Andrea

Despite the coldness, I feel inspired to travel to the polar regions to create words of silences, of darkness during the polar nights. I wish my words to touch the extremities and the absoluteness of being.

Pain and a Poet – #Star

A poet isn't just a translator of artistic words. He is a sword but, sometimes, he is not afraid to become a little kitten left out in the cold. So, here is fear and pain.

Abdullahi Ismaila’s Our Country Holds a Whip Against Us: Toneful Wailings And Wakeful Laughters || Paul Liam

The society is depicted to be expectant. Waiting for a turnaround to the challenges that plague us. We are described to be ‘waiting so long for our laughter' but it never comes. The culprits responsible for this tragedy are ‘pol- thieves-cians' as rightly described by the poet via the application of poetic license.

From The Editor

BIRTHING WORDS: Will you buy my words… or An Author’s Short Introspection on His Writing Odyssey – Tope Ogundare

Tope Ogundare is a psychiatrist and poet who was recently shortlisted for Association of Nigerian Authors/KMVL Poetry Prize (2023). In this piece, he gives a brief glimpse into his writing and inspiration. Do read, do share! ...

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BroDa SaMson [A Poem] by Oyindamola Shoola

IMISIMOLE’S BALAD by S. Su’eddie Vershima Agema

Orange Poetry NG

In The Poetry of Life by Naseeba Babale

In The Poetry of Life: Dear Friday | Nasiba Babale

Your days were no longer short in the university, it was mostly business as usual, but you had your own charms. Like how, when I took lectures at the old campus, I looked forward to you so that I would listen to the khudba and pray the Friday prayers. I loved the silence when the Imam’s voice travelled through the audience. I loved seeing the elderly women, who were regulars at the mosque, dress in their best attires and sit to pray. I loved it when the ladan said “a tsaya, a shiga sahu, a rufe salula, babban dan yatsa a kan layi, rufe salula malam”. I loved the imam’s voice. I always imagined how his lips moved, and his tongue rolled when he recited the Qur’an.  

In The End We All Become Our Mothers | Nasiba Babale

The Goat on The Old Gate | Nasiba Babale

Waiting by The Shore | Naseeba Babale

Everything Here

CRAVING FURY (A Poem) by Erhimesoja

Language as Chain-link: A Review of Olalekan Ayodele’s ‘Elegy for the Things We’ve Been Through’ by Chinaza James-Ibe

Stories From Young African Poets: Career Choice And Erhimesioja.

Since I was born, daddy bought us books. He was a writer himself, writing stories in notebooks that ended up in corners of the house, unpublished. Had my father been born in more recent times, he’d be a great writer, I think.

On The Subject Of Love In Contemporary Poetry: The Significance Of Abdullahi And Kambai’s A Cult Of Fireflies.

Although a chapbook of very short poems (which seems like the poets’ attempt to test the water of critical reception), part of the aesthetic appeal of the collection is the poets’ use of language.

Diaspora as Kaleidoscope of Emotions: A Review of Sodiq Alabi’s ‘Deaf Birds and Frozen Frames’ by Chinaza James-Ibe

Stories From Young African Poet: The curiosity Of Salim Sani And Poetry.

I was becoming so good, too good that I could write someone’s destiny. So when my muse became tired of my poetic praises and my love, I lost all purpose. Soon I became an empty quill. Speechless. I reduced myself to a spectator, attending poetry events and festivals in Kano, Abuja, Kaduna or wherever I could, and from afar I’d cheer online performers in Orange Poetry, Hilltop or Alitfest, while I go snap, snap, snap, or fire emoji, fire emoji.

LOATAD 2025: Abdulrazaq Salihu Becomes A Black Atlantic Resident.

After reviewing thousands of applications from Africa and the Diaspora, the LOATAD Black Atlantic Residency supported by Hawthornden Foundation have picked 10 applicants for their 2025 residency including Abdulrazaq Salihu.

Jide Badmus Showers Praises On Naimah And Iliya’s Chap Book, “A Cult Of Fireflies”.

There are many ways to read “A Cult of Fireflies”— the best, in the company of a lover, a private picnic in a lush garden under the sun. Because each poem is a box of sweet, each stanza, a smile unwrapped, each line, a glass of wine.